Here is Al-Qaa. Here are the heroes of Al-Qaa. Here is the street of the heroes from June 27, 2016. Here is the path of the martyrs of terrorism... and here, for a week now, the world has turned upside down... There’s a lot of talk, many narratives, and numerous scenarios seasoned with salt and spice, about a wolf who harasses children in the heart of the village. These are stories that tickle emotions and greatly expand people's imaginations, to the point that some have said: in every statement we write, there is a little truth and a lot of fantasy! So is everything we have heard over the past week about Al-Qaa in a country that has fallen beneath the surface, true? Let’s go there together in search of what we have not yet heard or what we have heard, containing some truth but not all.
Because the truth comes from the mouths of children, we believe that something did happen. We believe that Elias Daher is a criminal who committed heinous acts against children. But what about the nature of these acts? And what about Daher, of whom there are fifteen fellow villagers? Al-Qaa, like most towns in the surrounding area, is a reservoir for the Lebanese army. The perpetrator was in the army and retired. He specifically served in the Signal Brigade and retired in 2013. Since then, he moved back to his hometown Al-Qaa, which is about 140 kilometers away, and settled there. He has three houses but lives in his family home. His parents have passed away, and his five brothers live in Beirut while he has one sister who has a supermarket in the heart of the village.
We pass by Saint Elias, the patron of Al-Qaa, always present. We pause to bow. We make the sign of the cross, and then we pass beside the municipal building where its dynamic president, Bashir Matar, never tires nor rests. We continue towards the house of the criminal - the rapist. He lives on "Al-Hawwad" street in the village. The sun is scorching, and a woman and a man, both in their fifties, are praying the rosary at noon. In the adjacent house, where the black gate stands, lived the harasser Elias. We enter. His car, an old gray Jeep Cherokee, is parked in the inner courtyard, where the “satiha” witnesses the nightly gatherings of Elias, fifty years old, with children from the neighborhood. They would come in the evenings and smoke shisha, despite not having yet turned eighteen. Black socks still hang on the external line, and there's a sound inside the house along with an antique swing. We knock on the door, and a man in his fifties, Elias’s brother, cautiously greets us. He has been coming to Al-Qaa for days now to closely follow what happened and what may happen. The harasser's uncle is in the house. He has another uncle, Ibrahim Daher, who is the mayor of Al-Qaa.
There are no signs or red wax at the door. We enter. The mother of the harasser is in a picture framed in black in the living room. There are three old sofas and a television with a stereo and video player. Here, perhaps, was where the "crime" or "crimes of harassment or rape" occurred? Perhaps. There is nothing certain. Two tears hang between the lashes of Elias’s brother. He used to come to Al-Qaa with his head held high, but today he fears the eyes of people. Instead of us asking him, he asks us: why weren’t forensic examinations conducted on the children to confirm if there was indeed a case of rape? A valid question.
He saw him twice, once when he was arrested at the Ras Baalbek police station. He was very exhausted, scared, and his face was shadowed. Two days ago, he returned and saw him at the Baalbek courthouse. He took with him a mankousheh and seven medications that the harasser takes. He saw his face through the energy, tried to talk to him, and was yelled at by the soldier. He is still being interrogated, and yesterday there was a session with him. He has no lawyer; one has not been assigned to him. He says: "Elias may have made a mistake and harassed children, but ‘the talk of people’ has added a lot of salt and spice to the incident." We believe him. When it’s about the harassment of a child, discussions lose value; how much more so for multiple children? His brother knows this. But he is a brother, and his tears testify to the extent of the worry consuming him, which has ruined "the family’s reputation on earth."
We look into the adjacent room, into the bedroom. There are two beds. Everything is in its place. In the kitchen, there’s a "Ishrab Wardah" soda box. He was generous and welcomed every child and teenager with a drink bottle, and in the evenings, several of them would sit on the "satiha" together smoking shisha. He has not smoked since he underwent heart surgery three years ago. But what could possibly connect a fifty-year-old man with teenage boys? The answer comes from a neighbor, two buildings away, who says: "He provided an outlet for these kids, and their parents allowed them to stay at his house, which is the tragedy." The tragedy is that there are parents who do not care where their children go or what they do out of sight. Presumably, they watched adult films together and engaged in playful activities, but nothing is certain. Just mere speculations.
We return to his brother. He does not deny that something similar might have happened, but what he does not understand is the talk of twenty, thirty, or even forty children exaggerating, while investigations have not yet confirmed anything. It could be five, two, or maybe just one child who was harassed, and it is up to the forensic doctor to confirm. However, what has occurred is that there is no confirmation of anything other than the rumors. What about the drugs that were talked about? His brother answers: "We have not heard anything about that except what was mentioned in the media. If that were true, the door of the house might have been sealed with red wax. In any case, his phone has been handed to the intelligence, so let them investigate everything on it."
