"What is going to happen?" I recently heard this question repeated several times in Beirut, where I made a 48-hour stop on my way from Bahrain to London. The passport control employee asked it to me, and so did all the employees that I saw after that – including the receptionist at the airport businessmen's lounge. (She was a Shiite young lady who gave me her name and asked me to stop by and check on her if I were to return to Beirut any time soon). All the Lebanese are concerned about the present and the future and I have nothing reassuring to say to them. I am well-aware of what has happened but I am not sure what will happen next. I will not be discussing the government, the parliament term's extension and the country's politicians, since I cannot add anything to the columns of Walid Choucair, Mohammad Choucair, and all the colleagues at Al-Hayat's Beirut office. I will simply proceed with the idea that I had raised a week ago where I criticized Hezbollah's participation in the Syrian war. Hezbollah is fighting alongside the regime but I would have objected as well if it had been fighting alongside the opposition. Nothing justifies the killing of a Shiite young man in Syria when this young man had originally carried arms to defend his country against Israel. What can Hezbollah say to this man's mother? I read somewhere that the bereaved mother offered her second son for martyrdom as well. This is no "martyrdom." This is brainwash. I have nothing but immense respect for all the Shiites and the Sunnis. This is not about religion, but rather about politics. I specifically address Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who has been laying low since the summer of 2006 and who apparently trusts no one but Hajj Hassan Khalil, who in turn trusts no one but his master. The summer season is near and the summer of 2013 will be similar to what we saw last summer. There will be no Arab or foreign tourists, and this is mainly due to security-related reasons. The rest of the countries are banning their nationals from going to Lebanon in fear for their safety. Tourism in Lebanon profits to hotel owners, taxi drivers, restaurants and their staff members, and shops and their staff members. Even small currency exchange shops benefit from tourism. The Shiites constitute thirty percent, i.e. one third, of the entire population. This means that one third of the country's income from tourism benefits the Shiite sect; so how did we reach this state where the Gulf countries are preventing their nationals from going to Lebanon? In addition, the GCC is considering punishing Hezbollah, and I hope that the Lebanese Shiites will not end up being punished too. I can provide the Sayyed with the names of Qatari and Saudi ladies who are flying to Cyprus or Istanbul then to Lebanon in order to violate the ban. I can provide him with the phone numbers of these ladies who prefer Lebanon over the entire world. I can also introduce him to a Kuwaiti friend who is a ruling official and whose ultimate wish is to take a walk in Bhamdoun with his wife like he used to do when he was young. I have friends in Egypt who want to come back to visit Lebanon. They are almost holding me responsible for the events there. Does the Sayyed want their phone numbers so that he may speak to them in person? I am hereby politely addressing Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and I tell him that we are all responsible for the situation in the country. However, he bears a greater amount of responsibility that everyone else. He can attack the Takfiris and we attack them with him. He can criticize the politics of this or that Arab country while having no conflicts with the Egyptian, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Bahraini, Emirati, or Qatari citizens. I suggest that the Sayyed address the Arab media outside Lebanon and that he conduct an interview with Al-Arabiya or Al-Jazeera to say that each Arab visitor in Lebanon is a guest of the Muslims and the Christians; and to say that Hezbollah welcomes the Arab visitors and is at their service, and that if these visitors were to come under any threats, Hezbollah will support the security forces to protect them so that they can enjoy their visit without any fear or concern. I think that this is how all the Lebanese people think, including Hezbollah's supporters. However, the Sayyed is not making such statements to encourage people's visits to Lebanon. He is rather taking stands that harm the country and its people, mainly the Shiites. Will the Sayyed be convinced by this? Will he realize that he can maintain his convictions without harming his country? I hope to see this before wasting another Lebanese summer. [email protected]
