Nothing but the truth. Even if against me.

Nothing but the truth. Even if against me.

Friday, August 11, 2023

The Woman from Kahhaleh

The following is an English translation of a spontaneous from-the-heart rant given to a reporter by a woman from the Lebanese town of kahhaleh, located along the Damascus Road about 15 km due east from Beirut up the highlands leading to the Dahr Al-Baydar Pass and the Bekaa Valley. This woman expresses what many Christians feel these days after five decades of Palestinian, then Syrian, and now Iranian occupations.

Kahhaleh is renowned for a bend in the road in the town center where many lorries and trucks heading downhill towards Beirut lose their breaks or fall over because of the rugged nature of the land.

Two days ago, a truck carrying illegal weapons for Hezbollah tumbled in the Kahhaleh bend and its cargo of ammunitions and weapons spilled on the road, right smack in the center of town. Imagine if the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate, the chemical that Hezbollah had stored in Beirut Harbor and which caused the gigantic explosion three years ago. Hezbollah’s truck probably originated from Iran, via Baghdad, then Damascus, through the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, and was headed to the southern suburbs of Beirut where Hassan Nasrallah and his Iranian militia hide in their rat holes.

The townspeople are used to these incidents, and so when the truck fell, they initially rushed to assist the driver, but to their surprise, an unmarked security car was following the truck . The occupants of the car came out and starting shooting at the residents trying to keep them away from the truck. Some of the townspeople then got their guns out and a shootout ensued in which one Hezbollah goon and one resident were killed. The Army later intervened to protect the Hezbollah operation by recovering the weapons and the truck, as the residents tried to block it insisting on knowing what was in the truck. 

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Below is the English translation of the woman’s rant, followed by the original transcript in the Lebanese language. The transcript was assembled together as a composite of three videos circulating on twitter. Only one of the videos is posted here. The transcript begins in mid-sentence ….

[Begin transcript]

… They learn in our schools, they come to our doctors,
then they spit on us and call us names.
Why don’t they go to his [Nasrallah] doctors, go to his schools
And then the [Maronite] Patriarch, the Patriarch
The Patriarch today should call for civil disobedience
He can’t just keep talking to every Tom, Dick and Harry
While we are dying in the streets.
We are Christian Maronites, our fate is in his hands
Just like Hassan Nasrallah who wags his finger
And defends his people who are dying of hunger,
We have a Patriarch. Either the Patriarch stands up
Or we don’t want anyone.

We can take our own security in our hands
This cannot go on.
They think we are weaklings they can abuse at will
Then to the leaders of the Christian community
I tell them again: Stop holding press conferences
With your blah blah blah drivel
Start… Bring weapons… Give us weapons
Every one of our regions should have its weapons

We call for partition [of the country]
We can no longer live with these [inaudible]
Let them go live by themselves with their garbage
We, my brother, are happy with our garbage
Let them live in their country and regions
And we in our regions.
From now on, everything that happens
Will be met with weapons
Weapons will confront weapons
Thuggery will confront thuggery
Enough is enough.

They took our country to the edge of the abyss
And they’re happy.
Without a Christian cover [of Aoun and Bassil],
Hassan Nasrallah is nothing
Stop telling us that he rules the country
He runs nothing; He runs a shoe down his neck.
We are the ones who run the country
Without a Christian cover
He would have gone nowhere

Stop thinking you are fooling us
We are an educated people
Who have travelled all over the world.
We are very capable
Stop telling us that [Nasrallah] rules the country
He rules over my shoe, this guy
He rules over no one
Without a Christian cover, he is nothing

Stop barking at us
[Someone behind her shouts “May God forgive him”]
No, I don’t want… May god never forgive him.
They kill innocent people who haven’t done a thing.
They come to our regions, they bring their weapons
And they try to get cover from …
They block our way, we can’t take photos, why?
 

Let me tell you something.
They have the Kahhaleh Road Bend and the Shiah suburb
They pick Christian areas to sow trouble and strife
Well, I welcome them to strife
You cause strife, we respond with strife
From now on, we don’t care anymore
We have nothing to lose
They shed our young people’s blood
We too can shed similar blood
They take up arms, we take up arms.

