The Civil War in Lebanon
This is the last of our introduction to Lebanese history podcasts. Our last podcast, on Palestinian refugees, introduced the context of the civil war, and how it began, so if you haven’t already, we recommend you listen to it first. Please forgive the injustice that this does to the complexity of the civil war. If you want to learn about what has to be one of the messiest and most confusing wars, we recommend reading Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk. This war is often simplified as Christians v Muslims, but it was much, much more complicated than that. It was essentially the case of a country falling into complete chaos for 15 years. Every time you hear ‘Christians’ or ‘Muslims’ in this podcast, remember that these were not united entities, but a collection of separate militias with different political ideologies and goals all vying for power, and briefly uniting on religious grounds for political ends. Because of the complicated nature of this war, the Arabic in this is a little more difficult than in most of our podcasts. The Lebanese civil war started in 1975, lasted for 15 years, and ended in 1990. It caused the deaths of 150,000 people, and caused 1 million people to flee Lebanon. It destroyed large areas of the country, especially the capital, Beirut. To recap on the last few podcasts: lots of religions, they all want power, and into the fray comes the Palestinian Liberation Organization after it’s kicked out of Jordan. It’s attacking Israel, Israel’s fighting back and tensions are rising between Palestinians and Christian militias/political parties. They started to kill each other. As we mentioned in our previous podcast, the civil war started with tensions between the PLO and the Lebanese population. The PLO attacked Israel from Lebanon, and Israel fought back. The Lebanese were not happy about this, especially the Christian militias. Palestinian militias and Christian militias started to kill important members of the enemy militias. Every time one of them killed a member of the other, the revenge killings got worse. The Christians in particular took revenge on innocent Palestinians, making the problem a lot worse. This continued until the bus massacre in April 1975, when Christian militias stopped a bus full of Palestinian civilians, and killed them all. This was the beginning of the war. After the Bus Massacre in April 1975, when Christian militias killed a bus full of Palestinian civilians, things started to go down. This culminated in Black Saturday in December 1975, when the war became about religion. The Palestinians and Muslim militias fought back. They started to kill Christians, and because of this, Christians killed even more Palestinians. The war was terrible, and inhumane. In December 1975, somebody shot 4 Christians in Beirut. Bashir Gemayel, the leader of one of the Christian militias ordered 40 Muslims to be killed in revenge. Christian militias set up checkpoints on the road. Because these are a normal part of life in Lebanon, people waited patiently in their cars to get through. When they reached the checkpoint, the militias checked their identity cards and killed them if they were the wrong religion. Muslim militias then did the same thing. The war became a war between religions. Approximately 300 Christians and 300 Muslims died in that day, which is now called Black Saturday. These brutal checkpoint killings were just one of many steps on the road to complete chaos in Lebanon, but they set the tone for the war. This was a messy war, and women and children were not spared. There were several divide lines: religious, physical, and ideological. The Lebanese civil war is extremely complicated, and all religions in Lebanon eventually got involved. The divide line was kind of religious, but it was also physical, with Beirut divided into East and West Beirut. West Beirut was Muslim, and East Beirut was Christian. These religious majorities still exist in these areas of Beirut today, and the front line between the two, today’s Downtown and Martyr’s square was completely destroyed. The divide line was also ideological. Communist parties sided with Palestinians, reflecting Cold War alliances. So