From Golden Age to War and Ruin: Lebanon at 100
2020-08-31
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1At the age of 92, Salah Tizani is almost as old as Lebanon.
2The country was founded in 1920.
3He believes his country never had a chance.
4He thinks back to the days when France set the country's borders.
5Tizani told Reuters, "people went to bed one day thinking they were Syrians or Ottomans... and the next day they woke up to find themselves in the Lebanese state."
6After years of wars, bombings and killings, Lebanon's latest disaster was the August 4 Beirut port explosion that killed some 180 people, injured 6,000 and destroyed a large part of the city.
7On September 1, the country marks its 100 anniversary.
8It comes at a difficult time. The economy has collapsed.
9There is great poverty. And people are leaving Lebanon in large numbers.
10For Lebanon's biggest Christian community, the Maronites, the creation of Greater Lebanon was a welcome move towards independence.
11But many Muslims found themselves cut off from Syria and Palestine.
12Growing up in the northern city of Tripoli, Tizani saw the sectarian divisions everywhere.
13He recalls the census of 1932, Lebanon's last. Many refused to take part.
14"They told them 'we don't want to be Lebanese'," he said.
15From the earliest days, people were forced to ask religious or ethnic leaders if they needed a job or if they ran into trouble with the law.
16When Lebanon declared independence in 1943, the French tried to stop the move by arresting its new government.
17The arrests started protests that became a rare moment of national unity.
18The country created a National Pact.
19It was agreed the president must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shi'ite Muslim.
20The 1960s are widely seen as a golden age.
21Tourists came from the Arab world.
22Beirut was often compared to Paris for its beauty.
23Theater, poetry, cinema and music were everywhere.
24But sectarian politics left many parts of Lebanon poor and forgotten.
25There was widespread discontent and the 1975 to 1990 civil war broke out, said Nadya Sbaiti.
26She is an assistant professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut.
27"The other side of the 1960s is not just Hollywood actors... but includes guerrilla training in...parts of the country," she said.
28Also, the creation of Israel in 1948 sent 100,000 Palestinian refugees into Lebanon where they lived in extreme poverty.
29In 1968, Israeli soldiers destroyed 12 passenger planes at Beirut airport.
30It came after an attack on an Israeli airliner by a Lebanon-based Palestinian group.
31The Israeli attack "showed us we are not a state.
32 We are an international playground," Salim Haidar, a member of parliament, said at the time.
33Disaster came in 1975 with a civil war that began as a conflict between Christian militias and Palestinian groups allied with Lebanese Muslim factions.
34It was followed by many other conflicts.
35Some of those were fought among Christian groups and among Muslim groups.
36The United States, Russia and Syria were pulled into the conflicts.
37Israel invaded twice and occupied Beirut in 1982.
38 Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes.
39When peace finally arrived in 1990, there were about 150,000 dead and more than 17,000 missing.
40In the post-war period, Rafik al-Hariri took the lead in rebuilding Beirut's devastated city center.
41A Saudi-backed billionaire, Hariri was one of the only Lebanese post-war leaders who had not fought in the conflict.
42 He announced a general amnesty.
43Nayla Hamadeh, president of the Lebanese Association for History, said Hariri was saying, "...Let's forget and move (on)."
44But many could not forget.
45A car bomb explosion killed Hariri in 2005.
46Many believe the Iran-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah was responsible. But the group denies it.
47For many, the port explosion is a continuation of the past.
48They blamed the same sectarian rulers that have led the country from crisis to crisis since its birth.
49"You live between a war and another, and you rebuild and then everything is destroyed and then you rebuild again," said theater director Nidal Al Achkar.
50"That's why I lost hope."
51I'm John Russell.
1At the age of 92, Salah Tizani is almost as old as Lebanon. The country was founded in 1920. 2He believes his country never had a chance. He thinks back to the days when France set the country's borders. 3Tizani told Reuters, "people went to bed one day thinking they were Syrians or Ottomans... and the next day they woke up to find themselves in the Lebanese state." 4After years of wars, bombings and killings, Lebanon's latest disaster was the August 4 Beirut port explosion that killed some 180 people, injured 6,000 and destroyed a large part of the city. 5On September 1, the country marks its 100 anniversary. It comes at a difficult time. The economy has collapsed. There is great poverty. And people are leaving Lebanon in large numbers. 6For Lebanon's biggest Christian community, the Maronites, the creation of Greater Lebanon was a welcome move towards independence. But many Muslims found themselves cut off from Syria and Palestine. 7Growing up in the northern city of Tripoli, Tizani saw the sectarian divisions everywhere. He recalls the census of 1932, Lebanon's last. Many refused to take part. 8"They told them 'we don't want to be Lebanese'," he said. 9From the earliest days, people were forced to ask religious or ethnic leaders if they needed a job or if they ran into trouble with the law. 10When Lebanon declared independence in 1943, the French tried to stop the move by arresting its new government. The arrests started protests that became a rare moment of national unity. 11The country created a National Pact. It was agreed the president must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shi'ite Muslim. 12The 1960s are widely seen as a golden age. Tourists came from the Arab world. Beirut was often compared to Paris for its beauty. Theater, poetry, cinema and music were everywhere. 13But sectarian politics left many parts of Lebanon poor and forgotten. There was widespread discontent and the 1975 to 1990 civil war broke out, said Nadya Sbaiti. She is an assistant professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut. 14"The other side of the 1960s is not just Hollywood actors... but includes guerrilla training in...parts of the country," she said. 15Also, the creation of Israel in 1948 sent 100,000 Palestinian refugees into Lebanon where they lived in extreme poverty. 16In 1968, Israeli soldiers destroyed 12 passenger planes at Beirut airport. It came after an attack on an Israeli airliner by a Lebanon-based Palestinian group. 17The Israeli attack "showed us we are not a state. We are an international playground," Salim Haidar, a member of parliament, said at the time. 18Disaster came in 1975 with a civil war that began as a conflict between Christian militias and Palestinian groups allied with Lebanese Muslim factions. It was followed by many other conflicts. Some of those were fought among Christian groups and among Muslim groups. 19The United States, Russia and Syria were pulled into the conflicts. Israel invaded twice and occupied Beirut in 1982. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes. When peace finally arrived in 1990, there were about 150,000 dead and more than 17,000 missing. 20In the post-war period, Rafik al-Hariri took the lead in rebuilding Beirut's devastated city center. A Saudi-backed billionaire, Hariri was one of the only Lebanese post-war leaders who had not fought in the conflict. He announced a general amnesty. 21Nayla Hamadeh, president of the Lebanese Association for History, said Hariri was saying, "...Let's forget and move (on)." 22But many could not forget. A car bomb explosion killed Hariri in 2005. Many believe the Iran-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah was responsible. But the group denies it. 23For many, the port explosion is a continuation of the past. They blamed the same sectarian rulers that have led the country from crisis to crisis since its birth. 24"You live between a war and another, and you rebuild and then everything is destroyed and then you rebuild again," said theater director Nidal Al Achkar. "That's why I lost hope." 25I'm John Russell. 26The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29sectarian - adj. to group people based on their ethnicity, faith or beliefs 30census - n. a counting of citizens, their ages, backgrounds, jobs etc. 31golden age - n. a time when everything seems to be of high quality and happiness 32guerrilla -.n. militiamen, not regular army 33devastate - v. to destroy 34amnesty - n. a decision to forgive