14 - Corruption in Lebanon
Hello everyone: Dr. S.K. Ghossein with you again on post 14 - Corruption in Lebanon
Just to eliminate any assumptions, and to leave no room for interpretations. I would like to start by expressing my love and admiration to the people of Lebanon in peaceful times, and in times of tragedies such as the explosion at the port district. I strongly believe that, all Lebanese are equal no matter religious, political and other affiliation. Lebanon belongs to all of its people, and will survive only if, its people speak with one voice.
The international media is painting all Lebanese leaders and politicians with one brush, this is not acceptable. But I know better, and you know better, who the crooks are, and who the decent ones are.
So, to that end, I wish to offer my unreserved total RESPECT to all the honest, decent LEBANESE leaders, those with dignity, with integrity and with loyalty to LEBANON, those men and women who believe they are first and foremost Lebanese, those men and women which, with their sweat and blood, built one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The sacrifices of the ancestors shall never be forgotten, dismissed or belittled, because of the rotten apples of today.
So, to that end, I wish to offer my unreserved total RESPECT to all the honest, decent LEBANESE leaders, those with dignity, with integrity and with loyalty to LEBANON, those men and women who believe they are first and foremost Lebanese, those men and women which, with their sweat and blood, built one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The sacrifices of the ancestors shall never be forgotten, dismissed or belittled, because of the rotten apples of today.
To the new generation I say: Your brothers and sisters are called Lebanese, just Lebanese and nothing else, if you love your country, love them then, disagree with them if you must, but always respect their beliefs and opinions. Be loyal, you will always have your land, but, if you lose faith and disloyalty takes hold, you become refugees wandering aimlessly elsewhere.
Peace, prosperity, and success are your goals. You are the hope for a better future for this sacred land, You must never forget that your country is the land of the Gods, sacred since the beginning of time, the land of culture, inventions and the Alphabet.
The gift of Knowledge was given to your ancestors, and they in turn shared it with the world, exactly as all Lebanese inside and outside of Lebanon are doing today. Man have lived continuously on this land for more than 200 thousand years, endured thousands of natural and man made disasters, even in its recent history, it survived savage invaders of all kind, some even called themselves your brothers, they ended up using unparalleled savagery trying to eliminate any vertical and horizontal interaction. they wanted to erase your country off the world's map. You are smart, you know who they are. So accept those who have Lebanon's best interest at heart, and categorically reject those who want to use Lebanon as a bargaining chip to advance their agenda of becoming Regional Powers at the expense of your country.
I always wonder like most of you do:
Lots of Lebanese outside Lebanon succeed in every field, be it politics, science, medicine, engineering, business etc. Lebanon once the envy of all nations has become a common joke. The same Lebanon, the one that introduced to the world; Law, Democracy, Trade, and skills in dozens of other fields. So I ask you, why is that? what is the problem?
Well then, Problems are numerous, some are more devastating than others, some are intertwined, some take a life of their own.
One of the largest problems, is the subject of this post; CORRUPTION;
Corruption is like an onion, has many layers you peel one, the next appears. Since it is impossible to eliminate this disease, one will have to deal with all the layers to reach the core and handle it.
You might say; "but corruption is all over the world", and that is true, except there are differences between corruption in Lebanon, and that of the rest of the world.
Around the globe, corruption is still illegal, but, in Lebanon corruption is sanctioned by consecutive governments and their agents spreading that disease, creating the largest criminal enterprise on the planet.
Reasons for corruption: - Poverty - unemployment - low wages - consumption rate not balanced with inflation - two million refugees - Greed - The belief that it could be done - Becoming one of the untouchables, who control corruption rings, by sharing and widening the corrupt circle, sometimes even by blackmailing others into joining.
This explains why corruption extends from the highest levels of government, down to the simple functionary, rendering the top level invincible, just because no one is left to raise the voice of complaint or discontent. They are all in the same boat.
Corruption is running wild since the Turks introduced it after occupying that part of the world, then continued to the birth of the new country in 1920, and even more wide spread since its independence from France in 1943. So you can imagine, hundreds of years of one generation after the other living with imposed corruption.
While Canada and the rest of the true democracies are dealing with systemic racism, Lebanon will have to deal with systemic corruption. This cancer has become so deeply rooted in the daily life of the Lebanese, to a point that it became a tolerable accepted normal.
- Some of the people are in part to blame, They have chosen a meandering road difficult to navigate without the guidance of the corrupt, ending up serving as a human shield for the crooks, a shield with its main constituents being the petty corrupt who accepts bribes of, as little as one Dollar to look the other way.
- Some of the people have chosen to live beyond their means, spending money they do not have, ending up beholding, indebted to the same corrupt leaders that are providing the extra spending money, reaching a point of no return.
- Most of the people enjoy being associated with the powerful corrupt who provides protection from the law, just to brag that they know this boss, and they can reach that guy who is connected higher up.
The legal system has become the victim of the powerful corrupt, who buys lawyers, judges, and so on all the way to the top.
- The fear factor which is the most effective way to control the masses. like judges rendering unjust sentences at gunpoint, and customs and border patrol officials allowing contraband to slip into the country, because their posts happened to be under the control of protected outlaws, or they get instructions from corrupt politicians They do it for greed; they do it for fear of losing their jobs or even their lives. and so on. So corruption is reaching all government institutions, and state owned corporations..
- You have by now gathered that, armed gangs, are the tools used by most corrupt politicians to intimidate anyone that does not tow the line of corruption.
