Exceeding Expectations in Lebanon

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  Beirut, Lebanon
Saturday, June 13, 2009

[Since writing this post, Lebanon hosted a safe and successful election. The pro-Western and incumbent coalition defeated the Hezbollah led coalition soundly. In a country where people vote primarily on religious affiliation, the deciding factor was the Christian vote. Normally split between the two coalitions, Christians overwhelmingly choose to side with the Sunni politician Hariri over Shi’ite Hezbollah. While President Obama’s recent speech may have had caused some of this shift, the Maronite Church’s last minute endorsement of the pro-Western coalition is considered to have turned the tide against Hezbollah and their unlikely Christian ally, Michel Aoun.]


Take a moment. Close your eyes. And think about the Middle East. Most of you will likely conjure a very similar image. Perhaps one of oil and its decadence or one of sand and its grittiness. Maybe one of religious extremism and its deadliness or one of political affiliation and its intransigence. And without a doubt, there’s a camel or two in that image somewhere.


These motifs - or stereotypes - stem from a few culprit sources, most notably sound byte news coverage and favorite romantic tales of thieves, genie lamps, and silken princesses. Like many stereotypes, there is certainly a kernel of truth to them. After all, sound bytes may distort or simplify, but they do not fabricate. And Arabic storytellers regaled eager audiences with the adventures of Aladdin centuries before Disney brought him to “A Whole New World.” The problem arises when we rely on these stereotypes for anything more than fairy tales. In real life, kernels of truth do not suffice and simplifications often obfuscate more than they illuminate. This point was driven home during my recent trip to Lebanon, a country that debunks almost all of the usual Middle Eastern stereotypes. So in the following, let me tell you about the real Lebanon.


For one, Lebanon is not a desert wasteland, but a country of numerous natural wonders. Most of Lebanon’s cities lay within a narrow strip of land, bounded by mountains to the east and the rocky coast of the Mediterranean to the west. Only fifty meters from the cliffs of Beirut, two limestone pillars called the Pigeon Rocks jut out from the sea, reminiscent of the renown beauty of Halong Bay in Vietnam. For only some spare change, local fisherman charter their boats to explore their inner-workings and the nearby system of sea caves that tunnel underneath the capital. But the most famous cave is found about an hour north of Beirut in Jeita. Visitors can explore the massive Grotto by boat, exploring an underground river that hearkens the spirit of the River Styx as you float ever deeper into the bowels of the earth. Located further north near the birthplace of author Khalil Gibran, stand the ancient cedar forests as they have for countless millennia. When King Solomon ordered the construction of his temple with the finest wood, his craftsmen came to this very Lebanese forest. After wandering beneath and through their ancient boughs with only the birds to keep my company, I understood why the Lebanese have placed the cedar on their flag as their national symbol. To the east, lies the Bekaa Valley, a land of rolling farms, green grazing pastures and bountiful vineyards.


Of course, the Bekaa Valley receives significant press coverage for a reason far removed from its natural beauty. It happens to be a stronghold of Hezbollah, which brings us to our next truth: Lebanon is not an extremist country. That is not to say there are not extremists in Lebanon - there are. Until the attacks on September 11th, Hezbollah killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization. Today, the militant arm of Hezbollah (Party of God) is highly-trained, well-financed, and more effective than the Lebanese national army. Furthermore, while the American government considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the party enjoys widespread support not just in Lebanon but throughout the Middle East. Walking by a toy-store one day, I noticed several sheets of stickers for sale of all the classic favorites: Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Aladdin, and the like. But one sticker sheet seemed out of place despite its central location. In neat sticker rows stared the beady-eyes and bushy-beard of Nasrallah, the soft-spoken leader of Hezbollah. I paused for a moment to wonder how many children sported the latest Hezbollah sticker on their X-Men lunchboxes before continuing on my search for a falafel stand.


