9 Killed in Lebanon Hits Close to Home
Yesterday 9 young men were killed in Lebanon as they protested power outages in their predominately Shi’a sector of south Beirut. Snipers shot down on them from roof tops as they protested in their own neighborhood. One of the 9 Killed was my close friends cousin, Yousef Mustafa Shukir, who was shot through the leg and heart. Unfortunately his family here in the U.S. had to learn of his death on television as his name was read on Arab satellite as one of the young men viciously murdered in the streets.
I think its important to understand the innocence of this protest. It has already become clouded as names like Hezbollah and Amal have been thrown around. Lebanon, as it still rebuilds from the 33 day war has an electrical power distribution agreement, meaning power outages may occur sporadically throughout the country but electricity is guaranteed throughout Beirut. That agreement has been upheld for the most part but recently power has been going out in southern Beirut and only in the Shi’a areas of south Beirut. These young men were protesting the fact that they were without electricity since Friday. Did they hurt anyone, did they destroy anything? No, they lit tires in the middle of the street in an attempt to draw attention to the injustice they felt was being incurred on them.
Those who shot them were men representing some yet unknown group. They took to the rooftops and killed a group of men who they knew were Shi’a and unfortunately when the names of the gunmen are discovered, enraged Shi’a families will take their revenge on the shooters and their families, this is how sectarian violence spins out of control. I’ve seen it first hand as moderate and secular Arabs have cursed Shi’a or Sunni out of rage. When news of Yousef’s death came out yesterday, I watched moderate seculars turn into enraged extremists, swearing revenge and committing themselves to despicable acts.
I hope the victims of yesterdays blood shed can turn towards mourning the dead in peace and resist the further loss of life.
My condolences go out to the family of Yousef Mustafa Shukir and to all the victims and their families.
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The region is suffering from lack of intergroup trust, and disassociation from anyone perceived as “the other.” It just goes to show why condemning any one particular offending party makes little sense unless one is trying to perpetuate a selfish agenda. But the finger pointing will continue in Lebanon as it does elsewhere. Clearly, a regional plan is needed.
Man, can we get any more of a dysfunctional situation where everyone is involved in everyone else’s business, and yet so few care about anyone but their own group?
They mix up every thing, people who are demonstrating for a non-political cause , they are not making a political issue out of it, how else would their mere needs and demands as civilians, this is what happens in Iran as well.
I know about an incident in Mariwan, which is a Kurdish cityclose to the border of Iran and Iaraq’s Kurdistan. When Jalal Talibani was elected in Iraq, people in Mariwan celbrated, theycouldn’t withhold their joy, a Kurdish man in Iraq became a representative of iraqis, they went to the streets and danced, they were confronted by the guards and the celebrations and joy turned to violnece and as i have heard some people were killed. Who will answer for all this?
I pay my respect to the good clivilians in our Middle East, who have the right to demonstrate their needs, their feelings their rage and their joy.
It is easy to sit from a safe distance to say what the young men should have done. Actually, when I was their age, and if I lived in their situation, I would have been out there on the streets too, because I believed I was only protesting the unfair situation, not being political.
So, my reaction to this news is to pray for their souls and the souls of all who are trapped. The basic answer is to rely on God, and not on man. However not many will listen if God doesn’t advise carrying a gun or a firebomb.
Isn’T most of the Jewish Old Testament a story of violence that begets violence, if there is no reliance on God? And that was 5000 years ago? Surely mankind has progressed beyond that stage of civilization? Probably in the South neighborhoods of Beirut, it is just like 5000 years ago in mens’ hearts. So, the same spiritual laws will apply in Beirut as did in Palestine of 5000 years ago, perhaps.
I dont think the South of Beirut is anything like 5000 anywhere 5000 years ago. They are no different then youth here in the U.S. or in Europe or anywhere. Look at the pictures of these kids, they are spikey haired kids in trendy clothes, looking like they are going to a party later (not your typical hezbollah militant) and I would even say that many of these kids are quite secular. These kids were very young, 15, 16, 17, the oldest among them maybe 20 and they were shot and killed, for what? There is nothing fanatic or extremist about what these kids were doing, they were like any kids anywhere, protesting as many of the people on this site do. However because its the middle east everyone wants to attach religious extremism to their causes. Lets not get it all confused, that could have been any one of us out there in the street, singing songs and getting shot in the heart.
Has there been nothing further on this?