Foreign Policy magazine published an article by the American journalist of Lebanese origin Hisham Melhem, in which he believed that the Lebanese people are still in a state of astonishment because of the disaster that befell them as a result of the bombing of the Beirut port last week, and yet there is much evidence that a wave of anger is escalating It is being formed against "the criminal political class that ruled Lebanon with lies, illusions, fear, corruption and inequality," as he put it.
Melhem said - in an article titled "Will Lebanon rise from the ashes?" Hard times have passed in Lebanon before, but the Lebanese people have not been subjected to a test like the one they have recently gone through. Lebanon has experienced a glimpse of the end of the world, which was the result of decades of political imbalance, neglect, corruption and the plunder of economic resources and public assets by an established and illegal alliance of families. Feudal politics, past and current warlords, and influential wealthy people.
According to the author, that corruption reached its culmination in the explosion that destroyed the entire Beirut port area, causing massive damage to buildings and facilities in a circle of up to 5 miles from the port, and destroyed the huge grain silo in the port, part of which remained standing as an ancient historical relic of a civilization. Bygone.
The writer explained that the repercussions of the Beirut port explosion, which he described as an earthquake of man-made. It will last for many years to come.
For Lebanon to rise
The writer presented an aspect of the history of the conflicts, the Syrian intervention and the Israeli occupation in Lebanon, which produced the current deteriorating reality of the country, and said that Hezbollah has penetrated all official Lebanese institutions, including the armed forces and most internal security services, and now controls the port and airport of Beirut, and that any A serious and independent investigation into the explosion must acknowledge Hezbollah's ability to have unlimited access to the port, because the confiscated ammonium nitrate cache that caused the explosion that flattened the port and destroyed large parts of Beirut can be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
Melhem believed that there is no salvation for Lebanon, let alone building a civil state and good governance, unless Hezbollah's influence is reduced or completely eliminated, as he put it.
He said that the Western countries that are still interested in helping the Lebanese people should insist on a transparent international investigation into the Beirut bombing, and that the United States of America should assist in the investigation with its great technical expertise.
It should also provide international aid through local and international NGOs in the future, indicating that Lebanese officials may reject serious reforms if their ill-gotten gains are revealed.
The writer concluded by expressing his hope that the disaster of the Beirut port explosion would motivate the Lebanese to think and act as a unified people. He said that the time has come for the Lebanese people to shake the entire country again with the chant of the revolutionaries: "They all mean all of them", and work this time to achieve that.