Free Yet Captive
Sara Ibrahim
Khiam prison, a nightmare that interrogated the Lebanese detainees from 1985 until the "Israel" defeat in May 2000.
The euphoric moment of freedom is always remembered by every Lebanese yet the memories of pain and torture will only be remembered by the detainees themselves.
Khiam prison, a nightmare that interrogated our men, of where most of them were brutally tortured and some were martyred.
They were electrocuted, left in a 1 meter solitary confinement for weeks, stubbed with cigarettes, deprived from sleep, suffering from excessive tightening of handcuffs, head traumas and asthma, No, that's not a SAW movie, that's the real sufferings of the Lebanese detainees in Khiam prison.
Those men were deprived of the most basic necessities, but coming from the land of resistance and perseverance, they were able to turn their adversity into a solid will and when there's a will there's a way.
They created life in a dead surrounding by secretly producing handcrafts from strings, wood, olive stones, garbage and even cheese wrappers that they hid every time they had the chance to.
The price those men paid is way too much for us to afford a pay back. Yet many celebrations are held from time to time to commemorate their struggle for freedom.
The Lebanese Government issued a decree on the basis of law 365 issued in 2001 to honor the military, under the proposal of the Minster of Defense and after the approval of the State Council and Cabinet on 24th of February.
According to the decree, "any citizen captured by the enemy in circumstances beyond their control will be granted medals according to how long they were captive". Those who spent 3 years or more get a gold medal, those who spent less than 3 years get a sliver medal, and those who spent one year or less get a bronze medal.
In an exclusive interview with Moqawama.org, Sheikh Atallah Hammoud, head of the Lebanese Association for Released Prisoners, expressed his censure towards this decree considering it unfair and insulting for the detainees. "We were surprised to know that the decree was adopted without consulting us", he said.
Sheikh Atallah disapproved many points in the decree, "The Lebanese Government didn't specify the enemy, that's one thing that should be clarified. In addition to that, they disparaged the sufferings of the detainees by rewarding them according to the number of years they were detained", he said with astonishment.
"When it comes to compensation the detainee is in equilibrium with a soldier, why is the case different when they are to be rewarded? Isn't this apartheid?" he asked.
Sheikh Atallah noted that the detainee has no health care nor any social security services and so the least we can do is award them properly. "We aren't asking them to build statues for each detainee nor name streets after them, all we want is for them to be appreciated in a decent way", he added.
He explained that the detainees are part of the resistance for they brought back the honor and dignity of each and every politician in Lebanon. "Why are we diminishing the value of men that devoted their blossom of their youth for the sake of this country?" he asked.
He added that the Lebanese Association for Released Prisoners will be paying a visit to the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to discuss the decree, hoping they can reach a compromise that will fit the rights of the detainees.
Sheikh Atallah ended by saying, "If we don't appreciate the strugglers that brought back the light of dignity after years of darkness, then we are worth nothing."
Khiam prison, a nightmare that interrogated the Lebanese detainees from 1985 until the "Israel" defeat in May 2000.
The euphoric moment of freedom is always remembered by every Lebanese yet the memories of pain and torture will only be remembered by the detainees themselves.
Khiam prison, a nightmare that interrogated our men, of where most of them were brutally tortured and some were martyred.
They were electrocuted, left in a 1 meter solitary confinement for weeks, stubbed with cigarettes, deprived from sleep, suffering from excessive tightening of handcuffs, head traumas and asthma, No, that's not a SAW movie, that's the real sufferings of the Lebanese detainees in Khiam prison.
Those men were deprived of the most basic necessities, but coming from the land of resistance and perseverance, they were able to turn their adversity into a solid will and when there's a will there's a way.
They created life in a dead surrounding by secretly producing handcrafts from strings, wood, olive stones, garbage and even cheese wrappers that they hid every time they had the chance to.
The price those men paid is way too much for us to afford a pay back. Yet many celebrations are held from time to time to commemorate their struggle for freedom.
The Lebanese Government issued a decree on the basis of law 365 issued in 2001 to honor the military, under the proposal of the Minster of Defense and after the approval of the State Council and Cabinet on 24th of February.
According to the decree, "any citizen captured by the enemy in circumstances beyond their control will be granted medals according to how long they were captive". Those who spent 3 years or more get a gold medal, those who spent less than 3 years get a sliver medal, and those who spent one year or less get a bronze medal.
In an exclusive interview with Moqawama.org, Sheikh Atallah Hammoud, head of the Lebanese Association for Released Prisoners, expressed his censure towards this decree considering it unfair and insulting for the detainees. "We were surprised to know that the decree was adopted without consulting us", he said.
Sheikh Atallah disapproved many points in the decree, "The Lebanese Government didn't specify the enemy, that's one thing that should be clarified. In addition to that, they disparaged the sufferings of the detainees by rewarding them according to the number of years they were detained", he said with astonishment.
"When it comes to compensation the detainee is in equilibrium with a soldier, why is the case different when they are to be rewarded? Isn't this apartheid?" he asked.
Sheikh Atallah noted that the detainee has no health care nor any social security services and so the least we can do is award them properly. "We aren't asking them to build statues for each detainee nor name streets after them, all we want is for them to be appreciated in a decent way", he added.
He explained that the detainees are part of the resistance for they brought back the honor and dignity of each and every politician in Lebanon. "Why are we diminishing the value of men that devoted their blossom of their youth for the sake of this country?" he asked.
He added that the Lebanese Association for Released Prisoners will be paying a visit to the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to discuss the decree, hoping they can reach a compromise that will fit the rights of the detainees.
Sheikh Atallah ended by saying, "If we don't appreciate the strugglers that brought back the light of dignity after years of darkness, then we are worth nothing."
