|
Lebanon is a diverse and complex country, with 18 different communities living side by side in an area smaller than most American states. Power is shared between the three most populous sects — Christian, Shiite, and Sunni — with Lebanon's sizable Christian community making it the only non-Muslim Arab country in the Middle East. Though no new census has been conducted in the past thirty years, it is believed that the Christians and Shiite Muslims are the minority populations. Most of Lebanon is divided by these three major religious lines. People move freely between communities but rarely live in a different religious area. Even small towns in the south are separated by an invisible line; many people remain on their side of a village for their entire lives. Ironically, the war with Israel brought people together as one population regardless of religion. Lebanon's contradictory history is one of both abiding cultural, social, and religious tolerance, and extreme religious and political violence.  From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon was ravaged by a civil war between militias of the Christian and Muslim factions. Many foreign countries in Europe and the Middle East contributed arms and funds to support the warring militias, as did the United States and Israel. Some interpret the war as Muslim versus Christian, others that it was purely political, still others that it was a complex combination of the two. The only thing agreed upon is that all of the people of Lebanon paid dearly.  As much as 7% of the population was killed during the civil war. It is estimated that more than 100,000 were killed, another 100,000 maimed, and approximately 17,000-20,000 people are still unaccounted for. 80% of the killed, injured, and missing were civilians with no militia affiliation. During sixteen years of war, both Christian and Muslim militias killed thousands in massacres, usually in retaliation for attacks carried out by the opposing side.   Recently, Lebanon was on its way to a complete recovery from a decade and a half of war. Beirut was largely rebuilt and the tourist business was returning, the different communities learning to live again with each other peacefully.   But once again the cloud of war hangs over the country – the one thing that never seems to change. Every new generation learns to hate. Whether it's the neighboring country or the community next door, violence continues to be a major element of life for all the people of Lebanon.   
|
|