Inauguration speech on Lebanese

If I were to deliver a speech to the Lebanese people, here’s what I would dare say:

Every Lebanese knows, and absolutely, that we never had a viable constitution meant to be applied and respected.

Every Lebanese knows that we never had a viable government, executive or representative parliament, meant to give the common people any relief from life hardship or to satisfy the basic human rights.

Every Lebanese knows, and absolutely, that we lack civil institutions. The civil servants main focus is to receive their monthly salary and as much as they can get in bribes, and wait for their retirement indemnity.

Every Lebanese knows that institutions were created to tax the people, get direct money in order to swell the pockets of the feudal leaders, the warlords and the clerics of the 18 officially  recognized religious sects

Everyone knows that we failed to build a nation and Not because:

First, we are too tiny to confidently claim an independent and autonomous entity

Second, we lack natural resources to stand on our feet without external support or

3. We are surrounded by States (Syria and Israel/Palestine) that do not take us seriously as a legitimate and viable State

We failed to construct a nation since 1943 simply because:

1. Nothing materialized to offer any sustainable ground that give us the impression that we belong to a State and the citizens enjoy the dignity and full rights in a serious State that consider its primary job is responsibility to the citizens

2. We plainly lack the necessary behaviour that provide a sense of belonging to a nation

3. No law or institution was sustained long enough to show any direction to modernity and determination for the longer terms

If I were in any position of power:

1. I will focus on few practical achievements that might give us a sense of potential feeling of belonging to a responsive State

2. Create an environment of determination to make us feel we deserve a State

3. When visiting public institutions, we are no longer shocked by their state of decrepitude: Dirty walls, cracked stairs, ancient rooms, civil servants sitting on dilapidated chairs and desks, and the citizens unable to locate any decent WC or toilets. You will be surprised that a functional WC is always locked and reserved for the civil servants. Whatever WC available is not functioning and stinks like hell.

4. The citizens should have the right to vote any place they are located, and not necessarily in their hometown

5. I will pay the public teachers every month, and not Once a year or every 6 months (ma3 terbi7 jmeeleh)

The list of simple practical achievement are legion to start acting on them.

We don’t need to dwell in our discussions on this abstract notion of a Nation that divides our communities.

We all know by now that we cannot constitute a nation but we love to discuss this concept simply because it is an excellent excuse to keep our communities further divided and distant

What we need is to feel and observe that we have a modern State, determined to behave and act as a State to serve all its citizens with respect and responsibility.

Since time immemorial, when we lived within dozens of City-States,  Unity was a concept totally aberrant to us.

Ironically, we had to wait for the Hezbollah movement to put Lebanon back on the map. All these foreign political dignitaries are flocking personally  back to Lebanon simply  because they have to deal directly with Hezbollah.

Against all odds and single handedly, the Hezbollah resistance forced Israel occupiers to vacate Lebanese lands without preconditions in May 24, 2000.

Against all odds and single handedly, Hezbollah resistance withstood the onslaught of Israel preemptive war in 2006 and for an entire month. It forced Israel to beg the US to reach any kinds of ceasefire.

Against all odds and single handedly, Hezbollah resistance pushed back the extremist Nusra and ISIS forces, located in Syria and within us,  from the borders of Lebanon. Hezbollah captured key cities and towns near our borders and recaptured the Eastern mountain chains in the Kalamoun

Against all odds and single handedly, Hezbollah extended to the Lebanese a relative sense of security, dignity and pride and has the potential to restitute to us a responsive government.

Give us dignity and receive civic society