Tom Fletcher, Britain's ambassador to Lebanon, used to follow the news about the Middle East from the British Embassy in France. Fletcher was then appointed as an advisor to former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street, and then remained with his successor David Cameron, before he was appointed to his first ambassadorial post in Lebanon, around two years ago. Before he arrived in Lebanon, he learned Arabic for six months. After that, he assumed his post, and succeeded with his presence, energy, and diplomatic shrewdness. He belongs to a generation of young diplomats, and yesterday, he sent a brilliant open letter to Lebanon on its independence anniversary that deserves pause. Fletcher addressed Lebanon as though Lebanon was a person, and wrote, "Dear Lebanon, I wanted to write to say Happy 70th birthday. I know that in reality you have been around thousands of years, and were trading and writing long before my ancestors. But that moment of your birth in November 1943 was special, different – you took your first steps as a new nation founded on uniting principles rather than lines of division." Fletcher then recalls some of the things that he said made him tell Lebanon, "You're so much better than you admit." He then expresses his frustration, and writes, "Your politics are dynamic on the surface. Yet broken and paralyzed beneath it. You talk of unity. Yet often say things like ‘Lebanon would be wonderful if it wasn't for the Lebanese', ‘it will always be like this – this is Lebanon.' You have an impressive ability to absorb hardships such as power cuts. Yet you rarely confront the causes of them. You invest more than any country in the education of your youth. Yet they feel excluded from changing the country for the better. You have been a beacon for women's rights. Yet only elect a tiny handful to parliament. You were the first country in the region to stand up against dictatorship and tyranny in the 21st century Middle East. Yet your voice in calling for your own rights and those of others seems to have fallen silent, and in too many cases been silenced." He then gives advice to Lebanon and says, "First and most important, start ignoring advice from outsiders, including me: this is your country. Second, celebrate the success that is all around you, [by saying], "and carrying on our lives is the best response to violence and division'." Fletcher then recalls the importance of understanding the meaning of independence, where Lebanon's interests are placed above those of foreign patrons. He wrote, "You're stuck together I'm afraid, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse." The UK ambassador then concludes, "You're at a moment of jeopardy. 70 is too young for a country to retire...Whether you make it to 75 depends on whether you can find a way to regroup, to focus again on what unites rather than divides you. That is not something that you can leave to outsiders. You have to decide whether you're on the side of those who are fighting over Lebanon. Or with those who are fighting for it." No doubt, Fletcher's letter comes from a diplomat who loves the country and loves working in it, and who has many friends in all circles. His letter is the result of this love and his feeling of regret for a country that is almost a paradise, were it not for the reasons of frustration that Fletcher mentioned, and which any Lebanese who wants his country to recover is no doubt aware of. But what is happening today on the ground in Syria, in Lebanon, and in the region as a whole, makes the return of unity among the Lebanese nothing a pipe dream. How can the country unite when Iran and Syria control the decision making of Hezbollah, which represents a large part of the Lebanese people? Lebanon that Fletcher addresses did not retire, but is suffering from a disease whose cure is no longer in its hands. True, there is a lot of successful Lebanese abroad and at home, but the state is corrupt and paralyzed, and there is no hope for it to stand on its feet amid deteriorating and dangerous regional circumstances, and a disappointing division among its people. Fletcher's letter to Lebanon contains the wishes any true Lebanese would have for his country. But in reality, it is almost impossible to implement Fletcher's advice to rescue the country. Lebanon has not retired; it is just in constant danger.
