https://www.facebook.com/lebanese.forces.official.page/videos/10156539435985312/
One of the most used expressions in the Lebanese dialect translates to, “this is the end of the world”. It is used as a response to bizarre, absurd behaviour, especially if they come from someone with no history or significant position in life. This comes as a response to one of Achrafieh’s candidate’s attack on the Lebanese Forces, which had us saying, “Truly, this is the end of the world”.
We were, and still are the defenders of freedom. The Lebanese Forces is one of the political parties that is the most accepting of criticism, as it considers it at the core of politics. Yet, the Lebanese Forces differentiates between criticism and prejudice; between a viewpoint based on a political background, and another based on slander, untruthfulness, and deception; between a firm believer in a certain idea that opposes ours, and someone who believes in whatever aids their selfish quest.
We are aware of this candidate’s impulsiveness, who was nominated in a milieu which considers him as a “stranger”. For he is a true stranger to its history, present, streets, worries, goals, and aspirations. He is a stranger to its people, their sacrifices, struggles, contributions, pain, and joy. A stranger to the cause they died for and defended; a cause which they sacrificed everything they had for. He is a stranger to these people’s consciousness and their memories. Therefore, a stranger to all what was mentioned cannot represent these people in parliament because he is, after-all, a stranger – and a stranger he will always be. In all cases, the votes will be more than enough to prove that he is a true stranger.
He is a stranger because he has neither stance, essence, plan or cause, nor has he ever remembered a martyr. He is unaware of the true meaning of martyrdom, struggle, and sacrifice for one’s country; for he has not stood in the face of occupation during the one hundred day way nor during the peaceful struggle, nor does he know the true meaning of repression, persecution, oppressive pursuits, and arrests. He is a stranger to patriotism, sovereignty and independence, and a stranger to any sense of national belonging towards his environment.
The stranger, dear candidate, is you — and that is the end of it.