Corriere della Sera – pag. 11 – 06.12-1985
I would like to recall the precarious situation of Arab Christians in the Middle East. The Arabic-speaking countries are predominantly Muslim, with a total of 120 million inhabitants, 12 million of whom are Christians, in a minority in all countries, except Lebanon. In the Arab world Lebanon is the only country in which a Christian enjoys all the rights of a citizen for the same amount of a Muslim. This is the reason why Christians in the Middle East look to Lebanon as a country of refuge in the event of heightened discrimination and where Lebanese, especially Christians, are determined to safeguard their identity. Following the partition of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, the various confessions lived together peacefully. In the last 30 to 40 years this coexistence has been exploited by international elements outside the control of the Lebanese themselves, culminating in the events that everyone knows and with the latent danger that the only refuge of Arab Christians might disappear. They are now refugees in their own country, “aware” of being Christians. In the last 18 months, 125,000 Christians scattered among the various regions with a Muslim majority (Chouf and South) have been forced to abandon everything and take refuge in safer territory or emigrate abroad. Why does almost no one speak of this silent tragedy?
Giuseppe Samir Eid
Free web translation from the original in Italian
The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.