Bombs.
Smoke.
Fire.
Scenes overseas depicted by broadcast news outlets are similar to those of an action movie.
But it’s all real. And people from the N.C. State community are much more than mere audience members.
Hitting close to home
Sara Alayli, a junior in biological sciences and microbiology, is Lebanese.
She said she was in her hometown of Saida, Lebanon, when the war began. She had planned to stay there until Aug. 23, but her trip was cut short.
“When it started, there were only planes flying over my city, but after a couple of days we started seeing bombs falling close to our house…, so we were trapped in Saida,” Alayli said.
She said she evacuated with the U.S. embassy and was in Turkey for a week before being brought back to the United States.
“This war ended my vacation and made me leave worried about my family and friends,” Alayli said.
Joud Dabboussi, a senior in mechanical engineering, is also Lebanese.
He said the recent war has “affected [him] deeply.”
“After all the advancement, security and economic boom, it is so hard to see my own country being bombarded,” Dabboussi said, adding that he was thinking about, “what was going to happen to my family members living there and when all this is going to stop. I was following the news 24-7.”
Although Alayli and Dabboussi said their lives were greatly affected, according to Akram Khater, director of international programs and an associate professor of history, students all across campus are affected — but in different ways.
“At an ethical level, the U.S. is partially responsible for the destabilization of the Middle East and, as such, it behooves us to follow and understand the conflicts and its causes,” he said.
In present day, bombs are flying over international borders and Khater said this conflict is “feeding into a growing sentiment of anti-Americanism in the Middle East that will certainly have an impact on us at various levels.”
Alayli said she participated in a candlelight vigil held in downtown Raleigh. She said she lit candles for “all the innocent people who have died.”
In the beginning
Khater said Lebanon is involved in the conflict between Palestine and Israel in “two inter-related ways.”
According to Khater, in the 1970s, when the Palestine Liberation Organization established a stronghold in Southern Lebanon, the country became a stage for the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.
In 1982, the fighting led to a second massive Israeli invasion of Lebanon that was followed by 18 years of occupation of South Lebanon. It was during this period that Hezbollah emerged as a Shiite resistance movement to the Israeli occupation.
“In 2000, Israel was forced to leave Lebanon, several issues remained unresolved. First, Israel continued to occupy a contested piece of land called Sheba’s Farms. Second, Israel continued to hold close to 700 Lebanese prisoners,” Khater said. “Thus, directly and indirectly Lebanon has been involved in this conflict.”
Khater summarized the war by saying, “the overwhelming majority of Palestinians are seeking to end Israeli occupation and to establish a truncate homeland in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”
‘Mixed signals’
Dabboussi is calling this conflict a “clear act of terrorism” that was not “justifiable.”
“Lebanon, officially, had no say with the capturing of the two Israeli soldiers,” he said. “On the other hand, Israel responded by destroying the infrastructure of Lebanon, killing 1,300 civilians, in which 50 percent of them are children, and caused Lebanon losses of $10 billion.”
He said another “problem” is what he is calling the “unconditional and blind support” the United States has shown for Israel.
“The U.S. is already involved in this by arming Israel and by giving it the green light to go forward with its brutal attack on Lebanon. On the other hand, the U.S. says it supports the democratic government of Lebanon and sees Lebanon as a beacon of democracy in the region,” Dabboussi said. “Such mixed signals and and facts are causing the U.S. to lose its credibility among the Lebanese and the rest of the Arab world, as well as Europe.”
Alayli said she had no comment as to whether the U.S. should become involved militarily, but added that she thinks both sides must respect the United Nations’ resolution.
“All Lebanese land should be returned to the Lebanese,” she said. “Hezbollah should hand their weapons to the Lebanese authorities. A peace treaty should be signed between the two nations to avoid any more problems in the future.”
Dabboussi said the cease-fire ordered is “not a final solution.”
“Fighting might erupt any minute, especially when Israel violates the agreement by making a raid on the Bekaa Valley,” he said. “Such an act might cause the Lebanese side to react and fighting would erupt again.”
Dabboussi continued, saying the problem shoud be solved “from the roots.”
“In war, there is no victory,” he said. “The biggest loss falls upon the innocent civilians of women and children, countries would get destroyed and none of the objectives would get accomplished. Diplomacy, politics and justice are the solution.”