everyone’s pretty busy killing each other, and Syria isn’t too happy about this. Syria has its own political goals, and for several complicated reasons arrived in 1976 with thousands of troops, ostensibly to stop everyone from massacring each other. After a year and a half and 40,000 deaths, Syria arrived. They brought thousands of men and occupied the entire city of Beirut, hoping to control the territories of the Palestinian militias, and to stop the war that was happening and getting worse on their doorstep. They said that they came to protect the Christian villagers who asked for their help. Of course, Syria was not the only external force to get involved. Israel was there the entire time, supporting whoever would fight for its interests, which was of course against the Palestinians. The enemy of my enemy is my friend kind of vibe. While this was happening, Israel was sending arms and support to Christian militias. The PLO was of course still attacking Israel, and in 1977 and 1978 they attacked Israel from their Lebanese bases many times. After 11 men from a Palestinian militia attacked two buses in Israel, killing 37 people, Israel invaded South Lebanon. The UN asked Israel to withdraw immediately, and created UNIFIL, an international peacekeeping force that is still in Lebanon today. They withdrew after a few months, but maintained control with Shia militias which Israel supported. Okay so Israel invades in 1978 and then away they go again, keeping control of the south through their puppet militias. The Lebanese merrily go on fighting each other in their absence, until 1982, when the PLO overstepped what Israel was willing to accept and Israel decides that it’s time to come for real this time. Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982. Why this happened is complicated. The PLO attacked Israel, Israel attacked the PLO, the same story. This time, Israel didn’t stop at the south of Lebanon though. Israel came all the way to Beirut, with the support of some Christian militias. They attacked the Palestinian camps, caring little about the lives of women and children. One of the worst atrocities committed by them were the Sabra-Shatila massacres. They and their Christian militia allies murdered around 3,000 Lebanese and Palestinian Shias in two days. Christian militia leaders justified their massacring of women and children by saying: ‘Pregnant women will give birth to terrorists; the children when they grow up will be terrorists.’ In 1983, Israel withdrew, staying only in the South near the Israeli border. The violence continued between Lebanese and Palestinian militias. The Lebanese today really don’t like the Israelis, and you can kind of see why when you read about what they did during their invasion of Lebanon. The Sabra-Shatila massacres, undertaken by Christian militias with the full knowledge and cooperation of Israeli forces, who had control of the area, took the lives of up to 3,000 men, women, and children. Christian militia leaders justified their massacring of women and children by saying: ‘Pregnant women will give birth to terrorists; the children when they grow up will be terrorists.’ The civil war finally ended in 1990, after the Taif agreement was signed in Saudi Arabia, between a lot of people who weren’t directly involved in the war. We discuss what happened next in our next podcast, about why they don’t teach Lebanese history in Lebanese schools, but if you don’t want to listen, the answer is: nothing. Everybody was told to go back to their lives, to ask no questions about the last 15 years, and not to blame anybody. The militia leaders, who had ordered the massacres of innocent civilians, became politicians. Syrian soldiers didn’t leave Lebanon until 2005, after the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, which most Lebanese people believe Syria ordered. The assassination of Hariri caused the Cedar Revolution, a popular protest against Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which resulted in the last Syrian troops leaving Lebanon. الحرب الأهلية لبنانية الحرب الأهلية لبنانية بلشت سنة 1975 , أستمرة 15 سنة , وخلصت سنة 1990 . تسببت بموت 150 ألف شخص , وتسببت بهروب 1 مليون شخص من لبنان . دمرت المناطق لكبيري