I ask Samir Geagea
He who calls for Christian unity
What is he waiting for to arm his people?
I ask the Lebanese Kataeb to arm themselves
I ask the National Liberals, the Tigers of the National Liberals, to arm themselves
Le the days of Dany Chamoun return
Let the days of Gebran Tueni return
Let the days of Bashir Gemayel return
Let the days of Pierre Gemayel return

These are the people they assassinated because they stood up to them
They left us those who can’t speak up right now
I call on you to bring back the days of
Bashir, Pierre, Gebran, and Dany Chamoun
Right here on this land so we can win back our country
Win back our Lebanon
Enough is enough
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... علماتن من عنا، حكماتن عنا
بيجو بيبزقو علينا وبيسبوا فينا
روحو تحكمو عندو وتعلمو عندو [لحسن نصرالله] 

والبطرك.. البطرك
البطرك اليوم لازم يطلع يعمل عصيان مدني
ما بيسير بقا يطلع يحكي مع فلان وعلتان
ونحن عم منموت على الطرقات
نحن مسيحيي مارونيي برقبتو
متل ما هو حسن نصرالله بيرفع أصبعو
وبيحمي شعبو وهو شعبو ميّـت الجوع
نحن عنا بطرك
يا البطرك بوكرا بيطلع، يا ما بقا بدنا حداً

نحن أمننا الذاتي نحن مناخدو
عيب بقا
مفكرينا نحن مكسر عصا
وبعدين الزعما المسيحيي، برجع بقلكن
مش تطلعو تعملولي مؤتمرات صحفية
وتحكو بر بر بر
طلعو عملو ... حطوا سلاح...سلحونا
بدنا نحن كل منطقة عنّا بدنا سلاحها


نحن منطلب التقسيم

ما بقا فينا نعيش من هالـ inaudible
يروحو يعيشو لحالن بزبالتن
ونحن يا خيّي زبالتنا مبسوطين فيها
هن بعيشو ببلدن ومناطقن ونحن بمناطقنا
من اليوم ورايح كل شغلة بدها تصير،
بدو يقابلها سلاح
سلاح بدو يقابلو سلاح
زعرنة بدا يقابلها زعرنة، بيكفي بقا

بلدنا أخذوه على الهاوية وهني مبسوطين
هن بلا الغطا المسيحي، حسن نصرالله ما شي
حاجي يقولولنا بقا حاكم البلد، مش حاكم شي
حاكم سرماية على رقبتو
نحن الحاكمين
لو ما الغطا المسيحي، ما كان قدر وصل لمحل 


ما بقا يضحكو علينا
نحن ناس معلمة وصلت على أحلى البلاد وبيطلع منا
ما بقا يقولولنا حاكم البلد
حاكم سرمايتي هيدا
ما حاكم حدا
هيدا لولا الغطا المسيحي منو شي
ما يطلعو بقا يبعبعو علينا
ما بدي، الله لا يسامحو
...
بيروحو أبرياء ما إلها ذنب
بيجوا على مناطقنا
بيجيبو سلاحن
وبياخد غطاء الــ ...
بيسكرولنا ياهن، ممنوع التصوير، ليش؟

بعدين بدي قلك شغلة
هيدا عندن كوع الكحالة والشياح
بينقّو مناطق مسيحية محض
تيعملو فيها زعزعات وفتن
اهلا وسهلا فيكم بالفتن
بتفتنو منفتن
من اليوم ورايح ما بقا فرقاني معنا
ما عنا شي نخسرو

ما دام عم بيقابلونا بدمات شبابنا
نحن كمان بدنا نقابلكن بالدم ذاتو
تسلحوا منتسلح
بطلب من سمير جعحع أنا
سمير جعجع اللي بيحكي بالوحد المسيحية
يسلح بقا شبابو
بطلب من الكتائب البنانية تتسلح
بطلب من الأحرار، نمور الأحرار تتسلح
يرجع أيام داني شمعون
يرجع أيام جبران تويني
يرجع أيام بشير الجميل
يرجع أيام بيار الجميل

هودي الشباب اللي قتلوون
عارفين انو كانو كاسرين راسن مكسر
ما يتركولنا الشباب اللي ما قادرا تحكي هلق
بطلب منكن انو ترجعوا أيام
بشير وبيار وجبران وداني شمعون
هون على هالأرض تنربح بلدنا
تنستعيد لبناننا
وخلصنا بقا

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