We will see a true test of Hezbollah’s popularity on June 7th, the day of the Lebanese elections. The race is so close even the experts dare not predict a winner. In other words, there is a significant chance Hezbollah will win the elections a few weeks from now. Some might cite this chance as irrefutable proof of Lebanese extremism. However, there are a few problems with that logic. First, Lebanese politics is not a winner-take-all affair like with our Presidential elections. By the Lebanese constitution, the President must be a Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni, and the Speaker of the Parliament a Shi’ite (Hezbollah falls in this category). They call it confessionalism - I call it religious checks and balances. Either way, Hezbollah cannot constitutionally control the Lebanese government. Second, as part of the confessionalist system, parties run in religiously diverse coalitions. Hezbollah has teamed up with General Aoun, a Christian veteran of the civil war and longtime political leader. I met several Christian Lebanese who will vote for the Hezbollah coalition because of General Aoun; many of them believe Hezbollah will only disarm once they feel politically empowered. Of course, others find this idea ridiculous. Third, Hezbollah is not the Taliban. They do not impose their cultural and religious values on others - at least not to nearly the same extent. I once saw a mixed crowd of Lebanese in bathing suits drinking beer at the beach underneath a Hezbollah poster. Meanwhile, I assure you there is no beer, mixed crowds, or bathing suits in the Swat Valley. Fourth and most importantly, Hezbollah’s garners much of its support through its domestic programs. Many Lebanese rely entirely on Hezbollah for education, healthcare, and even food in areas where the government will not or cannot reach. In short, Hezbollah is far more than just a terrorist organization and wholly different than other terror groups we usually deal with. Our policy towards them should therefore be as subtle and specific to the Lebanese climate as possible.


One day while driving through a Hezbollah stronghold in the south of Lebanon, I was thinking about how our government and media might react to a Hezbollah-coalition victory. I wondered how politicians and news anchors might synthesize the immense complexity of Lebanese politics into one pithy byline. I came to the unfortunate realization that many would not even try. I can already imagine several stump speeches about how a terrorist organization controls a country of self-evidently extremist citizens. I’d like to invite those individuals to drive down the same street I currently navigated. Signs advertising all the political parties lined the road on either side, but most belonged to Hezbollah and Amal, another Shi’ite party. Corroborating the extremist position, a minority of the posters depicted martyrs and suicide martyrs who have died fighting (and terrorizing) Israel. These signs are easily recognizable by their sun-faded colors and pictures of grim men and sometimes teenagers staring blankly into the divine distance. But the vast majority of Hezbollah posters - and almost all of the new ones recently posted - are brightly colored yellow and include the latest political slogans and platforms. They talk of anti-corruption, of change, and of national unity. One stuck out from the others. The words “Your Lebanon, their Lebanon, my Lebanon” were all crossed out and replaced with “Our Lebanon. One nation for all Lebanese.” We must consider these words when trying to understand how Hezbollah rallies so much popularity in the region. After all, such patriotic sentiment must resonate deeply in a country still recovering from its horrific and fractious civil war.



This brings us to our next myth: Lebanon is a war-torn country. There are certainly parts of Lebanon that still resemble a war zone. While driving to a winery in the Bekaa Valley, a base for Hezbollah influence, we had to take a detour around a bridge destroyed by Israeli warplanes in 2006. That same week a child was maimed by a previously un-detonated Israeli cluster bomb. During the recent war, Israel dropped over 4 million cluster bomb pellets over Lebanon, a kind of bomb that separates into hundreds of miniature explosives before impact. An estimated 1 million pellets never exploded and currently canvass southern Lebanon, effectively turning the region into an unpredictable network of mine fields. Current mine removal work has slowed due to lack of funding, but I did see two UN mine removal SUVs during my trip. Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is still in the slow process of repairing and replacing damaged buildings from the civil war. One day, I took a walk down the Green Line that once separated Christian and Muslim Beirut during the height of the civil war. While the main street showed no evidence of the violence that once racked the area, a few of the side streets remained in shambles. Many buildings were barely more than rubble, riddled in bullet holes of all calibers. Martyr posters abounded. Near the end of the Green Line stood the Holiday Inn Hotel. Little more than a shell, the building was once a favorite (and deadly) sniper perch during countless gunfire exchanges. Now it stands as a monumental reminder of the horrible violence that destroyed not only Beirut, but the very social fabric of an entire nation.


