a letter from a beirut mother

Dear All,
I am writing to brief you about the news here.

As you all heard today the opposition began another
round of mobilization with the intention of speeding
up its pressure on the government, after realizing
that the sit-in down town didn’t achieve results. In
fact, it seems that the opposition had placed itself
in a tight corner from the time when it asserted that
it will not resolve to force in order to change the
government. Jumblat has already hinted to this fact,
when he retaliated to the threat of the sit in by
saying “Sit in as long as you want it will be
something for us to watch”.



Today the opposition went a step forward but again the
14of March bloc retaliated by sending its militia to
the streets resolving to arms in certain areas, and
threatening a new and devastating house to house war
among the Christians and between Shiite’s and Sunnis.



As long as the opposition is trapped to its promise
never to enter into a civil war the 14 of March bloc
will keep the upper hand. Its bet is that Aoun’s
popularity will gradually wane because people will
finally get tired from continuous mobilization. The
other bet is to divide the opposition mainly the
alliance between Hizballah and Aoun, which places a
big pressure on Hizbollah as a pure Shiite opposition.




We still have to wait and see how things will develop
in the region between on the one hand Syria and the
US, and between Iran and the Saudi Arabia and US on
the other hand.



In the mean time we are still here. The elderly people
were content to stay at home today. Dad had to
interrupt his daily outing to the restaurant because
all the restaurants in Hamra were closed. Mounir went
to work and did his walking on the cornich (cornich
mukhalef as he hasn’t been walking for the last month)
and I had to sleep yesterday at work and wasn’t able
tonight to reach further than Ras al-Naba’> Driving
through Ras al-Nabah at night reminded me of the
situation during the 1974 events just few months
before the outbreak of the war. The army all over the
street and on every corner directing you away from
Western Beirut and the burned tires on the street and
the blocs of sand rising infront of you puts you in a
state of fear.



Did the protestors frighten the government?

Well few days from now we will know whether the
opposition has another scheme. In the meantime no body
worries whether the confessional and political tension
might break here and there and claim many lives. The
14th of March group is ready to resort to any method
to break the opposition. Even the worst scheme i.e.
resorting to a dreadful sectarian mobilization against
the Shiite inhabitants of the Sunni areas.



I have to leave you now.



Love to all and keep in touch.