بالبلد , خاصتاً العاصمة بيروت . متل ما قلنا بالبودكاست الماضي , الحرب الأهلية بلشت بالتوتر بين منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية والشعب لبناني . هاجمت منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية أسرائيل من لبنان , و أسرائيل ردة . لبنانيين ما كانو مبسوطين عن هذا , خاصتاً الميليشيات المسيحية . الميليشيات الفلسطينية و الميليشيات المسيحية بلشو يقتلو أهم أفراد ميليشيات العدو . كل مرة حدا يقتل فرد من أفراد الثاني ,القتل صار يسوء أكثر . أنتقم المسيحين من الفلسطينين الأبرياء , وخلو المشكلي تسوء كثير . أستمر هذا حتى مجزرة البوسطة بنيسان سنة 1975 , لما المسيحيين وقفوا بوسطة ملياني فلسطينيين مدنيين , وقتلوهن كلن . هذي كانت بداية الحرب . الميليشيات الأسلامية والفلسطينية ردو الهجوم . وبلشو يقتلو المسيحيين , وبسبب هذا , المسيحيين قتلو فلسطينيين أكثر . الحرب كانت فضيعة , وغير أنسانية . في حدا قتل 4 أشخاص مسيحيين ببيروت . بشير جميل , القائد لوحدي من الميليشات المسيحية أمر بقتل 40 شخص مسلم للأنتقام . الميليشيات المسيحية عملو حواجز بالشوارع . لأنو هذا جزء طبيعي من الحياة بلبنان , أستنو الناس بسياراتن بصبر ليمرقو . ولما وصلو على حاجز التفتيش , الميليشيات تحققت من بطاقات هوياتن وقتلتن أذا كانو من الدين الغلط .و الميليشيات الأسلامية عملو نفس الشي . الحرب صارت بين الاديان . تقريباً 300 مسيحي و 300 مسلم ماتو بهذاك اليوم , يلي بيسمو هلق السبت الاسود . الحرب الأهلية لبنانية معقدة جداً , وكل الأديان بلبنان بالنهاية شاركت . الخط الفاصل كان نوع من التدين , ولكن كان كمان طبيعي ,وقسمو بيروت لشرقية وغربية .وشرق بيروت كان أسلام , وغرب بيروت كان مسيحية . وبعدا أغلبيات هذي الاديان موجودي بهي المناطق ببيروت لليوم , والخط الفاصل بين لثنين , ليوم هوي وسط المدينة وساحة الشهداء يلي كانت مدمرة تماماً . والخط الفاصل كان فكري كمان . ونحازة الأحزاب الشيوعية للفلسطينيين , يلي بيعكس تحالفات الحرب الباردة . بعد سنة ونص و 40 ألف قتيل , سوريا وصلت ,وجابو ألاف الرجال وحتلو مدينة بيروت كلا , بأمل يسيطرو على أراضي الميليشيات الفلسطينية , ويوقفو الحرب يلي كانت عم تصير وعم بتزيد سوء على عتبت دارن . هني قالو أجو ليحمو المسيحيين القرووين يلي طلبو مساعدتن . لما كان هذا الشي عم بيصير , أسرائيل كانت عم تبعث سلاح وعم تدعم الميليشات المسيحية . منظمة التحرير الفلسطينبة طبعاً كانت بعدا عم تهاجم أسرائيل , و بسنة 1977 و بسنة 1978 هاجموا أسرائيل من قواعدن لبنانية عدة مراة . بعد ما 11 رجل من الميليشات الفلسطينية هاجمو قاعدتين بأسرائيل , وقتلو 37 شخص , أسرائيل حتلت جنوب لبنان . طلبت الأمم المتحدة من أسرائل أنو تنسحب فوراً , و أنشئت اليونفل , وقوة حفظ السلام الدولية يلي بعدا موجودي بلبنان لليوم . وأسرائيل نسحبوا بعد كم شهر , بس حافضوا على سيطرتن على الميليشيات الشيعية يلي دعمتا أسرائيل . أسرائيل غزت لبنان مرة ثاني سنة 1982 . ليش صار هذا معقد ؟ منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية هاجمت أسرائيل , و أسرائيل هاجمت منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية , نفس القصة . بنفس الوقت , أسرائل ما توقفت عند جنوب لبنان , أجت أسرائيل على بيروت بدعم من بعض الميليشيات المسيحية . هاجموا مخيمات الفلسطينين , وراعو شوي حياة النسوان ولولاد . وحدي من أسواء الأعمال الوحشية يلي رتكبتا مذبحة صبرا وشتيلا . وقتلو هني وحلفائن المليشيات المسيحية حوالي 3000 شخص شيعي لبناني وفلسطيني خلال يومين . بررو الميليشيا المسيحية ذبحن للنسوان ولأطفال بقولن : رح تجيب النسوان الحوامل أرهابيين :. لما يكبروا الأطفال رح يصيروا أرهابيين :. بسنة 1983 نسحبت أسرائيل , وضلت بس بجنوب لبنان قريبي من الحدود الأسرائيلية . وستمر العنف بين لبنانيين والمليشيات الفلسطينية . أخيراً خلصت الحرب سنة 1990 بعد توقيع أتفاق الطائف بالمملكة العربية السعودية , بين لكثير من الأشخاص يلي ما شاركوا مباشرة بالحرب . ناقشنا شو رح يصير بعدين بالبودكاست الجاي , عن ليش ما بيدرسوا التاريخ لبناني بالمدارس لبنانية , بس اذا ما بدك تسمع , الجواب هوي : ولاشي . كل حدا كان يقول رجعوا لحياتكن , ما تسأل ولا سؤال عن ال 15 سنة الماضي , وما تلوم حدا . زعماء الميليشيات يلي عطوا الاوامر بالمجازرعلى لناس الأبرياء , صاروا سياسيين الجيش السوري ما طلع من لبنان حتى سنة 2005 , بعد أغتيال رفيق الحريري , يلي معظم لبنانيين بيصدقو أنو سوريا أمرة بهذا . أغتيال رفيق الحريري سبب بثورة الأرز , أحتجاج شعبي ضد الأحتلال السوري للبنان , يلي أدا لمغادرة أخر القوات السورية للبنان . Key vocabulary Caused: تسبب Capital: العاصمة Tensions:التوتر Especially:خاصتاً Members:أفراد Identity: هوية Approximately: تقريباً divide line: الخط الفاصل Communist:شيوعية Territories: أرهابيين Invaded: أحتلت Assassination: أغتيال
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