It is scientifically proven, and emotionally understandable, that a small tragedy in one’s own backyard elicits more grief than a global catastrophe on the other side of the world. Machnouk says authorities are holding seven Syrians and two Lebanese who were involved in planning terrorist attacks or smuggling extremists into the country.
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Dramatic footage from the scene showed one man wearing a suicide vest, reportedly on his way to attack the hospital, being chased and apprehended by security services as shots rang out. The same group of terrorists claimed responsibility. I understand Paris is a beloved and familiar space for a lot of people, but it troubled me that #Beirut, a city my father grew up in, had received so little attention after the horrific bombings two days earlier.
For starters, Lebanon shares a border with war-ravaged Syria, making it an accessible target.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Syrian and Lebanese detainees were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the bombings, which he squarely blamed on Islamic State.
Then there’s the sectarian issue. They cited headlines – including, briefly, a Times one that was soon changed to be more precise – that refer to the predominantly Shiite neighborhood where the bombing took place as a “stronghold” of the militia and political party Hezbollah.
The fact that Hezbollah supports the Syria government in its fight against ISIS adds another layer of complexity to their dynamic. The first suicide bomber attempted to break through to it on a motorcycle.
Lebanon has not released their identities. Imagine losing a loved one in this attack only to be told you don’t care enough about the loss of Lebanese citizens. “There were no statements expressing sympathy with the Lebanese people”, he said.
The explosions hit minutes apart during rush hour, turning the crowded area into a nighttime inferno.
Police are investigating whether two of the bombers were Palestinians from a nearby refugee camp where ISIS has been recruiting, a Lebanese government source said.
Has Lebanon been targeted before? In August, a large vehicle bomb exploded in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, injuring six. And when people rushed to help, a second suicide bomber’s explosives went off, killing and wounding yet more people.
The Shiite militant party were fighting along with Syrian regime forces for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
What does this mean for Lebanon? It took place in Beirut – the city that many of my ancestors called home, and where I now also live and work, as a foreign correspondent. But in the case of Paris and Beirut, it’s perplexing why one is worthy of collective grief and mourning, while the other is not.
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Political divisions and ideological tensions in Lebanon date to several decades, Khouri said. They matter because when we draw the line between those near and far, and those who look like us and those who don’t, those whose names we can easily pronounce and those which we cannot, we participate in the same kind of dehumanizing that allows people to do such very bad things to each other in the first place.
