July 12, 2010
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“They’re bombing Lebanon”
I remember my mother's words as they stung me like hot coals; On July 12th, 2006 my family was huddled around the television, listening to the news. The voices would shatter my eardrums as the death toll would climb higher and higher. Soon it was just noise.
CNN,MSNBC,FOX,ABC – Media personnel would recite numbers and memorized, commercialized statistics. I shouldn’t have expected them to profess any natural sentiment for the Lebanese being slaughtered en masse but I grew bitter nonetheless.
Lebanon’s graceful sky’s were raining blood.
I recall, with intensity, how many phone-cards we would buy so that we may have a chance to speak with our family living in Southern Lebanon – every ring forced a knot inside our stomachs as we waited for any connection, any one of them to pick up their mobile. For days we heard nothing and for weeks we were restricted to listening to the mainstream media; it was an endless back and forth with us, between tissue boxes and sleepless nights – amidst tears and rage.
We watched the slaughter of our people through the grainy television screen – helpless, keeping to our bedrooms while the Resistance took on the Israeli giant.
We saw the tears in Ali’s eyes
We heard his voice as he prayed
under the rain of bloody skies [1]
The Israeli bombs did not discriminate against gender, sex or age; everyone was a target – whether you were carrying a white flag or the body of your child. The Merkava Tanks and US-funded missiles were equal opportunity destroyers.
The drones circled like vultures as the gates of hell opened wide; Our ‘Paris of the Middle East’ was being rapidly set aflame.
The bombing becomes our lullaby, the drums of war our anthem.
Over a month; 37 days. Nearly 1,500 Lebanese were slaughtered and 4,409 were injured according to the Lebanon Higher Relief Council, 15% of whom were permanently disabled.
The Israelis left us with elusive snares, even after 2006; The death toll estimates do not include the Lebanese killed since the end of fighting by land mines or unexploded Israeli cluster bombs. At least 40 Lebanese citizens have been killed and 250 injured by these subtle surprises left for us to find.
Abandoned numbers, again.
That’s all we have ever been.
That’s what our children were, the ones who had their arms and legs blown off by Israeli cluster bombs. That is what the widows were, who cried out for their husbands with nothing but endless explosions replying to their screams. The 1,500 slaughtered in cold blood – just exhausted enumerations.
Israel attempted to turn Lebanon into a cemetery wherein they would bury the Lebanese Resistance perpetually but they did not succeed in this iniquitous mission. By attacking Lebanon they united the Lebanese Resistance and empowered the Lebanese.
Although we were in unharmed Beirut, the bombs sounded like they were landing a few blocks away. One significant memory I have of that time was when Sayyed Nasrallah was announcing the hit on the warship. Power was out, so we had to listen to it on the radio. The entire neighborhood was pitch black, and you could barely see figures on every balcony. Everyone was listening. There was a feeling of fear mixed with despair. When Nasrallah said what he said, the entire city rose and celebrated. The mood changed in an instant.
We kept count of casualties, military and civilian. We took a special interest in the number of destroyed tanks. While the pictures of what was happening were quite horrendous, our parents didn’t care much for keeping them out of our site; it seemed as though they wanted the images to stick with us, and they did. [2]
Israeli aggression fell away to defeat; 158 Israelis, 119 of them soldiers, died during the war and a Globes Smith poll showed that 52% of electors believed that the Israeli army had failed in its Lebanon offensive.
“In 1982, Israel succeeded in invading Lebanon and its hopes of re-vivifying the Greater Israel project became high. But the Resistance was able to achieve Liberation in 2000, the year in which the Israeli troops withdrew from the Lebanese territories in a flagrant announcement of the failure of the theory of the Greater Israel project. Then came the Al-Aqsa Intifada that made Israel feel weak and talk about a battle for its existence but Resistant Gaza made it again and kicked out the occupation. Israel then continued its aggressive war against Lebanon and planned in 2006 to beat the Resistance but the Resistance remained. It was even strengthened.” – Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezb’Allah.
Four years have passed since Israel's devastating war against Lebanon, having met with the most unprecedented defeat. The most highly trained Israeli political and military leaders were left vanquished; The ‘strongest military in the Middle East’ was thwarted by a seemingly paltry Resistance Bloc – that of Hezb’Allah.
Hezb’Allah has shown the entire world that Lebanon’s dignity and honor will not be bought or sold; The Lebanese Resistance is ready to sacrifice everything in order to defend both.
The 2006 war was an astounding turning point in the conflict with Israel.
For every bomb dropped on our dignified cedars a chord was struck, creating a symphony of echo’s in reply to the Israeli military assaults – one which will never be forgotten: Hayhath Minna Thilla – Woe Unto The Wretched.
[1]- Nizar Qabbani: The Face Of Qana
[2]- Excerpt from a personal account of the 2006 war by Jawad Taher who was 15 at the time of the war.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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