This article was written by Ernie Audino and appeared in Frontlines of Freedom. CHRISTIAN VILLAGES UNDER SIEGE – SOUTHERN LEBANON.
To most Americans with at least a passing interest in the Middle East, Lebanon to them is little more than Hezbollah and other Islamist terror groups. The forgotten reality, of course, is that in the period between the earliest days of Christianity in the 1st Century AD and the mid-1980’s, Lebanon was a Christian-majority nation. Several of the remaining Christian villages are located in Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s stronghold today, and are now more like besieged/surrounded prison camps than hometowns to simple farmers who worship the Prince of Peace.
The change to Muslim-majority accelerated after the tragic events of “Black September”, 16-27 September 1970, in neighboring Jordan. Following months of refusal to recognize legitimate local authorities in Jordanian towns and villages, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked 3 airliners, took the passengers hostage, landed in Jordan and blew up the aircraft. Jordanian King Hussein decided enough was enough and launched his Army against the PFLP and its allies in the PLO, Fatah and Syrian troops who entered Jordan to add muscle to the PLO. The result – thousands of Palestinians killed, the ejection of Yassar Arafat and his entire PLO from Jordan to Lebanon, and a complete victory for the Jordanians.
But it was simultaneously a loss for Lebanon, as the influx of multitudes of armed PLO members began to coerce elements of the Lebanese government. The situation grew only worse after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 when Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini chose to deploy Hezbollah terror units to Lebanon. The intended result – persecuted Christians died or displaced in numbers that transformed Lebanon into a Muslim-majority nation.
But of course, the Ayatollah was still not satisfied, so in concert with the inhumane Hamas attacks that he directed against Israel on 7Oct23, he also directed Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon to join the fight against Israel. Consequently, Israel countered with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which entered southern Lebanon to seize it from Hezbollah control. Not surprisingly, Hezbollah chose to fight from inside Christian homes, churches and villages, which put innocent Christians in the crossfire.
Today, the IDF is working to maintain security, but many buildings have been rubbled and Christians have become like prisoners in their homes, in many cases, chronically short on water, food, medicine, and restricted out of military necessity from frequenting their crops or places of employment.
My guest on the radio show this week, Dr. Fouad Abou Nader, knows the Lebanese Christian plight first-hand. He is the former Chief of Lebanese Forces during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). He began military training as a member of the Kaeteb Party (Christian, conservative and staunchly anti-communist), and then he was on the ground in the elite PG Division and saw extended, close combat against both the PLO and Syrian forces. WIA 3 times (total of 21 holes in his body), and then later in 1986 he was seriously wounded a 4th time in an assassination attempt on his life. Among many other roles, he is today President of Nawraj, an NGO that brings relief to the humanitarian needs of enclaved Christian villages in Southern Lebanon and works toward peaceful coexistence for all Lebanese. Click on the link to hear our discussion: https://frontlinesoffreedom.com/show-973/
