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He Has a Dream! | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem said that, on a flight from Damascus to Cairo, he dreamt of “a united Arab stand in support of Hezbollah and Hamas as a legitimate resistance”. The minister also dreamt that he saw the Secretary-General of the Arab League visiting the houses of victims in Gaza. He concluded that even dreams are no longer a legitimate right.

As long as we are in the fantasy realm, we had a dream of own that went like this; The Syrian embassy in Beirut, which doesn’t exist, send a representative to Hezbollah to inform them that they should not act in a manner that pushes Lebanon into war and total destruction. That is unless they coordinate with the Lebanese government to make sure shelters and safe houses are available for the weak and elderly.

The representative would then inform Hezbollah that they need to take into consideration Lebanon’s greater interests, in the same way that Syria is concerned for its citizens and wisely conducts its enmity with Israel. In this regard, the best example is the presence of Syrian prisoners in Israel and the continued occupation of the Golan Heights. All this has not lead Syria to burn its own country and subject its citizens to death and destruction, as is currently taking place in Lebanon.

We also dreamt of an Arab League meeting being held in the Golan Heights!

We dreamt that the statement from the Syrian parliament and the Baath party included Syrian territory and prisoners to the heroic communiqué which said, “The Syrian people is standing with all its strength by the brotherly Lebanese people and the national Lebanese resistance, which is defending its legitimate right to liberate its occupied land.” What is the meaning of this solidarity if all of Lebanon is being hit and burned, and we haven’t heard a single shot or seen a single missile launched from Syria , in support of Lebanon , on which missiles are pouring from land, sea and air!

Dreams…? What dreams! Reality tells us, Your Excellency, that Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah has morphed into a tape recording, since everyone who declares war in the name of the Arab and Muslim worlds eventually becomes one.

Reality, your Excellency, tells us that we are the sons of a conflict that will bring about one conflict after another, because we are the heroes of slogans and fight our battles through intermediaries. Those currently lamenting, from all sections, claim they are ready to be steadfast, sacrifice and fight Israel, until the last drop of Lebanese blood. Yes, Lebanese, as no one wants to bear responsibility.

The proprietors of slogans, from government and Arab ministers go to Arab meetings to give virtuous speeches, instead of discussing what can be done to protect the lives of Arab citizens.

I asked a senior Arab official about the minister’s dreams. “They are like the halo of light that Ahmadinejad saw in the United Nations,” he replied.

Your Excellency, we are the victims of reality and you want to make us the victims of your dreams? All our dreams, even if we are accused of treason, are for Hezbollah to be as wise as you are in dealing with the occupation of the Golan Heights and the issue of Syrian prisoners in Israel, until the time comes for an Arab summit in the Syrian Golan Heights.