 (Translated freely: By Elias Bejjani) The vital issue of uniting the Lebanese Community in Australia has become like a loose ball that people haphazardly and aimlessly bounce and manipulate in a bid to serve their own individual interests. The popular proverb, that says: "It became like Osman's shirt", describes this bizarre situation very well. Every now and then, we hear different appeals from numerous community members and we read scattered articles all calling for unity of the Lebanese community. The puzzling question for such frantic appeals remains: Unity on what criteria, with whom, why and how? Firstly, we have to admit and acknowledge that our Lebanese Community is an unseperable entity of the general Australian society. Accordingly, we ought to ask ourselves, how can we co-operate, co-ordinate and work in harmony with other communities for the progress and prosperity of our new country? In this context, we can say that the unity of our community is not an issue at all. In the context of our Australian affiliation, there is an obligation that necessitates maintaining and preserving Lebanon's distinguishable character, culture and civilization. We should strive to enrich the Australian multi-cultural society, our new homeland that is endowed with different customs, cultures and a reservoir of languages. With regards to Lebanon, our community can unite only against Israeli, Syrian and other occupational forces that are destroying our beloved Lebanon. We can, and must unite to reclaim Lebanon's confiscated independence, freedoms, sovereignty, human rights and free decision making process. General Michel Aoun has said, "Lebanese prayers would be sinful if not directed to end their country's occupation". Uniting the Lebanese community under one patriotic umbrella and in accordance to solid, clear values and principles would end the role of opportunists and mercenary self-claimed Diaspora leaders. Such unity will be long lasting, not transitional or seasonal, and most importantly it would be serving national holistic aims, not individual interests. During a friendly meeting with His Excellency Bishop Boulous Saliba, he said, "We have to integrate effectively in the multi-cultural Australian Society in which we live. We have to interact with it, sacrifice for its prosperity and progress, promote our deeply rooted Lebanese culture, learn from other cultures and benefit from milieus of freedom, democracy, justice, equality, openness and freedom of speech. Then and only then can we help our motherland, Lebanon efficiently and effectively. Any proposal aiming to unite our community has to take into consideration the following two important factors and act according to them: 1- The Community should not be an estranged or isolated entity in Australian Society. It should assume effectively all its national, social and cultural roles in each domain. Its affiliation to Australia must be complete and it should make sacrifices for the welfare of this generous and hospitable great country. 2- Any unity among our community members that is not governed by a strong, patriotic Lebanese foundation would not last. It would not be effective and would not serve any national purposes. It would fragile and continuously exposed to individual interests. Let us be effective in our new homeland and help in its general welfare, prosperity, progress and democracy. Let us all unite under the Lebanese patriotic umbrella and work hand in hand to rescue Lebanon from disintegration, destruction, occupation and humiliation. Long Live Australia, Long Live Free Lebanon |