The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, indicated that "from this historic location known as the Smqaniyeh Plain, where we gather today, and where the notable figures of the Druze community would meet to discuss and share opinions during times of challenges and crises, began the journey of the Irfan Foundation, which was nurtured by the martyr Kamal Jumblatt and established by the late Sheikh Ali Zain al-Din." Jumblatt added during the golden jubilee celebration of the Irfan Foundation in Smqaniyeh, Chouf: "Over days, years, and decades, brick by brick, stone by stone, the process of building, consolidating, expanding, and spreading the foundation took place, despite the immense challenges and difficulties, spanning through wars and occupations."
He pointed out that "the circumstances did not allow the teacher to witness and care for each year the graduating batches of sheikhs and sheikhas who excelled and joined universities and thrived in the schools of life, in knowledge, ethics, and competence. The circumstances, fate, and the will of God dictated that he departed early from the Mukhtara." He noted that "his dream, along with Sheikh Ali, was to crown the journey of Irfan with a university for the people of Tawhid, and this dream we shall achieve, God willing, with the help of the dedicated and under the patronage of Taymour and the people of Irfan and Tawhid, in coordination with His Eminence the Sheikh and the sect council."
Jumblatt recalled "how great the challenge was that day, on March 16, 1977, the challenge of survival and continuity, preserving the Mukhtara and its existence, history, and facing enemies from both inside and outside." He said: "We were not alone in the world, nor will we be. We marched, and the party walked to the tune of the anthem of Kamal: Peace to the youth, peace to the men, peace to the comrades, comrades of battle, a chant that echoes the voice of the sons to remain, rise, and live Kamal."
He also reminded: "With one hand we held the trigger, with the other the shovel, we fought and built, we fought to defend existence, we did not transgress, and we built Irfan, and Ayn Wzein and other institutions, and we graduated hundreds and thousands inside and outside, and established civil administration, with the protection of the Popular Liberation Army, and the Irfan factions, and we liberated, along with the National Movement and all the fighters, the road to Beirut and the South, passing through the region and the sanctities in Shahr."
He continued: "Woe to those who want to usurp the Lebanese national decision in favor of the axis of resistance, the axis of destruction, and the axis of distortion, in every location from the mountains to the South, passing through the region, Bekaa, and Beirut. We lost fighters for our cause and the National Movement in the face of Israel. Should I remind the newly blessed that at the time of independence and sovereignty, how Kamal Jumblatt stood alone with factions from the People's Army in Bhamdoun against the occupying Syrian army, and its agents, and its intelligence who later killed him."
He noted that "the talk is long and very long, but we will not allow anyone to steal our heritage of struggle, under any banner, and soon, God willing, we will establish a memorial for our martyrs in Ayn Wzein, as Kamal Jumblatt did in Baqqata, eternalizing the martyrs of the 1958 revolution." He reminded that "we spared no effort then, internally and externally, and we engaged in Arab and international rounds, and just as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Soviet Union had significant stands with the Druze and Arab nationalists in Lebanon, we will not forget the political and social role of martyr Rafik Hariri with the Arabism of Lebanon and the people of the mountains and the downfall of May 17."
He stated, "With other countries, we dialogued; some understood, while others believed that New Jersey was the solution. We remained, and New Jersey departed; this is just the tip of the iceberg." He addressed the sheikhs, saying: "Today, on the eve of a new assassination through elections, I turn to you, to the white turbans, turbans of wisdom, Tawhid, reason, and faith, turbans of nobility, dignity, and pride, to counter the onslaught together, as you did in the Mountain of Druze, and as you did in every battle of the Mountain War, through the ballot boxes, to prevent infiltration, coercion, and subjugation."
He pointed out that "even if age has approached its winter, the journey continues—the journey of our ancestors, the journey of our great Kamal Jumblatt. So step forward, Taymour, and around you are the people of Irfan, the party, and nationalists and Arabs at home and abroad. Step forward in the challenging task of elevating the status of Mukhtara and its Arab and Palestinian heritage, step forward in the process of protecting the reconciliation of the Mountain. We are with you and Dali and Aslan, and there is no fear for the future, for men are men, and principles are principles."
