Dedication

“..To the gullible, self-conceited and fooled, to those good people who still believe that there are in Lebanon political leaders who deem exploitation a crime and decency a virtue in a land, which over several generations, has hailed the murderer as a hero, the manipulator as a genius and those who can steal and loot but refrain from it as ‘idiots’! 

..This comes as no surprise because the talks about corruption, state funds’ sharing, suspicious investments and both political and governmental influence peddling are not restricted to the most recent term of Bechara El-Khoury1, which is being called today, even by those who profited the most from it, ‘the decaying term’. Rather, they are deep-seated and firmly established talks that date back to the era of Emir Bashir2 and the Tannoukhis. 

What the Eddés3 said afterwards about Bechara El-Khoury’s term was no different than what the constitutionalists used to say about Emile Eddé’s.

No one was spared the accusations of corruption and abuse; those outside the Serail never cease fighting the ones inside. And those inside the Serail attempt endlessly to distort the image of the ones outside it. 

Against the backdrop of a rumor on the near dissolution of their Parliament, MPs started to frequent both Parliament and the Serail, wondering when it wou ld all be over. 

From one conversation to the next, they would always reach the point of arguing, which would eventually culminate in fighting. Each of them would bash the other as bad and corrupt, leading the Commissariat4 to view the council with further contempt and ponder the need for its speedy dissolution, for, amidst the international crisis, and by taking Beirut as the command center for the troops of the Allies in the Orient, it would be necessary to dispose of an erratic and chaotic parliament that would cause the Commissariat and the military big trouble.

One day, the author of this book heard an ugly argument unfold between MPs who were bickering with one another in Parliament’s hallways, saying all the hideous things recorded below:

Roukuz Abou Nader spoke first, lashing out at Khalil Abou Jaoudeh:

“You stood by the Serail ladder and started hoarding cash and bargaining for jobs and appointments in municipalities.” 

Abou Jaoudeh fired back saying: 

“And you brokered a deal with the Manboukh water company and took your share of the eight million francs which you ordered the government and some MPs to provide!”

Mohammad Abboud addressed Sheikh Farid Kazen “You are the one who has a share in the hashish farming in Akkar and Baalbeck and the French found out about you!”

He then moved to Youssef Khazen saying “It was you who accepted money from the Syrian bank upon renewal of the contract. Since the bank fell under French control, it is undoubted that its director handed the Commissariat a list of the names of all MPs who were paid to remain silent and approve the deal, which makes us in the eyes of the French looters and thieves.”

“You were the one who requested money from the petroleum company in return for facilitating the approval of its concession. The company had to turn to the French authorities and said regrettably “I would like to grant the Lebanese Treasury all that it asks for from the very bottom of my heart, but I am uncertain if I should grant Lebanese MPs their requests,” said Youssed Zein.

The people of hell continue trading blame and bickering as Sheikh Farid attacks Khabbaz  saying “You transformed Parliament into a cave for thieves... You are Ali Baba.”

Another yells as he quarrels with Roukoz Bek “you are the one who spared no municipality in your region the jizyah and you are the one who sold Mukhtar posts and order of merits for monetary gains!”

“It is you who sold the beaches for cheap to Ajram5 and allowed him to establish his famous Hammam resort, whereas the sea and its shore belong to the state and no one else is to take possession of them,” said Sheikh Farid to a well-known deputy from Beirut. 

“You are protecting boardinghouses and debauched discos and gambling centers in exchange for a hoard of fees, pretty much like what Al Capone did in the US,” blamed another deputy. 

 However, at that time, it was not possible to stage a rebellion by the sword and force and protests because the French were there. 

Had the French not been here, had the country been as independent as it was after 1943, had the opponents not feared the Senegalese6, they would have done exactly what yesterday’s opponents did when they revolted against Bechara Khoury, for under his term, the Senegalese had withdrawn their daggers and left this land. We no longer feared them or feared the darkness of their faces. 

The reasons that made the 1952 uprising a national necessity were pretty similar to those, which, under that era, also called for resentment and revolting against the state. In addition, the political brazenness had not reached at that time the levels it does today; a brazenness which led many of those who were key players in corruption and bargaining to boast shamelessly about their objectivity and brand themselves as reformists and purifiers of the new era, at a time when there are very few Lebanese politicians who can pride themselves, rightfully, for their neutrality and decency. 

Yes, we would like to emphasize that corruption, disorder and looting were indeed the features of the previous era but those who slammed that era were not all innocent of theft and it is not possible that the memory of many of them could have betrayed them to such an extent that they have forgotten today what they did yesterday. Even if there was nothing but those stacks of money they are now enjoying along with their pretention of impartiality and decency, that should be enough for them to recall at every hour of the day that they, too, were thieves and looters.”

 

1    First post-independence President of Lebanon. He held office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, except for an 11-day interruption.

2    Lebanese Emir who ruled Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century.

3    Proponents of the Eddé family and President Emile Eddé, who served as the president of Lebanon for 11 days, from 11 to 22 November, 1943. He had previously served as president from 1936 to 1941.  

4    France’s High Commission in Lebanon.

5    Ajram beach is still in use today. 

6     Soldiers drafted by the French.