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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
| Insulted Syrians boycott 'everything Lebanese' | ||
| 2005-03-21 | ||
| DAMASCUS: Businessman Osama Mohammed is so insulted by the anti-Syrian curses Lebanese protesters are chanting and by reports of Syrians being murdered in Lebanon he has stopped going to Beirut to shop, dine and watch movies. "I'm boycotting everything Lebanese until my dignity is restored," said Mohammed. Hotel executive Imad Mansour has withdrawn his life's savings from a Lebanese bank because he has lost trust in Lebanon's economy - which has been a boost to Syria's economy for years - and worries he will have no access to his money if that country becomes too dangerous for Syrians. And Ali Serhan, who has been driving his cab to Lebanon for 10 years, barely finds customers for the three-hour trip across the border. Many Syrians suddenly feel embittered and insecure in a country where they had always felt at an advantage. During 29 years of control in their tiny neighbor, Syrians have come to see Lebanon as an engine of wealth, a place to play and a source of jobs for Syria's many unemployed. And they have always been told by the government that their troops - deployed in 1976 initially as peacekeepers in Lebanon's civil war and reaching up to 40,000 at one point - were benefiting the Lebanese by helping preserve stability. But that control has started to erode after Syria completed the pullback of its forces and intelligence agents from western Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley a few days ago. Now Syrians are seeing the sneering banners, jibes and chants - sometimes outright obscene - that Lebanese protesters have directed at the Syrians during street rallies, and they have heard the anti-Syrian jokes, some of them racist and cruel, spread by e-mail and phone text messages in Lebanon. And they're hearing reports of attacks on Syrians. One Syrian has been confirmed killed and several injured in stabbings and limited clashes following the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, blamed by many Lebanese on Syria or the Damascus-allied government. Reports in the Syrian media say 35 Syrians have been killed, but there has been no official Syrian or Lebanese confirmation of that figure. Lebanese opposition leaders have urged protesters not to attack Syrians. Syria's tight hold kept Lebanese from voicing resentment toward Syria's presence until recently, meaning Syrians heard little of it directly; and Syria's state-run media painted the presence only as a benefit to Lebanon. Syrian leaders often say the Syrians and Lebanese are "one people in two countries," and the late President Hafez Assad once said: "What is between Syria and Lebanon is God-made." But in a speech on March 5, President Bashar Assad became the first Syrian official to publicly admit that not "all our acts in Lebanon were correct." "Yes, there were mistakes, but what we're seeing from the Lebanese is spite and hatred," said Mohammed, the businessman, as he ate a dinner of chicken and rice with three friends at a trendy Damascus cafe. "The Syrian soldiers sacrificed their lives for Lebanon's stability. We're getting ingratitude in return." His friend, Shadi Thafer, a 31-year-old physiotherapist, recounted the story of a Syrian colleague whose car windows were smashed in Lebanon's skiing resort of Faraya a few days ago. Noor Moussa told the men the issue was not so much Syrian-hating Lebanese as an American plot to weaken Arab countries and consolidate U.S. control over oil resources and ensure Israel's security. "America is an empire that aspires to spread its influence outside its borders and doesn't want to have powerful nations in the region," said Moussa, a 28-year-old radiologist, sipping thick black coffee. "Close ties between Lebanon and Syria make the two countries strong." The fear and paranoia are not only among Syrians. Shopkeepers in Damascus say there's a huge drop in Lebanese coming to shop for cheaper clothes, fabric and food on the weekend. "The passenger situation is not normal," said Serhan, the driver. "I used to make up to three trips a day before. Now I barely make a couple a week."
Andrew Tabler, a Damascus-based fellow at the Institute of Current World Affairs and consulting editor for Syria Today, pointed out Lebanese banks still service the majority of foreign-currency letters of credit that allow Syrians to import goods, partly because the facilities do not exist in Syria and also because Syria has been under U.S. sanctions that were imposed in 1979 and strengthened last year. "Going through Lebanon is a good way to get around (the sanctions)," said Tabler.
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 until my dignity is restored Lol - since he's an Arab, that will be a while. |
| Posted by: Spot 2005-03-21 4:01:38 PM |