We entered Lebanon, country of my origins, about to
celebrate one year of walking. We stayed in the home of my family, where it was
tempting to give in to their pleas to stay longer and celebrate the upcoming
Christmas holidays with them.
But we continued, following the beautiful Lebanese coastline, passing historically-drenched cities such as Byblos (home of the original alphabet) and infamous ones such as Beirut, rising as a cosmopolitan phoenix after being ravaged by 25 years of civil war.
The further south we traveled, however, the more anxious we began to feel, passing ever-increasing numbers of posters from Hezbollah calling for armed struggle. The angry, mistrustful looks we received as we walked past only added to our tension, making me question even more strongly this message of peace I had been carrying and if it was - in this centuries-old land of conflict and bloodshed - truly naïve. How could I possibly reconcile their outer reality with our message of inner peace?
But we continued, following the beautiful Lebanese coastline, passing historically-drenched cities such as Byblos (home of the original alphabet) and infamous ones such as Beirut, rising as a cosmopolitan phoenix after being ravaged by 25 years of civil war.
The further south we traveled, however, the more anxious we began to feel, passing ever-increasing numbers of posters from Hezbollah calling for armed struggle. The angry, mistrustful looks we received as we walked past only added to our tension, making me question even more strongly this message of peace I had been carrying and if it was - in this centuries-old land of conflict and bloodshed - truly naïve. How could I possibly reconcile their outer reality with our message of inner peace?
We were relieved to finally arrive at the
Lebanese-Israeli border, and what would be our last crossing; but it was not to
be. The border was physically closed with landmines and barbed wire. The
officials at the border were extremely helpful, giving us the names of
individuals working at the UN and our home embassies who could help us receive the
permission we needed to cross. They even provided us with a lift back to the
nearest city, and asked us to pray for them in Jerusalem, a place most will
never see.
Our efforts in the end were in vain, and after fifteen days of frustrating attempts, we had to make a difficult decision: find other ways of walking into Israel and delay by possible months our arrival in Jerusalem; or simply take a plane, an option which made us feel as if we were betraying the Way of Peace.
Our efforts in the end were in vain, and after fifteen days of frustrating attempts, we had to make a difficult decision: find other ways of walking into Israel and delay by possible months our arrival in Jerusalem; or simply take a plane, an option which made us feel as if we were betraying the Way of Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment