Daily Star – Lebanon
April 26 2005
Bekaa residents look forward to Lebanese control
‘We’ve had enough of foreign armies’
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
BEKAA VALLEY: As the last Syrian soldiers trickle out of Lebanon
after 29 years of domination, residents of the Bekaa Valley are
looking ahead to a new era of Lebanese self-reliance and control of
law and order. As soon as the truckloads of Syrian soldiers had left
for home, Mariam Majzoub started dishing out paint to erase the last
vestiges of their presence.
Her children, nephews, nieces and neighbors stuck Lebanese flags on
top of the abandoned posts near her home in this tiny village,
slapped whitewash on the walls and celebrated the Syrians’ departure
date in green paint: “Independence 2005, Sunday, April 17.”
“We started dancing in the street even before they turned the
corner,” said Majzoub, her plump face glowing with joy. “We could
finally express ourselves, and there was nothing they could do about
it. We have bad memories because the Syrians controlled the country
through the mukhabarat (intelligence services),” she said.
“We were constantly afraid, a lot of people went missing, some were
tortured, but we hope that this is all history now,” explained a
neighbor who asked not to be identified.
The man smiled as he added: “Once they leave, we can talk more
freely. We will talk all about it. We waited for 29 years, we can
wait for a few more hours.”
But after the Syrians with their dreaded intelligence services have
gone, the Lebanese say they hope friendship and trade will replace
domination and fear.
“I cannot even find words to express our happiness, but it does not
mean that we do not want good relations with Syria,’ said Ali Hamdan,
a trader in mobile telephones along the main highway leading to
Syria.
Syrian troops were packing up and heading out of Lebanon on Monday,
restoring an air of independence to the tiny country.
The Lebanese Army has deployed inside the border town of Anjar, the
notorious headquarters of the Syrian forces in Lebanon which was
declared a “military zone” Monday afternoon.
“We want our own army to protect us, we have had enough of foreign
armies. It is time for us to become really independent,” said Ali
Hassan.
Salim Nassar was ecstatic. He finally recovered his house which had
been occupied by Syrian forces for over two decades on a hilltop
overlooking the commercial town
of Chtaura.
“I had to rent an apartment in a nearby building and pay the rent for
20 years. Today, I took my son to see his ancestral home, which he
has never been able to approach,” he said.
Nazira, the manager of a clothing shop on the main highway, said that
“since Hariri’s assassination two months ago, we have not seen a lot
of tourists or Syrians because they are afraid to come here.”
“We hope that the Syrian withdrawal will be followed by stability and
that tourists – including Syrians – will return,” she said.
“We want prosperity for the Syrians as much as for us. We want to
have good neighboring relations, based on trade and not intelligence
and security.”
In Anjar, Syrian troops toured shops and restaurants to bid farewell
to their old neighbors for decades in this sleepy all-Armenian town.
“We are very happy because we will get back the tourists who have
been afraid to come here. We have great fish, good Arabic coffee and
beautiful Islamic archaeological ruins,” said restaurant manager
Raffi.
In a shop in Anjar, Syrian soldiers shook hands with the owner, staff
and other curious bystanders. “God be with you,” said the owner.
“Come back to buy from us,” said the employee, before adding in a low
voice to a journalist, “as a civilian, of course.”
But Anwar Sharqiyyah, a 25-year-old farmer, felt that the retreat
lacked dignity.
“The Syrians helped stop the Lebanese civil war. They were important
for the country’s stability,” he said, articulating the official
Syrian line. “We wanted them to leave, but they should have left in a
more honorable manner.” – Agencies
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress