Over the past month I have received dozens of beautiful, heartfelt, supportive emails from Lebanese readers. Amongst the writers were people who described themselves as ex-Hezbollah supporters, secular Shi'a, Syrian, Sunni and Christian. Most of them used their real names, and I was very touched by their willingness to trust me. Interestingly, the only person who sent me a couple of unpleasant emails was a non-Lebanese NGO worker who described Beirut as his adopted home. Given the length of his emails, I don't think his NGO is keeping him very busy.
Only a couple of the people who wrote me asked me to refrain from publishing their letters, but they did not need to ask: I would not publish a letter unless the writer granted permission up front. But yesterday, I received the following letter from a Lebanese-Canadian who did just that. I've made one small edit, at his request. I cannot think of a better way to complete my series of blog posts about Lebanon, one year after the war. Thank you, Alain – and thank you, Alice Elfassy, for creating the connection.
My name is Alain Chammas, I am the husband of one of Alice Elfassy's two colleagues 
. I read the article as well, thought it was excellent, and forwarded it to a few Lebanese and Israeli friends.
I really enjoyed the article. Kudos for going there, kudos for writing your report, kudos for showing ordinary Israelis another, truer picture of what Beirut really is.
I have looked up and read a lot of the comments on your article, as well as the Daily Star reaction and your response to that. A little comment:
The human interest aspect: This is what it is all about. It is a tremendous opportunity to have Israelis get a picture of Beirut and the Lebanese differing from what they usually hear in the media, it is essential for them to see and understand that the average Joe in Lebanon isn't that different from the average Joe in Israel.
Unfortunately, the reverse isn't happening. You correctly point out in your reaction to the Daily Star that that newspaper often carries articles authored by Israelis, and that many Lebanese news outlets (LBC, Al-Manar, etc.) even have correspondents who broadcast live from Israel. But what is it they broadcast? Mainly pieces showing the political events or Palestinian sorrow. Not once have I seen or heard of a piece in any Lebanese or Arabic medium that would portray or interview ordinary Israelis, not once have the Lebanese and Arabs heard of a bon vivant Israeli population, with whom it can be fun to associate and enjoy oneself.
How can a country be demonized if its denizens are similar to us in many ways? We eat the same, sleep the same, bleed the same, laugh the same… this is not something the powers to be want to be known, lest the sense of the state of war with Israel be challenged.
You have met many Lebanese who think different, that is where the strength of our country lies. Many Lebanese would love to see the relationship with Israel normalized eventually. Of course, last year's war didn't help us move in that direction, it actually was the most counterproductive blunder of recent memory and it threw hopes for normalization back by decades. Most Lebanese will not state what I am saying in public, especially if they are living in Lebanon, but agree privately. This is (with the economy, which ties into the political situation) the main reason for the current wave of emigration, of which Lebanon has seen many in the last 35 years.
So, the path to normalisation should be helped along tremendously by work such as yours, and I hope to see more such reports from both sides of the border. It may be wishful thinking, but what else do we have than hope
About myself: I was born in Beirut in 1962 in a well-to-do family of Lebanese immigrants (ancestry is Assyrian, Armenian, Turkish, Greek, Albanian and Russian – in other words, a typical lebanese ). In 1967, I was 5 years old, we had to paint our lightbulbs blue and put dark blue craft paper on all window to throw off Israeli bombers. When I asked my mom who the Israeli were, I don't remember her exact words, but it was scary, in my mind, they were some sort of alien monsters.
In 1978, we moved to France, where friends introduced me to the writings of Ephraim Kishon, an Israeli journalist and writer. What a discovery! All of a sudden, the “alien monsters” had a human face, a sense of humor. My favorite pieces were those where he would write about his family, his sons Rafi and Amir and his daughter Renana, if I remember their names well. It was hilarious, they seemed to go through the same growing pains my sisters and me experienced, it was so close to the way I remembered life in Beirut.
In later years, I developed many good contacts with Jewish and Israeli friends. One of my favorite encounters was with one guy, a journalist in Ottawa (he may be elsewhere by now, I lost sight of him). He is my age, was born in Beirut like me, moved to Israel in 1967, and came back as a soldier in 1982. After leaving the IDF, he moved to Canada, where I got to know him through an online forum and eventually met him in Ottawa in 1995.
I am now living in Montreal (since 1989, actually), married (Micheline is also Lebanese, I met her in Montreal), two children, Jean and Rebecca Sarah Sadie Rachel (yes she has 4 names ). Many people ask me about her Jewish heritage, I tell them that I just like the names… and the people . (Actually, the last 3 names are from Micheline's and my ancestry, and we really liked Rebecca (or Raf'a, Rivka, and any variations )
So, I've rambled on enough, I guess. I hear from Alice that you will be in Montreal soon. If you can spare the time, I would be delighted to meet you and introduce you to the family.
Take care,
Alain Chammas PS: Feel free to use any of the stuff above, including my name, in any way you find useful.
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on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
on March 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm