but I buried my heart in Maroun Al-Ras

The youth of Laique Pride who demonstrated on the 15th of May 2011 “demanding the fall of the confessional regime” did not know what that date (15th of May) means to us. Some of Laique Pride demonstrators apparently have a selective memory that dates back to the day when they launched their call on Facebook, which sometimes is touted, not only as a tool for change, but as the ultimate goal of revolutions in this part of the world.

Have the youth asked themselves whether the American people will ever forget September 11 or more importantly 4th of July, their Day of Independence? 15th of May 1948 to us is more than a “Nakba” and larger than a land called Palestine. It is the date of our ongoing  tragedy and shame, which we will never forget, and the date of our forthcoming independence, which we shall always work for.

The youth of Facebook and twitter do not know that our hearts were buried on the 15th of May 1948, and our memory is still sizzling with many dates, notably 5th of June 1967. Those youths perhaps don’t know that Maroun Al-Ras has raised our heads high in 2006. And that the words of the White House about Israel’s rights to defend itself, after shooting peaceful demonstrators on the other side of the borders, brings to memory what the settlers have done to the Apache under the leadership of Geronimo (or Goyaale) in 1829 and to the Miniconjou in 1890 and what they are doing to us in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria today.

Our collective memory is still alive as evidenced by the demonstrations on the 15th of May. The youth will remember that we have buried our hearts, once again, in Maroun Al-Ras, Majdal Shams and Aisawia and that we held our heads high.

Jawad N. Adra