In an article in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat, editor-in-chief Ghassan Charbel wrote angrily about the difficulties of a Syrian refugee whose search for a proper burial-place for his mother in the Middle Eastern country hosting them all came to naught. With this story, Charbel describes the sorry situation of Arab citizens impacted by wars in the region, in light of the indifference of the Arab countries and the international community. Enumerating the Arab "Hiroshimas" - for example, the Hiroshima of fanaticism, the Hiroshima of tyranny, and the Hiroshima of backwardness and poverty - he argues that the number of victims of the endless wars in Iraq and Syria, the collapse of Libya, and the schisms in Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia equal that of many Hiroshimas.
The following are excerpts from his article:[1]
Ghassan Charbel (image: Al-Hayat, London)
"Hey you, Arab journalist - do not write about Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima - you have no right to do so. You have more than enough Hiroshimas [of your own]: The Hiroshima of tyranny, the Hiroshima of takfir, the Hiroshima of the militias honed [for battle]... the Hiroshima of minorities, [and] the Hiroshima of fanaticism, backwardness, and poverty.
"I will simply ask: How many Hiroshimas equal the endless wars in Iraq? The open slaughter in Syria? The complete collapse in Libya? The schisms in Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia?
"Leaving Hiroshima aside, here is a story [of a refugee whose mother died] that I was given permission to pass on, provided I do not identify where it took place. The problem was not that his mother died - I don't mean he wasn't bereaved, because it is known that a mother's love is all-encompassing... He felt a little guilty because when his mother died he thought, 'Now she can finally rest,' since death is [sometimes] preferable to a certain kind of life. Not to mention that he had seen her die many times, continually, over her final months, as grief hooded her eyes, and wrinkles appeared rapidly on her face - as though she realized that she would not return to the country that had expelled her. He concealed from her the fact that the [house] key she carried with her now remained a key without a house... He could sense her frustration. She would look at him and then down at his hands, to make sure he had brought something to satiate her grandchildren's hunger.
"Many [refugees] just like her fanned out to Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. They scattered throughout the margins of the Syrian homeland, with hope of returning. The seasons changed, and the homeland only grew more distant. She would ask him: When [will we return]? He would lie to her, and to himself.
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"The problem was not that his mother died - it was what to do with his mother's body. Immediately after her death, his brother went to find a plot for her, in the cemetery of the village that hosted some of the refugees. He was told, politely, 'no'. The cemeteries are reserved [for locals] and are not open to foreigners. Moreover, [apparently] mixing the bones [of locals and foreigners] is of great concern, since it is like mixing histories. He does not blame the villagers, who actually welcomed [the refugees]. They thought their ordeals would not last long and that the [refugees] would soon leave. This war, which comprises several local, regional, and international wars, misled them. Perhaps the owners of the land [i.e., the locals] feared that the bodies of foreigners would become roots [in the land for them], and that if there were [too] many foreign bones, identity would become confused. Because we are in the Middle East - in a place that hates the living and fears the dead.
"His brother tried to find a solution, such as to digging a small pit in an isolated location. But a grave is considered a bad omen for the environment, and brings down property values. The only person who showed flexibility offered to hold the body for a limited number of days in return for a [sum of] dollars. [The brother] almost laughed, because he was looking for a pit for burying his mother's bones, not a hotel to house her - and where would the son of a refugee get hold of dollars? What would happen when the deal with the landowner expired? What a terrible thing it is that a refugee is helpless to do anything about his mother's body[!]
"Strange thoughts came to him: What if he were to place her body on a pile of dry branches and set it alight? He immediately banished this thought, since the religion forbids it. What about letting it decompose in the open, in protest against the brutality of this world? This thought he banished [also]. He considered rising at dawn, carrying the body on his back, and charging the [Syrian] border while carrying it. But if his country had mercy for dead bodies, it would have mercy for the living [as well]. There is no recognition of a right of return, not even for the dead.
"[Even] strang[er] thoughts entered his mind. No point sending the body to the White House, because Obama cannot possibly be in charge of stability in the Middle East. It couldn't be shipped to the Kremlin either, because the czar [Putin] doesn't care, and produces dead bodies [on his own] without batting an eyelid. Who knows, maybe [Russian Foreign Minister] Lavrov would accuse the deceased of conspiring with takfiri [terrorism]?
"How terrible it is to leave a refugee helpless [to bury] his mother's body[!]
"He went on hallucinating: Perhaps he would send the body to the elegant and extremely polite Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, with a recommendation that he should include in his documents a plan for safe passage for dead bodies returning from Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq. But poor de Mistura is quite busy, lost between Kerry's quagmires and Lavrov's lies - this dead body is Arab, and the Arab League, which is expiring due to boredom, should urgently arrange graves for many Arabs.
"He envied [refugees] who had crossed the sea, because if his mother had died in Germany, they would have found a hole for her - and the same goes for Sweden. Those countries are far more merciful than our crooked homelands, which begrudge [us] freedom, honor, and security while we are alive, and then graves [when we are dead].
"He will not send her [body] anywhere, under any circumstance. When night falls, he will bear her far away and look for an abandoned well and hide her there. Such are our countries - we lose our lives there, and our bodies are lost in the margins.
"The terrible Middle East [equals] 1,000 Hiroshimas."
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Hayat (London), May 30, 2016.
