More power to the
resistance By Syed Saleem
Shahzad
SOUTH LEBANON - A bombed bridge at
Zahran near the border with Israel is the first
landmark of a war zone. There are grim scenes
everywhere, from huge craters to destroyed cars
and buildings.
There is a constant noise
as Israeli planes criss-cross the sky. People
don't know when the next attack will come. Nerves
are frayed.
"Don't stop. Keep moving, man!
You'll be a sitting duck for Israeli planes,"
shouted a female journalist coming from Beirut as
I took a picture of a bombed car on a main road
near Qasmeyeh village, close to the city of Tyre.
We passed through many deserted towns and
villages on the way
to
Tyre; they seemed like ghost towns. Many walls
were plastered with pictures of Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iranian
revolution of 1979 ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni, and
dozens of Hezbollah martyrs.
A
radio announcement explained the absence of
people: more than 50 people, most of them women
and children, had died when
Israeli
jets bombed a building in Qana, about 20
kilometers from Tyre. People were literally hiding
for their lives. Israel subsequently agreed to a
48-hour suspension of air strikes in Lebanon.
"Israeli planes are hitting anywhere of
their choice and this has caused major
destruction. People are displaced from their
towns," said a volunteer, Abdul Karim, in Sidon,
which has become a center for the internally
displaced refugees of south Lebanon.
All
the same, Sidon is still a danger zone. On Sunday
morning, Israeli planes bombed the Imam Jafer
Sadiq Mosque in the heart of the city, as the
mosque is administrated by Hezbollah sympathizers.
"Approximately 80,000 people have been
displaced here over the three weeks of the Israeli
bombings," said Karim. "Others have taken refuge
with their relatives in Beirut or other cities,
while those who do not have relatives are taking
shelter in schools, hospitals and other places.
There are 51 of these refugee centers."
Conversations with some of the refugees
reveal that while most of the women seek
sanctuary, for the men it is a different story.
"Three of my sons are leading the
resistance in Der Amis [Tyre]," said Abu Ali
Hussain Abdullah, 50. "I have seven children, four
are daughters, so I have my wife and four
daughters here in Sidon. As soon as I get my
family settled with my relatives in Beirut or
another safe place, I will also join the
resistance."
Becoming misty-eyed, Abdullah
said he thinks of his sons constantly, but they
are all committed to the "cause".
"Our
mission is to defeat Israeli designs to capture
our land, and once I get a chance I will also join
hands with my sons," said Abdullah.
Jamileh, 70, told a similar story. Her
house was hit by an Israeli bomb and all female
members were sent away to safe areas. But the men
had only one destination - the mountain fastness
where Hezbollah is dug in against Israeli forces.
On Sunday afternoon, the first shipment of
aid reached the port of Tyre via the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The 120-tonne
shipment basically comprised food, especially for
the border villages of southern Lebanon where
there is a serious humanitarian crisis.
"We spoke to Israel before the shipment
arrived in Tyre. Israel gave us the green signal
that it would allow us to distribute the aid, but
later it revoked its clearance, and now we wonder
how to utilize this aid," an aid worker in Tyre
told Asia Times Online on the condition of
anonymity.
"We cannot go public to
describe which towns Israel has refused to let us
supply as this would jeopardize our operations,"
commented Roland Hugelin, the media relations
officer of the ICRC in Lebanon.
"Everybody
knows where Hezbollah is sitting. Certainly they
are not in the cities. They are in the mountains,
but still Israel targets urban centers ... you
know why?" asked Habib al-Kabir, a resident of
Tyre. He then answered himself, "Because now each
and every child, young and old, boys and girls,
are Hezbollah ... they will defend their country."
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Bureau
Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online. He can be
reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing
.)
Israeli
jets bombed a building in Qana, about 20
kilometers from Tyre. People were literally hiding
for their lives. Israel subsequently agreed to a
48-hour suspension of air strikes in Lebanon.
