Some Thoughts About Recent Violence in Lebanon

I am fascinated by what is happening in the Middle East. I'm not an expert by any means but have been doing some reading in an effort to understand why these things happen. And it is never as simple as it seems at first glance.

I listened with interest to a news report on the Lebanese Army and their battles with suspected al Qaeda sponsored militants. From what is being reported in the news, you could imagine that what is happening is that the impartial army of the nation-state of Lebanon is trying to stamp out groups of terrorists hiding out in refugee camps. And it is easy to understand why you would think that was all there was to the story.

But I don't think that it is really as simple as that. Here is just a bit more relevant detail behind the story.

The nation-state of Lebanon didn't exist until the end of World War I. It gained its independence from the French when the Germans invaded France during World War II. At the end of WWII, there was an unwritten agreement between Shi'ite, Sunni and Maronite leaders that, among other things:

• Maronites (Christians) would accept Lebanon as an Arab affiliated country instead of a Western one,
• Shi'ites and Sunni Muslims would abandon their hopes of uniting with Syria,
• The President would be Maronite,
• The Prime Minister would be Sunni, and
• The President of the National Assembly would always be Shi'a.

For the most part, the militias affiliated with the Maronites were re-branded as the Lebanese Army, loyal to the President. People who live in Lebanon are more likely to think of themselves as members of their local clan or ethnic/religious group than they are to think of themselves as citizens of Lebanon.

Life in refugee camps is very hard with little in the way of comforts, let alone luxuries. The only internal services provided are made possible by groups that get financial and material assistance from other countries, mostly Muslim. So if you live in a Lebanese refugee camp, it is more likely that the doctor you take your kids to when they are sick or the guy giving you clean drinking water or the teacher at the local school are the same guys who are lobbing shells on the Lebanese Army and Israeli settlements.

While they are labelled as terrorists with links to al Qeada, these guys are not outsiders who have invaded your village one day. They are your friends and family, the guys who are looking out for you when no one else will. They provide you with the essentials and, when you are living rough, that's what matters. You would be no more likely to throw them out of the refugee camp than you would be to allow the Lebanese Army in.

Of course, I have glossed over a lot of detail here, but you get some idea of how much more is going on behind the headlines from Lebanon.