EDITORIAL: Lebanon bears too heavy a burden

Whenever the current stream of terrorism ends it may well be followed by another extremist organization or marginalized individuals whose beliefs are not in accordance with civilized nations. There is concern that such people will be influenced by what they hear, watch and learn and sacrifice their lives in an act of terrorism. 

The Perpetrators of the massacres of Charleston, South Carolina, Aeser in Grenoble, the Tunisian resort of Sousse and the Sadiq Mosque Kuwai were most likely motivated by the extremist action highlighted in the media in recent months. The spread of the terrorism and the expansion of extremist organizations are entering many societies such as what happened in France with the atrocities seen with the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris.

A concern is that the catalyst to commit such atrocities is from terrorists believing in their infallibility and misguided righteous stance while despising every outsider to justify their actions.

This clash between cultures causes breakdown of diverse national societies and explodes in fierce conflict which we now see in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and spreading to North Africa, the countries of the Near East and beyond to impact on many nations.

Unfortunately these conflicts leave enormous human tragedies resulting in the violation of dignities, enslavement and eradication of innocent souls that are forced to flee and left homeless. These people are deprived of their way of life and coerced to live in refugee camps waiting for charity to survive.

Lebanon, a geographically narrow country, but of welcoming hospitality and dense inhabitants bears a big burden with refugees. This has been an uneasy solution with growing concerns that the Syrian refugees are trying to cause social unrest and demands on the Lebanese economy and security. Lebanese co-exist with some two million refugees who have settled in the country, although Lebanon is not a signatory state of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Authorities deal with the Syrians as refugees, in line with relevant international conventions. Kuwait had hosted three international conferences during which donors pledged billions of dollars’ worth of aid for the war-stricken Syrian people. Seventy percent of newly-born Syrian babies are deprived of official registration documents.

Lebanon is a modern civilized, harmonious country in its geographical location, more so than its neighboring countries. Friendly countries are encouraging Lebanon to support its stability by its army and security forces to reinforce its political environment and its economy by removing obstacles that restrain constitutional benefits. The influence of a high number of refugees is a growing concern for stability within.

                                                                         Editor in Chief