Dozens of Shiites displaced by Israeli bombings wait this Saturday on the steps of the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque in Beirut, the largest in the country. They have spent the night in the streets or beaches to end up in the enormous Plaza de los Mártires, following that very human instinct to go, in moments of uncertainty, where they expect to find more people. Most had escaped the day before from Dahiye, the Shiite suburb south of the capital, because of something they did not yet know: the one-ton Israeli bomb they heard had ended the life of Hasan Nasrallah, much more for them than the Hezbollah leader. The Israeli army had announced it, but not yet “the party” and they, by definition, believe little in the first and a lot in the second. Suddenly, everything happens: Hezbollah confirms Nasrallah’s death; His television channel, Al Manar, interrupts the live news and begins broadcasting prayers, and a motorcyclist crosses the street shouting with a mixture of rage and pride: “Sayyed Hassan [su título honorífico] He is a martyr! Sayyed Hassan is a martyr!” Bursts of gunshots into the air as a sign of mourning break the silence while men, women, children and the elderly begin to cry, put their hands on their heads or look compulsively at their phones. It’s as if everyone had been orphaned at the same time.
A woman stands up and begins a tirade between sobs: “Sayyed is not dead, he is not dead! It’s too early for you to leave us… Abu Hadi [por su primogénito, asesinado por Israel en 1997]do you hear me?, do you hear me?! It’s not true, Israel is lying. We need to continue listening to your voice every week. It just can’t be. You promised we would pray in Jerusalem, you promised! Where are the Arab leaders while you spent your entire life defending Gaza? Where?”.
She is not the only one in denial. The majority insists on adding “if it is true” when reacting to the news that Hezbollah itself has just given. They repeat the usual words: “Dignity”, “resistance”, “Palestine”, “Jerusalem”… But none of them cling to the argument that death is inevitable; martyrdom, an honor; and “for every fallen man, there are a thousand” willing to succeed him. The followers of Hezbollah used to emphasize this in these last days of relentless Israeli blows, after each assassination of its leaders or each remote detonation of its electronic devices. Not today.
“There is no one like him, who is going to succeed him?” admitted Ahmed Zefater, 25, confused. “He gave dignity to the Arabs, he defended the Palestinians, he wanted to defend Al Aqsa [la Explanada de las Mezquitas de Jerusalén]…I hope it’s not true. If he is, may God have mercy on him. “He has sacrificed himself for Palestine and protected us from both the Islamic State and Israel.”
Zefater is not displaced. He works in the area and the news has shocked him so much that he has approached the square – still with a look of disbelief – to share his sadness. Or for someone to convince him that it’s all a dream. Nasrallah had been leader for 32 years and few thought that Israel would guess where he was hiding or dare to shoot so high, as it did in 1992 with his less iconic predecessor, Abbas al Musawi. Nasrallah was “the great man of the resistance,” as Hussein, 32 years old, Shiite, married to a Palestinian and with a pendant around his neck from historical Palestine, calls him.
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official mourning
The commotion has passed into the political sphere. Prime Minister Nayib Mikati has declared three days of official mourning that will begin on Monday, with flags at half-mast in all official institutions. On the day of the funeral, public administrations, town halls and public and private institutions will also close, according to the official decree.
Other political leaders of different faiths have praised the figure. Like the historic Druze leader Walid Jumblat, who has included him in the “long caravan of martyrs on the road to Palestine”, or Michel Aoun, the former Maronite president who lamented the loss of “a distinguished and honest leader”. In the Syrian province of Idlib, however, the largest rebel stronghold against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad (and his allies Hezbollah and Russia), the assassination has been celebrated as a victory, despite being the work of a common enemy.
Beirut has become almost a ghost city. Of course, in Dahiye, the Hezbollah stronghold where Nasrallah was assassinated and where you can count the pedestrians and vehicles on one hand. All the shops are closed and you can see buildings burned from the increasingly frequent bombings. The Israeli army launched its second bombing of the year in Dahiye last week, after two decades without doing so; Since Friday, it has bombed the suburb every few hours, taking advantage of Hezbollah’s weakness to give a new twist every day that years ago would have been considered taboo.
The road to the airport, always clogged, is practically empty and, on the sides, displaced people can be seen carrying suitcases, blankets and mattresses. They came from the south of the country to Dahiye looking for a safe place and now they are looking for another. In Nabaa, a poor Shiite neighborhood in Beirut, men gather at the mosque, in the same way as when condolences are offered, but without the family. “Today is a very painful day. “We want to be alone,” they excuse themselves. Hezbollah radio Izaat Al Nur tries to raise spirits with harangues: “The flag will not fall from the hands of the resistance!” It doesn’t seem like the general feeling.
Not only the Shiite areas have been deserted. Out of fear, sadness or caution, the vast majority of businesses in Sunni or Christian neighborhoods have also lowered their shutters. In the Sunni neighborhood of Hamra there are more pedestrians, but they are actually displaced Shiites or migrants from countries in the Asian subcontinent or Ethiopia.
In the few open cafes, the television is on. The channel usually depends a lot on the neighborhood. In Bourj Hammoud, historically Armenian, Nabil Gregorian, 60, chooses MTV Lebanon, clearly hostile to Hezbollah, like him, who lowers his voice (the parallel street is already part of the Shiite Nabaa) to express his joy. “I’m happy. Nasrallah was taking us to hell, to become part of the Persian empire. This whole mess started because they fired on Israel. If there weren’t guns in the south and they weren’t poking their neighbors in the eye all the time, this country would be better. Besides, if we are going to end up making peace with Israel, why not now? I hope that whoever comes after him understands this and is not such a warrior.”
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