U.S. AND LEBANON

I am sitting right now in the Internet café up the street from my house. In the background the young owner, George, and his friends are watching Bush’s speech on the Middle East. They are watching intensely and lean close to the television. But, no sooner than I write this, Bush firmly states “All Syrian troops must withdraw for the elections to be fair.” And, one of George’s friend’s responds, “Khalas.” Usually, it means “enough” but in this case it implies “that’s all that needs to be said.” They all nod in approval.

The Internet café is usually full of young boys rowdily playing networked computer games against each other and I usually try to avoid the late afternoon hours since the kids are sugared up and right out of school. Today, however, I was too tired to stay at work and could not avoid arriving during the busy hours. Now, in between video games, kids are reading online reports about the Pro-Syrian rallies that took place today in Beirut and yelling back and forth to one another. Zouk Mosbeh, where I’m located, is primarily a Christian area and stiffly aligned with the opposition. Although I have heard many people speak in reference to Hezbollah with respect, “they have a plan,” no one here supports today’s rally.

Today was the second day in a row in which I sat down with a student to discuss U.S. foreign policy. I have noticed that Lebanese in this area are predominantly pro-Bush, which I initially found shocking but now have a greater context for understanding why. People are hoping that the U.S. will continue to pressure Syria to withdraw. When I question students on whether the U.S. should be in Iraq, every student I have spoken to explain that they think it is part of the larger plan to bring democracy to the region. I find this so strange, as if they are unquestionably buying into the party line, hook, line, and sinker. But, what I realized today in talking with a student, is that what I find unacceptable in war, they find normal. When I question about Abu Ghraib or the number of civilians injured in Iraq, students’ state, “of course I don’t always agree with everything but terrible things…atrocities, happen in war…this is normal.” And, then I realize from where I am speaking, I didn’t grow up during a devastating civil war and I didn’t grow up expecting to pay a price for freedom. It’s humbling. I will continue to question, learn from my students, and respect their point of view. I will retain my pacifist beliefs but I am conscious of how lucky I am to have grown up in a country where the word atrocity evokes terror but is not something that I have personally experienced.