Samir Kuntar’s release is with no doubt the highlight of this week around Middle East events. It is the story of a man, who had been imprisoned for 30 years in Israel, and is finally being released. The issue lies in Kuntar’s release along with that of 199 Lebanese and Arab prisoners and corpses of soldiers. Such an event is a major accomplishment for Hezbollah. As for the Israelis, the return of the two soldiers brought closure to their families.
Few days before the swap and until this day, the local media is overwhelmingly racing to bring out opinions and scoops surrounding the event. Bloggers, as well, are posting articles and writing their own to cast their own perspective on the issue. Of course the dominant subject is Samir Kuntar himself; whether he is a hero, a murderer or a simply an overrated hero. I do believe everyone is entitled to his own opinion and each opinion should have a room to be debated. Regardless of what Samir Kuntar is, or was, he is a valuable asset to the Israeli and Hezbollah.
I am glad to see the prisoners back, I am glad to see we’ve managed to free Lebanese and Arab soldiers from the Israeli prisons and as someone who lost an uncle whose fate is still unknown, it is heartwarming to see the joy on the mothers’ eyes seeing their boys again. I believe in Hezbollah’s cause to stop the terror inflected by the Israeli army and politics over innocent people. Yet I also recognize that the existence of Hezbollah and the Israeli forces are co-dependent. Israel is powering up its arsenal to defend itself against its neighboring opponents. Especially that the old glory of Egyptian and Jordanian armies is long gone along their threat, Israel is only left with one real danger, Hezbollah. As for Hezbollah, its sole existence revolves around the Israeli threat, if Israel is no more or even abandons its military approach, Hezbollah will need to find a new cause or it will seize to exist as a resistance movement.
Let me not shift to the main reason why I’m writing this, which is definitely not about my personal political- historical analysis. This is going to be more about my opinion on my own people, my countrymen, my local bloggers and above all the great leaders of this great country.
What hurts me more as a citizen of this country is how we portray ourselves. Being JUST Lebanese always come at the end of the list; because ofcourse what comes prior to it is what political movement we follow, what faith we practice, and the very first is what sect of faith we represent. As Lebanese we don’t care much about Lebanon as a whole entity, we think of divisions and sectors, what is good for my party and faith should be good for my country as well! Since the beginning of this media coverage on TV, newspapers and blogs, it is surprising how passionate people got over all this issue and the issue surrounding it. I can understand hardcore believers in this cause; I can understand the activists, and the media business to cover the story. But what I can’t seem to comprehend is the ignorance in us; ignorance in taking such a historical event and turning it into a personal benefit .Bloggers from all kinds and ages are posting their opinions, either praising the event as a victory or degrading the accomplishment. Lebanese citizens have found ways to create more controversy over this issue with their comments and articles rather than coming together to see the good side of this. You can witness men and women fighting with insults whether this man is a hero or not instead of “what is next?” Young intelligent Lebanese wasting their time and effort writing hate comments and offensive remarks to their fellow citizens who probably reside few meters away instead of engaging in a meaningful debate. Or the third category is citizens like me, who are enjoying the comfort of their homes and sitting behind their PC to talk about struggle and the Just Cause. We blame our politicians for acting in such an irresponsible manner, yet we perform a similar behavior on our end.
So you want to judge Samir Kuntar for something he has done three decades ago and yet investigate on what he has committed exactly back then? In a civilized country with free men this is the least we should be doing to serve our country right and the people who reflect the image of this country. Yes we should! For it will be a shame to call him a national hero if he turns out to be a murderer. But then again, since we are in the Justice and Facts business, let us judge other national heroes too. Let us bring them all to justice! Let us bring those “heroes” whose “heroism” or should I say crimes can be judged and based on events that happened way less than 30 years from now. Go judge those “heroes” who go on TV and talk on public talk shows or speak in press conference claiming this to be a national victory. Same heroes who did nothing all their lives to assist in this cause directly or indirectly. Let us put on trials “heroes” who went with pride to the airport to shake hands and kiss Samir Kuntar and the other returning soldiers. Those same “Heroes” who know for a fact they were responsible for handing Israel hundred of such soldiers not too long time ago. Place those who are just now talking about the “concerns and worries” of the Lebanese citizens who are detained in Syria, yet they know how to be silent for a long time. They merely worry about their seats in the government and how to maintain the power over the crowd. Go bring all those who were willing to invest all their time and effort traveling from one country to another meeting with leaders and politicians in the name of late Rafik Al Harriri, yet never seemed to invest a shred of this sincere drive to free their people who entrusted them in office. How about you also bring our beloved leaders who only few days ago were willing to put a bullet in anyone who speaks the word Hezbollah; and yet on their meeting with Samir Kuntar they started fascinating us with their praise to the resistance and its cause.
Want to talk justice and fairness? Yes you should, we all should, but we won’t. We closed down the civil war file that spread over 20 years ago. And none was held accountable, none was held responsible, however they are all lifted on our shoulders as heroes and patriotic icons that represent us, the citizens.