ciao

From the heart of Beirut…with the sounds of missiles, explosions and people screaming, being the only background music for the past week…I am writing to you.

Within less than 24 hours…a country that carried the secrets of a wonderful sea, strength of standing mountains, whispers of wide green trees… was turned upside down… leaving its appealing nature hiding below a dreadful artificial disaster zone.

The same airport where we used to land in after every trip abroad..is now closed, bombarded, and on fire. The same bridges we used cross everyday around the country...the same streets we used to walk on everyday are now void, empty, risky..or a bunch of rubble.

This is my Lebanon. It will always be my Lebanon: A flourishing country with strong, kind-hearted people that strive to make their dreams come true. Now, they're only seeing their dreams vanishing infront of their eyes in a matter of days.

I am writing to you…with a tear in my eye so much wanting to drop...as I see my own country getting slowly demolished..bit..by bit...day after day..minute after minute. I only wish, that none of you...really none of you would ever experience this feeling. We've been expriencing it for the past week and until this moment..though it isn't new,it is still overwhelming. Eveyrday in Lebanon..is 9/11.

Who started the conflict? Who's fault is it? This isn't the case. Civilians are dying on both sides. And no matter who's fault it was, no matter what happened...nothing justifies the gradual destruction of a whole country and paralyzing it from helping its own self. Nothing justifies the mass murder of citizens fleeing, using forbidden weapons. Nothing justifies butchering tens of families, new-borns, fathers, and elderlies per day (or is hour more precise),hitting ambulances transporting wounded citizens, massacring a whole nation ruthlessly, basically destroying my Lebanon, my one and only nation.

As I see the thousands of foreigners fleeing,I call upon whoever is in Lebanon and reading this e-mail: Please be safe. The Israeli war machine is so evil, it does not make a difference between a civilian, a militant, an animal or a child, a church or a mosque. But we Lebanese are used to being resistant, strong and solid...never surrendering even in the most devastating moments. This is exactly what makes us proud.

They can destroy our bridges, level our homes, massacare our people..but they can never crush our strong will to survive, florish and strive. They tried doing that in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 2000...they failed in each an every attempt. July 2006 is yet another date for them to fail once again. A date we will make sure they shall never forget.

Proud to be Lebanese;
Nader Houella
Still Surviving