Lebanon was the only Christian-majority nation in the Middle East. It’s where I was born.
We prided ourselves on inclusivity. Always welcoming Arab Muslim refugees from all over the Middle East. We had the best economy despite having no natural oil. The best universities. They called Beirut the “Paris of the Middle East” and the Mountains of Lebanon was a tourist destination.
My early childhood was idyllic, my father was a prosperous businessman in town and my mother was at home with me, an only child. Slowly, the Arab Muslims began to become the majority in Lebanon and our rights began to wither away.
Soon, we would find ourselves unable to leave our small Christian town without fear of being stopped and killed by Arabs. In Lebanon your religion is on your government issued ID. As the war intensified and the radical Islamists made their way south, my home was hit by an errant rocket and my life was forever changed.
We spent the next almost decade in a bomb shelter, scraping together pennies and eating dandelions and roots just to survive. If it was not for Israel coming in and surrounding our town, I do not know If I would be here today. Lebanon is now a country 100% controlled and run by Hezbollah. I lost my country of birth.
I thank God every single day I was able to immigrate to America and live out the dream that BILLIONS of people only dream of having. Now here in America, my adopted country that I have come to love so much, I see the same threats and warning signs happening now that took place in Lebanon when I was a child.
This is my warning to you, America, reverse course now while you still can. It’s not too late to save our freedom and preserve it for the next generation.
(This article has been compiled from the tweet thread posted by @ACTBrigitte on October 11, 2023, with minor edits to improve readability and conform to HinduPost style guide)
