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The complete truth …….for the sake of Lebanon
To our partners in the nation
By: Roni
Harb and the Association of Syriac culture
To every Lebanese, to every
politician, to whomever wanting to know the truth. We give you now one
truth that you either has forgot or you are neglecting it or you really
don’t know it yet.
Since the independence through the
¨Taif agreement¨ until the murder of ex Prime Minister Rafic Hariri we
have heard many speeches and people screaming slogans with one particular
mistake that is eliminating the history and true identity of at least half
of Lebanese people.
The wrong choice of words comes
when you say ¨we the Arab Lebanese¨ as there are no other people in
Lebanon but the Arabs.
We the Syriac Christians have
lived in this land since the dawn of time and we have had great and unique
civilization that in many ways still exists.
Our Canaanite Phoenician Syriac
Arameans roots are non Arab roots. Indeed our historians, linguistics and
writers have contributed a lot to the Arabic society and civilization
since the seventh century. They have spread the Arabic language and
developed it but that does not make them Arabs. We can still see that most
of our villagers and towns from far north to far south having Syriac
names. Our grandmothers and grandfather spoke the Syriac mother language
until the last century and we can still see many traces of it in the
spoken Lebanese language.
Our national responsibility today
and especially in these historical times when you are calling for unity is
that we make clear for everybody the truth of our true identity, the
Middle Eastern Syriac Aramaic identity.
You are calling for unity; we
believe that we need to accept pluralism first.
The Pope Johannes Paul’s the
second, God be with his soul, said that Lebanon is not just a country; it
is also a message of freedom and an example for pluralism in the West and
East.
Why are you only calling for
Arabism?
Why are you trying to melt
everybody in one and same identity?
Why are you denying us the right
for our identity when we are your partners in the nation?
How can we build a strong nation
if we don’t accept each other as we are?
Dear brothers and sister, we know
the truth and only the truth shall set us free.
We are proud of our Syriac Aramaic
identity so please accept it because it is our condition for the true
common living and partnership in the nation.
You want to know the truth; this
is one of our main truths in our lives.
Hoping that we will find out all
the other truth we together are requesting.
Your brothers and sisters in the
nation
Children of the Syriac Maronite
church and all the other Syriac Churches in Lebanon. |
