tayyar.org – This is how the ambassador says goodbye to Lebanon

British Ambassador Chris Rampling wrote a sentimental speech on the occasion of the end of his duties in Lebanon, and in it he stated:

Lebanon has changed a lot since my arrival, especially during the last fourteen months. We arrived in this country with my wife and our two children on Monday, 2018, and we were filled with great hopes. Before I came, while still in London, I heard Yasmine Hamdan sing “Beirut” and I knew ever since that she was coming to the most beautiful City on Earth at all (and I keep saying the same thing).

Today, however, sadness fills the eyes of the Lebanese, whose words are words of despair. Almost half of the workforce is unemployed and more than half live in poverty. The British Minister for Middle Eastern Affairs has been signaling for two weeks about a human tsunami. Many families have separated, talents and experiences have migrated in number. Cities at night are darker and in more ways than one.

In my farewell meetings there was a climate of reflection on how these crises converge. Lebanon did not cause the refugee crisis nor did it provoke the Crown crisis, but the economic crisis and the explosion on August 4 were locally made. Added to all this was the deep political crisis accompanied by a worsening social crisis. I found no evidence that Lebanon has a system or leadership that charts a way out. Leaders did not put on the mantle of responsibility when they drew up a roadmap and urgent investment promises in 2018 or again this year.

Everyone is tired, tired, but I hope that no one stops defending Lebanon. I met amazing people in this country: people working for change, others studying in the UK, lots of creative entrepreneurs and the most supportive government employees. But some things are rotten: the sponsorship system, for example, is a disgrace to Lebanon’s reputation and its freedom of expression is under great pressure. Lebanon has always been a regional pioneer in the field of freedoms and human rights, but today it is a country that takes one step forward, two more steps back.

Some traditional parties may accuse me of interfering in the affairs of the country, but my wife and I, Liz, love Lebanon, and we will miss our Lebanese Sunni, Shiite, Maronite, Druze, Armenian and Catholic friends … Lebanon is the fifth country. Arabic in which we live and more that made us return home with our children. I see with qualities of hope. The slogans of enterprise and openness of the Lebanese people have been consumed and the resistance is no longer what it was. But everything else remains the same.

The most important thing is that today everything is on the table. Politics has to change and this process will be enriched with ideas. The power of the October 17 revolution not only dates back 14 months, but most of those seeking a better future remain. Your modern culture remains a reference adorned by a dynamic youth. But sectarianism has stifled political thought, and success requires current and future leaders to step out of the chair distribution. They have to skip the existing groups.

Second, the Lebanese will remain in the countries of emigration, their greatest source of power. These Lebanese abroad do not want to invest in a failed business model: the business model they were looking for could be a source of pride, but they no longer see it as such. Lebanon must rebuild its economic model (the IMF roadmap is correct) and ensure an attractive and sustainable framework. A new trend that addresses industry, technology and tourism. Achieving this requires more than one strategy: electricity is evidence that the political concessions required for its implementation are the biggest challenges. With a new national consensus and a focus on results and planning, your people are joining forces with their international friends to drive this growth again. And then the British-Lebanese trade agreement is at the center of this event.

Third, the international community remains strongly united. I always hear that France and the United States are fighting, but I don’t see that. They and with them, like the UK, share analysis and conclusions and see the same opportunities and risks (eg security institutions and the education system in Lebanon, which need support). There are differences in how things are approached, but the convergence is much greater than these differences. And when we start to worry about participation, instead of looking for ways to fill the irresponsible void, then it can be considered that we have entered a phase of indifference towards this country.

Let it be clear that continued support for Lebanon has become more difficult. The UK will continue to support security, education and the most vulnerable, and we are very proud of all that we have accomplished with the Lebanese Army and of all that we have accomplished in education and support for poor communities over the last decade. But the Corona pandemic is imposing financial hardship on us, and therefore on our friends as well. Lebanon has to fight harder for superficial resources, political paralysis never helps, and lack of credibility is the biggest international problem for its country.

I did not mention Hezbollah or the normalization that is changing the face of the region. Patriarch Al-Rahi was right when he again called for impartiality. A country that truly aspires to stability and security cannot have weapons outside the authority of the state, especially when these weapons are used outside the borders of this state. Not taking a position on this is precisely what precludes it.

Lebanon is a special country whose people deserve better than this. You deserve leaders, government officials, financial experts, and entrepreneurs who are accountable, transparent, and accountable. However, this is not as easy as an apple falling from an apple tree in the Bekaa Valley. It takes effort and effort.

My last call to those leaders, government officials, financial experts and entrepreneurs, your country is a friend and we love your people. But you, not us, have the reins of power. You, more than all leaders, will be remembered and judged for what you did in the most urgent moments. “