So, to start solving the problem of corruption, it will require the honest leaders once they're in power, and in power they will be, they must dismantle these armed gangs.
there are no reasons why ordinary citizens should be equipped with military grade weapons, only the Lebanese Army is the legitimate institution and has the constitutional right to acquire such heavy arsenals. Armed gangs can destabilize the government at a moments notice, keeping corruption alive.
To all the decent leaders in Lebanon, to all International observers I say: the problem is in front of you, do not look sideways for the solution.
Dismantle these armed groups, there is nothing heroic, or glorious about their work or their existence as thugs at best.
This will drastically reduce corruption in Lebanon, unfortunately will not eliminate it, for that is an impossibility, but one step at a time.
Make no mistake, no matter how you look at it, you can never dismiss the role played by foreign countries, and multinational corporations in enabling the corrupt and creating the convenient atmosphere for corruption to thrive to the highest levels.
So, when leaders from outside Lebanon offer help, allow those and only those who can help for the sake of Lebanon, and chase away the Scare Crows that are coming to insure that, their own interests and agenda stay alive. All of lebanon knows who they are. Do not be fooled by the honey glazed poison, that some countries keep offering you, you are way smarter than them, ask them to go away, and to take their mercemeries and all of their agents with them, and to, never ever comeback.
As my friend Bob would say; Ados for now
We'll get together again on post # 15 which might be on Lebanon's predicament.
Well then, Problems are numerous, some are more devastating than others, some are intertwined, some take a life of their own.
One of the largest problems, is the subject of this post; CORRUPTION;
Corruption is like an onion, has many layers you peel one, the next appears. Since it is impossible to eliminate this disease, one will have to deal with all the layers to reach the core and handle it.
You might say; "but corruption is all over the world", and that is true, except there are differences between corruption in Lebanon, and that of the rest of the world.
Around the globe, corruption is still illegal, but, in Lebanon corruption is sanctioned by consecutive governments and their agents spreading that disease, creating the largest criminal enterprise on the planet.
Reasons for corruption: - Poverty - unemployment - low wages - consumption rate not balanced with inflation - two million refugees - Greed - The belief that it could be done - Becoming one of the untouchables, who control corruption rings, by sharing and widening the corrupt circle, sometimes even by blackmailing others into joining.
This explains why corruption extends from the highest levels of government, down to the simple functionary, rendering the top level invincible, just because no one is left to raise the voice of complaint or discontent. They are all in the same boat.
Corruption is running wild since the Turks introduced it after occupying that part of the world, then continued to the birth of the new country in 1920, and even more wide spread since its independence from France in 1943. So you can imagine, hundreds of years of one generation after the other living with imposed corruption.
While Canada and the rest of the true democracies are dealing with systemic racism, Lebanon will have to deal with systemic corruption. This cancer has become so deeply rooted in the daily life of the Lebanese, to a point that it became a tolerable accepted normal.
- Some of the people are in part to blame, They have chosen a meandering road difficult to navigate without the guidance of the corrupt, ending up serving as a human shield for the crooks, a shield with its main constituents being the petty corrupt who accepts bribes of, as little as one Dollar to look the other way.
- Some of the people have chosen to live beyond their means, spending money they do not have, ending up beholding, indebted to the same corrupt leaders that are providing the extra spending money, reaching a point of no return.
- Most of the people enjoy being associated with the powerful corrupt who provides protection from the law, just to brag that they know this boss, and they can reach that guy who is connected higher up.
The legal system has become the victim of the powerful corrupt, who buys lawyers, judges, and so on all the way to the top.
- The fear factor which is the most effective way to control the masses. like judges rendering unjust sentences at gunpoint, and customs and border patrol officials allowing contraband to slip into the country, because their posts happened to be under the control of protected outlaws, or they get instructions from corrupt politicians They do it for greed; they do it for fear of losing their jobs or even their lives. and so on. So corruption is reaching all government institutions, and state owned corporations..
- You have by now gathered that, armed gangs, are the tools used by most corrupt politicians to intimidate anyone that does not tow the line of corruption.
So, to start solving the problem of corruption, it will require the honest leaders once they're in power, and in power they will be, they must dismantle these armed gangs.
there are no reasons why ordinary citizens should be equipped with military grade weapons, only the Lebanese Army is the legitimate institution and has the constitutional right to acquire such heavy arsenals. Armed gangs can destabilize the government at a moments notice, keeping corruption alive.
To all the decent leaders in Lebanon, to all International observers I say: the problem is in front of you, do not look sideways for the solution.
Dismantle these armed groups, there is nothing heroic, or glorious about their work or their existence as thugs at best.
This will drastically reduce corruption in Lebanon, unfortunately will not eliminate it, for that is an impossibility, but one step at a time.
Make no mistake, no matter how you look at it, you can never dismiss the role played by foreign countries, and multinational corporations in enabling the corrupt and creating the convenient atmosphere for corruption to thrive to the highest levels.
So, when leaders from outside Lebanon offer help, allow those and only those who can help for the sake of Lebanon, and chase away the Scare Crows that are coming to insure that, their own interests and agenda stay alive. All of lebanon knows who they are. Do not be fooled by the honey glazed poison, that some countries keep offering you, you are way smarter than them, ask them to go away, and to take their mercemeries and all of their agents with them, and to, never ever comeback.
As my friend Bob would say; Ados for now
We'll get together again on post # 15 which might be on Lebanon's predicament.
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