By: Franklin Lamb
Shafiq al Hout was forced to flee Jaffa in 1948
May he forever rest in peace…
I sat with Shafiq not long ago and had no idea he was ill.
Since we first met in (when else?) 1982, I have always tried to read what he wrote. The only reason I met him then I think is that Arafat’s spokesperson Makmoud Labadi told Janet Stevens that Abu Jihad had to postpone our appointment because there was a ‘problem’ in Tyre. In those days some in the PLO were running roughshod over south Lebanon and using their power to plunder and do pretty much as they pleased. Anyhow, I had no idea who Shafiq was and when I asked Janet, as well made our way along the narrow sidewalks to Shafiq’s office she said, as she said on other occasions, ” Just keep still ok?, let me do the talking and you will understand!”. It worked for me.
In the presence of Shafiq al Hout I was intimidated and normally sat mute and just listened. His voice, his professorial demeanor, his elegant looks and charisma, his knowledge, his intellect, his fiery impassioned eyes and sometimes speech, always affected me. I know how much he helped his beloved wife Bayan achieve the most authoritative book to date on the Sabra Shatila Massacre–at a time when it was dangerous for her to be known interviewing Shatila Refugee Camp massacre survivors and she often had to meet in secret and keep her work even from her neighbors. He was so proud of her.
I had hoped and planned to ask for another appointment, if he had the time, just to listen to him.
Bayan looked so beautiful and dignified today, as always. Her graciousness always reminds me of the incomparable Hadla Ayoubi, who now lives in Amman and did so much for so long for so many and for the revolution with her work with the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Bayan seemingly has recovered from her own illness. I did not want to bother her today but her entourage saw me and no doubt told her of my presence. I first met her in Olso back in the mid 1980’s. And she later wrote to me, “Franklin, we were friends before we even met”. Those words touched me deeply and do until today.
The photo next to Shafiq’s hearse this afternoon was all about an impromptu media conference with some journalist types during which I explained my view of Shafiq’s major role in the noble history of the PLO and his principled steadfastness and his correct analysis and that it was Shafiq al Hout: refugee from Akka ( by boat he told me) , teacher, journalist, prolific writer, loving husband and doting father, founder of the PLO with Arafat and Abu Jihad and four others, longtime PLO spokesman, one decade as the PLO UN Representative, PLO Representative in Lebanon, Rejector of Oslo, resigned from the PLO Executive Committee in protest over the Olso ‘betrayal’ and so much more….that shaped my own view that every inch, every grain of sand, every reparation, must be achieved….“Full Resistance until Full Return”. That is what Shafiq al Hout taught me. He told me during our last meeting that Hezbollah is the most secular group in Lebanon. I also believe this. He helped establish Hezbollah in discrete ways. He told me ”I was Hezbollah before they were even the dream of Ayatollah Khomeini”.
Truth be told, so was I!
Amazingly to me, many of the Palestinian youngsters in these photos spent two hours in almost 35 C sun yesterday in solidarity with Gaza at Free Gaza Beach here as we cleaned it, and today some of the same ones spent nearly three hours in 37 degree C sun in tribute to one of the greats in their history!!!!. how is it possible?……one thing comes to mind………
I once met a fool from Brooklyn, NY who claimed the Palestinians would not return to their homes……..Let her come to the Palestinian Refugee Camps of Lebanon!!
Franklin P. Lamb, PhD
Director, Americans Concerned for
Middle East Peace, Wash.DC-Beirut
Acting Chair, the Sabra-Shatila Memorial Scholarship Program Laptop Initiative
Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp
Beirut. Contact: fplamb@SabraShatila.org
In Memory of Shafiq Al-Hout
Source: Mideastviews.com
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria. He is also a writer, political analyst, and historian, based in Damascus.
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