The 79th anniversary of independence will arrive in Lebanon in exactly 12 days. In this regard, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers has issued a memorandum about the holiday, in a country paralyzed politically, economically, financially, socially, and constitutionally, where only the memory of independence might remain, unless the officials wake up to the necessity of saving it by moving beyond their narrow selfishness. The country is void of a presidency, marginalized internationally, left to its bleak fate, as its people have not known the meaning of actual sovereignty due to the numerous occupations from both inside and outside, and still remain non-independent in their decisions and choices, bound by the will of governing parties tied to foreign and regional powers.
This year's anniversary will take place without any celebratory display except for floral wreaths placed on the graves of national figures deserving the title of independence men, in stark contrast to the ruling political class and the regime that knows neither the meaning of patriotism nor a path to belonging. The vacancy in the presidential position, combined with the dire state of the nation as a whole, leaves no room for celebration and official and popular ceremonies, even the paper flag that used to fill schools in Lebanon on such a day is no longer affordable for schools or students.
Thus, there will be no central celebration this year amidst the vacancy of the presidential post in what remains of the state, and no official receptions in the abandoned Baabda Palace for the past ten days, due to the inaction of the largest parliamentary faction in naming a candidate to be elected, not for any reason other than that they are still colonized, mandated, and beholden to those outside the country's borders.
Seventy-nine years since the declaration of Lebanon as an independent state, and there are still no fundamental basic components for the state. There are no fully demarcated borders, which have become porous and open to smuggling from bread to fuel and all types of weapons, no president due to the absence of agreement, and no fully empowered government, but rather its tasks are conditional and defined by the will and capability of a leader descending from the desires of a boss. The population is largely divided sectarianly and confessionally, its loyalties distributed among currents and parties, understanding of the concept of patriotism is limited to slogans repeated by its leaders while they practice the opposite.
A nation like this, that survives on the crumbs of aid from foreign governments and gifts from humanitarian organizations and associations, a country emptied of its brains and whose people willingly handed over to sectarian leaders who have burned, pillaged, and tortured it, and turned it into a prey at the altars of international conflicts, does such a country still deserve to celebrate independence?
