- On behalf of a Lebanese Citizen by Viviane [ > aline bannayan Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 12:55:41 +0100 (BST) > Armenians of Jerusalem Yahoo Groups > CRDA]
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- Dear friends,
I am writing to you as a helpless human being praying in a country slowly being erased from the surface of life for my salvation, that of my fellow Lebanese brothers and that of my country.
A brief summary from the perspective of a citizen: half of Lebanon is isolated with more than 40 main bridges destroyed, my family in the south has no food to eat, no meat, no bread and the vegetables are very highly priced because of the danger to bring them in, missiles are fired every day and night on many villages in the south. Beirut is harshly being bombarded, a lot of bridges were pulverized even in the capital, the airport is devastatingly damaged as well as all the roads linking Lebanon to the neighbouring country Syria. Today all the sea ports were bombarded and we are imprisoned while many Lebanese are compelled to stay outside Lebanon and many non-Lebanese from all nationalities are compelled to remain in. No food, gas, fuel, or post can reach us. Villages all over the Bekaa and the north are also bombarded and this all has happened in only 3 days!!!
The situation is escalating around the clock! We are now under the threat of chemical intoxication since many fuel storage tanks all over the coastline are being targeted. There is much worst! Kafarshooba and Hetta, two villages in the south are being shelled with prohibited chemical weapons and toxic substances. Villagers who are seeking refuge in occasional shelters, completely isolated with no minimum fundamental supplies, are asked now to inhale through wet textiles, sniff onions and to grind charcoal then put it in wet tissues to protect themselves from intoxication!
Hundreds of civilians were cold-bloodedly targeted and killed on purpose in such a way never seen or imagined before! The most appalling and shocking massacre was when a bus carrying about 25 villagers from Marwaheen was hit by a rocket. They were fleeing their village following an Israeli threat and the UNIFL refused to shelter them! No one of them remained alive! The region of Dahieh (Beirut southern suburb) was completely devastated like Hiroshima& Its inhabitants, or those who are still alive, are fleeing to other regions where public and private schools establishments opened their door to give them refuge.
In light of the foregoing, I feel that words are useless or have lost their meaning. I am not sure what I am asking for exactly...I don't know if you are aware that the UN meeting on Thursday did not lead to a decision to a cease-fire, which I perceive as contradictory with the very definition of the UN.
All I want is my rights as a human being. What I am asking for is that no matter what the problem is, it should be solved outside the scope of a war. Is there anything our community of young people can do? Would the governments of the world listen to the voices of the next generation? I really don't know what I am asking for, but I know I am asking for help.
Thank you for reading this, it would already mean a lot to me.
The Lebanese Medical Students' International Committee, has prepared a petition, to be sent to the UN, UN Security Council, EU, and other NGOs, institutions and councils working in the field of Human Rights and Peace.
To access and sign the petition, please click on http://www.petitiononline.com/Jul06Leb/petition.html
Let's make a stand for humanity, let's make a stand against war, let's make a stand against crimes..
Please forward to all your members, friends, and families..
God Bless Lebanon
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- Hear Our Cry! Enough Is Enough! by Sarine Khatchikian, School Director [Lebanon Thursday, July 20, 2006 9:32 PM > Armenians of Jerusalem Yahoo Groups > CRDA]]
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- Hear Our Cry! Enough Is Enough!
I am a citizen of Lebanon living in this biblical land. Currently being one of those who is living and witnessing the ongoing horror in my beautiful country, I am enraged, angered, sad, distressed and confused as to what to do. I am sick and tired of people taking advantage of my country, carrying out their own wars on my land, cleaning up their dirty laundry at the cost of my fellow citizens. I am not a supporter of any political party; I am with the land of "Milk and Honey" as the Bible states. My rage is against Israel, Hezbollah, Bush's USA, Iran, Syria and the previous Lebanese government.
How dare they, under selfish pretexts, which I do not even wish to discern, exploit our country to settle their horrendous accounts. Hezbollah claims to be defending its land. I used to admire that group during the years when Israel had occupied the South, being the only ones to defend the land. After the occupation, they should have joined the Lebanese Army if they really intended to defend this land. They have no right to compel the people of Lebanon to pay the price for their selfish moves!
Bush (yes, Bush, not even Mr. Bush!) has declared himself as nothing short of the next Messiah who has taken under his 'wings' the duty of bringing justice to the world, stopping terror from the globe!!! What a noble and kindred spirit! Shame on him! What right does he have to violate the privacies of other countries? Before meddling internationally, one should clean up the national disorder. What about the homeless in the USA? What about the educational standards in a number of public schools? What about the crime rates in the states? What about substance abuse rates? What about tempered rights of children? What about the youth landing home in coffins from Iraq?
Israel! Shame on you for using "God's Chosen People" as a slogan for every inhumane action in the world! God's chosen people should be setting examples for the rest of the world, not violating every single humanitarian decree! What will you tell God about the innocent children whose lifeless bodies are hanging out from their parents' cars as they are fleeing your bombs? What will you tell the children whose parents are lying dead in front of them with their intestines bulging out of their bodies in front of their tiny innocent eyes? What will you tell students when they find their schools completely destroyed and leveled to the ground? How can you justify bombing ambulances and humanitarian workers when they are selflessly and nobly trying to fulfill their missions of evacuating people and caring for the wounded? How can you hit homes and not allow people to remove their dead from under the rubble? THEIR DEAD! You took their lives, at least leave their dead bodies to their families!
Syria and Iran! It pains my heart to see those two beautiful countries who have throughout the history of mankind been pioneers in almost every aspect of existence (long before the Western world had even woken up) now taking a back seat in the vehicle ofmodernizing the world. There exist noble people in those countries who have now been classified as terrorists because of the dark leadership ruling them. If that is the way they want their countries governed, they have every right to do so! But keep Lebanon outof it! We are not savages, we are not beasts! We are a civilized nation. We do not accept to have others recklessly run our country. It is time that we have a strong governing body that prioritizes the needs of its nation above others.
What we are facing today is Hurricane Katrina and the last Tsunami combined and then multiplied! Yes modern world, that is what we have! There are around half a million refugees all around Lebanon having taken shelter in schools, and yes, even on so-called safe "streets" sleeping on sidewalks. Do we really understand what that means? 500,000 people sleeping on the icy ground, with no blankets, no mattresses, nothing to eat but a bite of bread once a day! Do wereally know what it means to have 200 people use 4 toilets and not have a single drop of water to flush it? Do we? Let's just face the bare facts for a moment. We read and hear the media say "war" and "refugees". Now, picture one of our local schools with your entire family in it, with your newborn baby crying for milk, with your young son shaking from fear not grasping why he is sitting on the floor while his father or mother is bleeding to death in front of him and the ambulance is not coming! What would you do?
Wouldn't you spit at the face of this unjust world? Enough is enough! The Lebanese are a proud and noble nation, who after 30 years of destructive war caught up with the rest of the world and proved to everybody that they can be the best in any professional domain. Let us be, let us help the world with our potentials, allow us to our basic human rights so we can live andbe able to welcome you on our biblical land and share with you the "Milk and Honey" that God has bestowed upon us.
Sarine Khatchikian, School Director.
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Ch.IV - 
War in Lebanon : Testimonies direct from Lebanon - 
