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Lebanese expatriation: a migration tragedy forced by the ruling class in Lebanon, overturned by displaced Lebanese expatriates into a triumphant journey full of freedom, hard work and success.
I did not have previous knowledge that a “Lebanese Expatriate Day” even existed before I read an article by Nabil Hanna about Lebanese expatriation published in Annahar newspaper (Lebanon). In fact, I did not become aware of it until I read an announcement in the newspaper (the same issue) that said, “on Lebanese Expatriate Day, the Lebanese Minister of the Exterior, Mr. Basil, is requesting the pleasure of your company at the Expatriate Energy Conference that will take place in Lebanon”. At that time, Mr. Basil was also preparing himself for a visit to Australia, which took place in early April of this year.
I do not know if there was a connection between the three (the article, the announcement and the visit). However, what you are about to read has no connection whatsoever with any of them.
I extracted the current article’s title, “Lebanese expatriation: a migration tragedy forced by the ruling class in Lebanon, overturned by displaced Lebanese expatriates into a triumphant journey full of freedom, hard work and success,” from Hana’s article titled, “Lebanese Expatriation; a journey of freedom, exertion and success.” In doing so, I attempt to highlight what Hana was trying to hide in his article. In other words, in this article, I propose that the ‘governing class’ in Lebanon was responsible for the tragedy of this forced expatriation (which I call displacement). Consequently, the Lebanese government should withdraw all allegations of its positive contributions to the successes of the Lebanese diaspora. They need to be exposed in terms of the differences they created between the governing class that was responsible for forcing the Lebanese to leave their homeland and the expatriate class that was forced to leave.
The Lebanese government needs to stop exploiting expatriate Lebanese by luring them into financially assisting the government. Their aim is to extend their control over the expatriates and exploit them in the same way that they exploit the poor Lebanese citizens living in Lebanon: by stealing the government’s resources and distributing its wealth amongst themselves, the few who rule the country.
Although Hana’s article (900 words in length) cited many reasons for Lebanese migration, it failed to mention the real reasons, the truth behind this migration. The purpose of this article is to reveal that truth.
Since Lebanese independence (1943) until today, migration has been entirely forced by the ruling class in Lebanon, which is in control of the fate of the lower (disadvantaged) social classes. This ruling class always disguises this fact by alleging that the Lebanese people have a love for travelling, adventure and fortune seeking as entrepreneurs, as mentioned in Hana’s article.
That is just plain false!
If we take a quick look at the history of Lebanese migration to Australia, we find that most people who have migrated since the middle of last century were from rural and depressed areas in Lebanon that are almost entirely neglected by the Lebanese government, and have never received fair attention in terms of education, health, roads or employment opportunities. These people had no chance of advancing themselves or even surviving with dignity in Lebanon, and this is the reason they left. They were forced to leave because the ruling class was distributing the government’s wealth amongst themselves while leaving the poor behind.
In short, and contrary to what Hana was trying to say, the ruling class in Lebanon was never interested in these expatriates and never gave them their attention. However, today, because the Lebanese diaspora is becoming stronger and more successful, they claim this success to be theirs. They are hoping to get stronger, and by getting stronger, they can better control the poor citizens of Lebanon.
However, in Lebanon, the poor consider us (the expatriates) as liberators from the cruel ruling class, who have been in control for decades and continue to search for ways to get stronger. We need to support Lebanese citizens, not the politicians who were the reason behind the migration.
thepolitical
