Beirut, July 19, 2006
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Thankfulness is a good starting point whether in Christian worship or
in human relationships. Indeed, as I write these lines, I cannot but
thank those who, during these past days of turmoil, have exhibited
a sense of solidarity with the people of Lebanon, prayed for peace,
made concrete suggestions, or silently felt with us.
What is going on? How are you doing? What are you doing? What is
going to happen? These have been the questions of those inside and
outside Lebanon.
The country is in a state of shock.
Eight days ago, all we were discussing at Haigazian University was
the student enrollment and financial aid needs for Fall 2006-2007,
now, with a suspended Summer session and uncertain days ahead, we are
simply hoping that by the end of September there will be a start of
the Fall semester, the ruined bridges will be rebuilt, the internal
displacement problems will be solved, and we will see and end to the
hostilities before the Summer ends.
Three weeks ago, my wife and I were touring some beautiful parts of
Lebanon, the Bekaa valley, the valuable ruins of Baalbeck and Anjar
with our commencement speaker, president emeritus of Boston University,
Dr. Aram Chobanian and his wife. Now, there are unattractive ruins
all over the country; they have no touristic value, and we cannot
even get to the closest ruins to us.
A week ago, the supermarkets, petrol stations, and bakeries of Lebanon
were begging customers to choose their branch or brand, now, in most
parts of the country, shelves are being emptied, petrol is being
saved, and US dollars are unavailable in the banks. Note that I am
not even referring to certain villages in the South, where the ill
have no access to medical care, and the hungry have no access to food
stores. These types of villages are increasing by number every day.
Until last week, the Haigazian neighborhood and downtown Beirut
were busy with tourists, students, and businessmen. Now, the whole
area has turned into a relatively safe haven for displaced people
from Southern Beirut and South Lebanon. 500,000 people have been
internally displaced. Up to 100,000 have gone into Syria. On our
street alone, two floors of the Armenian Evangelical College next-door
are housing close to 75 people, including many children; the former
School of Law on our other side is packed with hundreds of families,
and the Sanaayeh Garden near our place is a roofless shelter for
many more hundreds. These people are nervous and devastated. I
hear them quarreling with each other about who should sleep in
which corner. Every time they get bad news from their town or about
their relatives, loud cries erupt from the School of Law 100 meters
away. Contrary to my memory of former times of similar experiences,
this time, many of the displaced families around us are middle income
people and somewhat educated. Some 300 people, mostly civilians,
have been killed in Lebanon so far and 1000 injured.
Central Beirut is certainly safer than many other parts of the
country. The quiet is interrupted regularly by the sounds of
explosions. Here’s how it has been so far: If loud explosions are
heard early in the morning, then people do not go to work. If they
are heard during the day, the streets are vacated immediately. One or
the other, has been happening every day. Some of the least expected
areas have been targeted outside the southern suburbs of Beirut,
a bomb here and a bomb there, in the port of Beirut, the Manara,
Ashrafieh, Jounieh, Hadath, etc. And these are what I call the safe
areas of this war. We are much safer, so far, than many others in
the country. Some freedom to move around, buy things, communicate
are good gifts in these difficult days.
In a day or two, most foreign countries will have evacuated those
citizens who have wished to leave the country. It is said that this is
the largest wartime evacuation effort of its kind since WW2. Many of
the evacuees feel unhappy they are leaving their friends in unsafe
situations. Most Lebanese feel that once the westerners are out,
attacks will intensify against Lebanon. But I remind myself and
others, we have seen this before and survived. We will survive again,
by faith. Even in these days, there are blessings and reasons for
thankfulness.
Here are some conclusions I need to share:
– The current crisis will certainly lead the young people of this
country, especially the Christians to fall into hopelessness, thus
to intensified attempts to emigrate. Therefore, churches, NGOs and
others will need to be very creative and dedicated in their ministry.
We will need more people who can speak the truth not simply with love,
but mainly with hope.
– As soon as the crisis is over, the Lebanese will want to rebuild.
International help will be desperately needed. The economy has been
hit strongly. Therefore, the already existing financial crisis of
the people will get much much worse. Schools that have welcomed
displaced people will need to be renovated as soon as possible. As
far as Haigazian University is concerned, more financial aid will be
requested by the students.
– The Lebanese did not enter this crisis in a unified stance, and
this is taken advantage of. It is expected that the strikes against
Lebanon will create more tension among the Lebanese. I hope not. Who
is to blame, they ask? We have learnt in politics that blaming is
part of a strategic game. Who started this? Who reacted and how?
These questions seem so insignificant if compared to questions of
justice and peace and love. I would rather ask: Who is being just
to whom? What is hurting in each society? What truths is the media
hiding? What misleading interpretations are being spread? Again,
I have been disappointed (but not surprised) by the poor quality
of the international coverage with some exceptions. Airtime does
not mean quality news. Giving one piece of news from Lebanon and a
parallel from Israel is not necessarily good journalism. Media is
also politics. Finding the truth about matters such as wars is a very
complex endeavor. Getting to the roots of problems has never been
the virtue of politicians and powerful leaders. No easy conclusions
can be satisfactory.
– No matter how hard the situation, I should also mention that many
people are also working hard in Lebanon and elsewhere to ease the
pain of others. Many volunteers, including Armenian ones, are helping
their compatriots. Also, even as we prepare for worse days ahead,
it is amazing that some people on the Haigazian University staff are
working six hours a day painting classrooms, moving furniture from
one office to the other, preparing for the Fall Semester!
I hope to keep in touch, hopefully with shorter messages. Keep praying
for us all, for all people inside and beyond all borders.
In conclusion and while US dollars are unavailable in the banks
and with money-changers of Lebanon, I feel we can truly realize and
believe that "in God we trust".
Faithfully,
Rev. Paul Haidostian, Ph.D. President Haigazian University
P.O.B. 11-1748 Riad El Solh 1107 2090 Beirut, Lebanon Telephone:
+961-1-739412 Telefax:+961-1-350926 < >