Elias Daher was not at home when the intelligence arrived; he was at his sister’s supermarket nearby in "Hakoreh". They called him and asked him to come. He came, and they took him to have a cup of coffee with them. That’s how the story began. There was no naked child and nothing like that.
So, are the people of Al-Qaa trying to cover up a case of this magnitude? Does the harasser, Elias Daher, belong to a political party or movement? There, they talked about his previous affiliation with the “Resistance Brigades”. He is closer to the Free Patriotic Movement in the village but has never held a party card. Deputy Samer Al-Toum was his doctor. He is single and became officially engaged to a girl from the village two years ago, but they broke up.
### State of Emergency
What does the mayor of Al-Qaa, Bashir Matar, think about all the talk regarding a supposed intervention by the region's deputy, Samer Al-Toum, to cover up the case? Is he, "President Bashir," trying to do this too? The mayor seems today preoccupied with confronting some parents for their negligence towards their children, prioritizing many issues at the expense of their children. That’s why we see him rushing to meet with organizations concerned with childhood, arranging how to provide social psychological support to children, and saying: "Today, we are in a state of emergency involving all the town's activities to provide protection for the names of the five children who were said to have been harassed."
Are there five names or twenty names? He answers: "It is the duty of the public prosecutor to define the names and numbers. We heard about five. And Elias Daher’s family denounced the issue. Our concern is to protect all our children. We have requested those concerned to conduct tests on the children’s urine to check for any traces of drugs. We asked for such examinations to be available at clinics in the village and in schools. This is the responsibility of the state and the parents. Children are a responsibility." He continues: “We have called for a meeting involving all the stakeholders in the village, including Deputy Samer Al-Toum. I personally contacted him half an hour ago, but he couldn't come, and rumors began."
Al-Qaa today is quieter than usual. Its residents, due to the high price of fuel, have not ascended to it this summer. The neighbors of the harasser speak of an extraordinary ‘nobility’ that he possesses. He is always ready to help. His brother says: “He does not complain of any psychological problems,” while neighbors talk about "psychological issues he developed after his mother passed away." No one can predict what happens behind closed doors. A housewife mentioned a young boy, around fourteen or fifteen, who knocked on Elias’s door two days ago. He had a backpack on his back and a hat on his head. He knocked on the door multiple times, and when no one opened, he left.
We return to ask: What could connect a fifty-year-old man with children in the "Adash"? A question that finds no answer other than that Elias Daher, who appears outwardly sane, may have had psychological issues that led him to provide a space of freedom for children that they did not find at home. He may have shared this space with them. He did not force anyone to come or to "act," but he facilitated it. This is an analysis from the parents themselves, who blame those parents who allow their children to go with the one accused today of harassment for dinner by the banks of the Assi River and then return with him to continue the gathering at his house.
### Shared Responsibility
There is a multi-faceted responsibility. Parents are as responsible as the harasser. There is also talk of girls who participated in the “night gatherings” and rumors that Syrian children may also be victims. Nothing is unlikely, and nothing can be confirmed. However, what everyone agrees on is the rush of some lawmakers, such as Cynthia Zarazir, Paula Yacoubian, and Najat Saliba, to "issue accusations" instead of calling for necessary examinations for the children. Another thing that angered the people of Al-Qaa was Maya Diab’s remarks about the "Al-Qaa rapist," saying, "I'm the parent of these twenty children who were raped." She should initiate a request for forensic examinations on these children.
Maya Diab demanded the execution of "the animal" Elias Daher. And he must indeed be an animal if his actions are proven. Here, the mayor, Bashir Matar, asked her to "come to Al-Qaa and engage in awareness activities instead of just holding onto a thread of what happened." No, no one is trying to cover up the case in Al-Qaa; rather, everyone is demanding that once the investigation is over, a gallows be hanged for Elias Daher if he is proven guilty by half the town. For any child who is assaulted is a son of all of Al-Qaa.
Today, there are no children in Al-Qaa. They are all at home. The incident - the crime has made them certain that addressing the situation requires something akin to bitter medicine to restore life to the veins of the town. It also requires parents to begin, from now on, to keep a close watch on their children, even if their worries are many.
There, in Al-Qaa, a man walked behind us, insisting: “Are you distributing aid?” Another man, sharing a name with Elias Daher, said: “The rumors have destroyed me.” A third man told us before we left: "We only want justice."
