The Lebanese Curse: Reliance on Foreigners

Lebanon has been cursed twice: once by having Syria and Israel as neighbors, and the second time by having its people rely on foreign powers to solve its problems.

This probably dates back to the Phoenicians, and still stays embedded deep into our DNA. During the Ottoman Empire, the Sunnis had the power since they were supported by the Ottomans. The French supported the Maronites, the Russians and the Greek supported the Orthodox, the British supported the Druze. When the Ottomans had problems with the Russians, the Orthodox were in trouble, when the French and the British didn't get along, the Maronites and Druze butchered each other, etc.

This is still largely the case today, but the alliances are more dynamic, and often confusing. The Shiite community relies on Iran and, to some extent, Syria. The Sunnis rely on Saudi Arabia and the US. The Druze are currently aligned with the US, but will quickly switch alliances in due time. The Christians are confused: some are allies with France and the US, others are allied with Syria and Iran. Due to the tensions in the Middle East, the various Lebanese denominations are at odds with each other. We are always hoping that regional detente will bring peace and stability to the country. We monitor closely each peace summit, each statement by such or such Foreign Minister, looking for a solution to our internal problems.

How did we get there? And more importantly, how do we get out of this status quo?
I believe there are a number of root causes to this state of affairs. There are:

1. Lack of true nationalism. Because Lebanon had been part of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years until less than 100 years ago, it is a bit normal for us to be a bit confused about our national identity.

2. Lack of a vision for Lebanon. As Lebanese, we don't really know what sort of Lebanon we want. This has never been discussed in political forums, except in destructive ways. Various political leaders have declared our identity as being Arab and wanted to join some form of Arab union, others have declared their allegiance to the Muslim Ummah (nation), others want a regional unity as part of a Greater Syria, others praise their Phoenician ancestry etc. ad nauseam.

3. Lack of trust. Various Lebanese religious groups (and we have a full mosaic worth) don't trust each other, and in order to protect themselves from other groups, they forge alliances with outside powers.

4. Weak central government. For most of its modern history, the Lebanese government has been weak, and various political and sectarian groups felt that they had to take matters into their own hands in order to protect their communities' interests and well-being.

Our hope is for a person, party or political movement to be able to articulate a national vision, and provide a strong government that will allow the various parties on the Lebanese scene to trust each other. A strong educational curriculum that teaches the young generations about their civic duties and sense of belonging to one nation will ensure that future generation will not fall into the same traps as our ancestors, parents and us.