A lot of the Lebanese populace will be spending this weekend either skiing their days away at resorts or clubbing the nights at various parties across the country, or, ironically, watching the “heroics” of an “American Sniper” at our cinemas.
As that “joie de vivre” manifests, however, the country will be burying 8 soldiers that passed away yesterday defending everyone against a looming threat at our borders, and whose heroics will fail to register with most.
Why did those 8 army soldiers die? Well, for one reason it’s because they live in a country led by so-called leaders who aren’t up to their title as they fail every single moment they “lead” to make the much-needed decisions that such times require.
Today, Lebanon is in an official state of mourning. No, it’s not mourning any of these 8 heroes who gave up their lives, not thinking of their families, of their children and of their wives, to defend us. Nope – the country is mourning a Saudi King whose country has worked tirelessly over the past few years to make sure the terrorists who killed our army soldiers are well-armed and ready to fight.
Because those soldiers live in a country that won’t remember them after the weekend has passed and where their names and faces would always remain unknown, I figured the best way to honor them is to make sure their face and their name are there for all of us to see.
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- Ahmad Tbeikh. He was 28 years old. He’s from Dores, Baalbak. Ahmad is married, without children.
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- Mohammad Nasreddine. He was 31 years old, from Kouweikh, Hermel. Mohammad is married and has one child.
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- Bilal Ahmad. He was 28 years old, from Shan, Akkar. He is married and has one child.
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- Mohammad Alaeddine. He was 19 years old from Jdeidet Marjeaayon.
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- Hassan Dib. He was 22 years old from Tekrit, Akkar.
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- Ahmad Dana. He was 26 years old from Saadnayel, Zahle.
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- Hassan Wehbe. He was 23 years old from Nebha, Baalbak.
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- Mojtaba Amhaz. He was 22 years old from Meqna, Baalbak.
I often hear that it is the job of the Lebanese Army to defend us at all costs, but that doesn’t mean those “costs” should be without recognition. Those army members who sacrifice everything in order to maintain the republic should have their sacrifices honored. Our government may not think the fallen soldiers of a battle deserve to have the country’s flags lowered for a couple of days, but these 8 people have an entire population lowering their heads to salute them.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 
Reblogged this on The Mideastwire Blog and commented:
The real state of mourning: “Faces of LAF Soldiers Who Died Defending Us Against ISIS In The Beqaa”
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Reblogged this on pascaline6.
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Thank you for this tribute! Thank you for saying high and loud our pain. Respect!
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Thank you for reading!
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Thank you for this tribute… I invite every Lebanese to do one thing whatever it may be to show support or tribute to the Lebanese Army. I dedicated my meditation today to all the Lebanese service men wherever they are to keep the strength and carry on. Respect!
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Thank you for reading. 🙂
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Welcome… Can you pls correct spelling of respect? I am allergic to typing errors…
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Done.
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Reblogged this on Lebanese Voices's Blog and commented:
May their souls rest in peace.
Soldiers betrayed by our disgusting failure of a parliament that is being hijacked by corrupt warlords are falling everyday.
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thank you for sharing this.
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It’s the least I can do.
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This blog should have much more than 3000 likers.. really.. soon nchallah
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You are missing something very important here, something more important than the Lebanese who go about their daily lives trying to live in a country that is almost unlivable: that the soldiers did not only die because of ISIS, but because of the incompetence of the Army leadership. Why was a squad of soldiers left alone to defend an outpost that the Army knew could be under attack? Why wasn’t the outpost sufficiently protected from at least a platoon size attack? Why did it take hours to retake the outpost? Where was the reserve force?
Sorry buddy, if u want to write a self righteous blog post, at least give the whole picture and discuss all the issues at hand. The Army, besides knowing that Ras Balbaak would be attacked, already has previous experience over the past year when some of their lightly defended posts were attacked and overrun, causing avoidable Army casualties. Why didn’t the Army command learn from these mistakes? Had they done so, and properly defended a high risk Army post, many of those 8 dead would still be alive. Therefore, the Army command is also responsible for these avoidable deaths.
How many more troops have to die, bravely following orders while knowing those orders could mean their death? If we are going to send those guys out there to defend us, we at least have to give them a fighting chance.
So please, instead of another “Lebanese are whack” blog post, you could have used the space to actual discuss a neglected part of the news on these attacks, one that could save Lebanese lives if addressed.
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Yes God Bless their Souls and help their families to deal with this. It is senseless, as all wars are, but I agree, if we are to have these necessary outposts, they must be manned with men and weapons sufficient to repel such attacks. Where are the ‘leaders’ of the army who should be planning the support of their young courageous sacrificial lambs.
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الله يرحمهم فانهم فخر وطننا
ولم يريد فنحن نخدم اهل الشهداء والجرحى كما نخدم الجرحى
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