Hundreds Rally in Beirut to Remember Civil War Missing
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Some 300 people rallied on Saturday to remember 17,000 people who disappeared during Lebanon's civil war, and called for action on behalf of the victims' families, organizers and participants said.
"Today is important because it shows we will not be silent," said activist and artist Zeina Daccache.
"We need to inform young Lebanese of the crimes that took place during the war. We should not stop talking, because if we do this will send a message that we have given up on truth."
The rally came on the 30th anniversary of the first gathering in Beirut on November 17, 1982 of families of disappeared, said Act for the Disappeared president Justine Di Mayo.
Participants marched along a route linking the city's Mathhaf area, where many disappearances took place, to three neighborhoods where the state has recognized the presence of mass graves.
The march was organized following a two-week campaign aimed at raising awareness on the issue, Di Mayo told AFP.
"It is clear that young people in particular were interested in the campaign, because in just two weeks, more than 10,000 people clicked 'like' on our Facebook page," she said.
Little has been done to investigate the high number of enforced disappearances during the 1975-1990 war that left more than 150,000 people dead, or bring redress to the families.
"Despite that, I think there is a real interest among the youth to know more about the disappeared, which they have heard so little about," said Di Mayo.
"The issue also unites people, because the disappeared come from across the political and sectarian spectrum. All sides were involved in 'disappearing' people during the war."
One participant believed that unless civil war crimes are investigated and the perpetrators face justice, the chances of another such conflict remain high.
"Every day, it feels to me like a new war is on the verge of breaking out here," said Hossam Mishaymesh, a 35-year-old photographer.
"I didn't lose anyone during the war, but I know many people who did. Their pain remains just as fresh today as it was when they first lost their loved ones.
"All Lebanese young people need to know about how awful the war was so that it doesn't happen again."
17 November 2012, 19:55
24
You're disgusting, you perfectly know that most of these "posers" are m3atarin. They have no power whatsoever to dig anywhere, not even in their own yard. Forget about politics and politicians, your comment is simply horrible and cold. You're sick.
18 November 2012, 07:27
15
@ FlameThrower:
a) since when do lebanese politicians care about their citizens? (m8/m14) FYI, before it split into two distinct entities, they ruled together 'till 2005. Did they care about the fate of the missing? NO
b) Lobbying??? if there isn't anything in it for the politicians, they won't budge an inch. Those people are mostly poor.... Get real FlameThrower.
c) 17.000 DNA tests would cost..... a bone. The State doesn't have money to generate electricity for the living, why would they spend loads for the missing? GET REAL!
18 November 2012, 04:28
16
We already know there are few dozens of them in Syria's prison (and this is a fact not an opinion)....... yet you do not mind being an ally of the Syrian regime. The Hezb on the other hand caused a costly war with Israel to retrieve couple of its prisoners there.I find that puzzling.
18 November 2012, 10:41
15
no politicians will back up these poor mothers. they are too afraid of telling the truth as they are all more or less involved. it is pure hypocrisy. and like that general who told them to forget and move on! tfeh, all should be held accountable and be forbidden to rule a party. all the leaders that are currently leading parties should be forbidden to exercise and their parties dismantled: that is the only way to look into the future.
they should all be trialed and interrogated on the massacres they ordered.
18 November 2012, 10:49
14
Since most politicians in power today in Lebanon are guilty of butchery... they have no reason to revive the horrors they created.
This easy to understand.
18 November 2012, 11:10
04
We should abolish this law of Amnesty and judge ALL active actors of the Lebanese Civil War as well as Post Civil War. From 'A' to 'Z'. We judge them, send the guilty ones to Roumieh, we replace the guilty ones by young dynamic, college educated politicians that were too you to have blood on their hands. A new Generation of politicians that will lead Lebanon to the 21st Century.
If any of you has a good internet connection, download and watch this documentary about Israel, look at what they've done, we can do better.
It's a torrent file from eztv.it which was aired Yesterday in the US.
http://eztv.it/ep/39714/visions-of-israel-xvid-ac3-mvgroup/
18 November 2012, 15:02
00
FT.Calling M14 names does not hide the fact that you are allying yourself to a regime that butchered thousands of lebanese.
Wateh ou bitdallak wateh mitlak mitle michel aoun and hassan nassrallah.
So sakir bouzak ou 2a7it.