But the story does not end with the Holiday Inn and the Green Line. The government has made a concerted successful attempt to reinvigorate Beirut and erase all physical reminders of the war. A beautiful mosque that contains assassinated President Hariri’s tomb now rises from the Green Line. New hotels have sprung up besides the Holiday Inn, including a new Grand Hyatt. In downtown, The Place de L’Etoile square transports you to a French world of cafés and boutique restaurants, complete with clock tower and cooing pigeons. But the most inspiring reincarnation story concerns the national museum. During the war, the curator had little choice but to hide innumerable priceless historical artifacts in the locked basement while incasing the bigger pieces in concrete cement. The war did not spare the museum building, but most of the artifacts within survived more or less intact. After years of painstaking renovation, the museum reopened to tremendous and well-deserved fanfare.


More importantly, the Lebanese people do not live in a psychological war zone. On one hand, Israel is still enemy number one and technically the two nations are still at war. During my stay, Lebanese counter-intelligence arrested 15 purported Israeli spies, including one high-ranking officer of the Lebanese army. Officials proudly showed off on national television captured spy Israel spy equipment that would give James Bond and Q a run for their money. Of course, oblivious to the spy frenzy I accidentally took a picture of a government building and found myself confronted by an angry soldier; shortly afterwards I was also questioned while photographing one of Beirut’s several dilapidated and abandoned synagogues by police. It was a day of many photo deletions and frantic apologies.


On the other hand, I have never met a people so in love with life. I learned that lesson countless times with the many friends I met during my stay. But I learned it first after I just arrived in Lebanon. After settling into my hotel, I felt the inexorable pull of the ocean and meandered my way to the Corniche. Passing by the American University of Beirut, I soon enough found myself in a festival atmosphere. Apparently I wasn’t the only one drawn to the Mediterranean. Countless couples walked hand in hand, many more watched the sunset perched on rocks overlooking the sea. Children skateboarded, rollerbladed, bicycled, and generally frolicked up and down the boardwalk. Two sisters shared their one pair of rollerblades by each putting on one and holding each other precariously while gliding downhill towards the rickety guardrail. Posses of over-testosteroned men slunk in their plastic chairs smoking shisha while jamming to the bumping bass of their fancy cars. Old men cast long fishing lines over the cliff while daredevil teenagers cast themselves over the rail, diving into the water meters below. And then above the din rang a wholly familiar sound, one that I had not heard since my childhood, but one that still had the same uplifting effect. It was an ice cream truck.


Everyday, Lebanon surprised me in some new and fantastic way. I knew I would enjoy my time here that first day at the Corniche, but I did not expect I would love my time there as much as I did. I would recommend to anyone that they should visit Lebanon to see for themselves how unpredictable the Middle East can be. And yet, our State Department still recommends against all “non-essential” travel to the country, a remnant of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Now I don’t want to disagree with the expert advice, so instead let me say that a visit to Lebanon is essential. It is essential for the resilient and yet unrealized potential of the Lebanese economy. It is even more essential to bridge the chasm between our perception and the reality of the Middle East. And it’s not a hard argument to make. After all, Lebanon hosts some of the world’s most fantastic historical sights. From the birthplace of written language in Byblos to the soap souks of Tripoli, from the world’s largest Roman hippodrome to the world’s only complete Jupiter temple at the awe-inspiring ruins of Balbek, from the lavish Ottomon palace of Beiteddine to the sturdy Crusader castles that dot the entire country, Lebanon has no shortage of world-class tourist sites. And yet, everywhere I went I was nearly alone - alone in sights worthy of crowds to match the Pyramids or the Acropolis. But the crowds will come soon enough - and you should be among them.

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