Sayyed Nasrallah: Fighting Illiteracy our Duty, Syria Should Find Political Solution to Crisis
Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed the importance of fighting illiteracy, including the political one, in order to confront future challenges on the different levels.
He also called on finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria, and cooperation between the different Lebanese parties in order to solve all life issues and leave the political ones to the dialogue table.
In a speech he delivered via video-link during the graduation ceremony of the "Al-Nour literacy sessions", his Eminence discussed the illiteracy issue in Lebanon and the Arab world, also the issues of unemployment and poverty, then moved on to discuss the political developments on the local and regional levels.
His Eminence, thanked al-Nour institution which has provided the people with the chance of becoming literate, highlighting that such is an act of resistance and striving. "In this organization, which is one of the pillars of the Resistance and the Resistance proposal, I extend my thanks to all supervisors and teachers who are credited with being able to graduate this many students, and helped the students to take the first step towards literacy and knowledge," he stated.
"I thank them for their determination to move from illiteracy to knowledge... Their determination which led to what we are witnessing today. I thank everyone; all brothers and sisters in this jihadist organization which is part of the Resistance," Sayyed Nasrallah added.
Knowledge is a duty
The Messenger of Allah (May Peace Be upon Him) has ordered humans to seek knowledge. Differences arise out of ignorance, misunderstanding, and incorrect interpretations.
"In our belief, creed, commitment, culture and religion and in all religions, an emphasis is put on the importance of seeking knowledge, and the world's nation talk about education as an obligation. Education seeks to eliminate illiteracy. Seeking knowledge requires a primary step which is obtaining writing and reading skills. Humans evolve throughout history because of their ability to receive knowledge," Sayyed Nasrallah explained.
He stressed that many Hadiths (prophetic sayings) assure that seeking knowledge is in fact a duty on every Muslim, and every human being.
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the level of illiteracy has reached 16% in Lebanon, a high ratio relatively speaking. He underscored that "it is important that the Lebanese government plays its role in fighting illiteracy and help improve the educational level in the country," reiterating that the concerned parties, organizations, administrations, civil society, municipalities and other groups should cooperate despite any political differences or motivations, and all should be at the service of fighting this phenomenon, also through encouraging the illiterate to join these sessions and courses.
Hizbullah leader assured that the issue of illiteracy is a national cause, stressing the importance of launching an awareness campaign to encourage people seek knowledge. He also said that people should not be shy to learn, particularly old people and reiterated that this national cause should be addressed as soon as possible.
Illiteracy in the Arab world
Sayyed Nasrallah noted that according to statistics and studies based on conferences in Beirut, there are some remarkable 57 million illiterates in the Arab world, almost two thirds of the Arab people. This, according to Sayyed Nasrallah is catastrophic, especially because some Arab countries are of the world's richest countries, and many of the Gulf countries have billions of dollars deposited in European and US banks.
He went on to say that Arab countries own financial capabilities that can bring the problem of unemployment to an end, particularly as there are 18 million unemployed people in the Arab world. He further criticized the Arab governments that have the potential to bring dramatic change to the drastic situation related to poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, noting "However, it seems that there are regimes which find it in their interests to keep their people poor and unemployed."
Sayyed Nasrallah also stressed that the Arab world should be a producer of science and knowledge.
Lebanon
Sayyed Nasrallah tackled several issues concerning Lebanese affairs. He said there is a 20% unemployment in Lebanon, and noted that Lebanon confronts the issue of crime, which is not related to political security. Also, the issue of spoiled food and the infiltration of drugs into schools and universities are issues related to daily life that are fateful and should not be controversial.
Sayyed Nasrallah on this note explained, "In Lebanon there are two types of issues: Issues that are discussed neither between loyalists nor oppositionists, neither March 14 nor March 8 and which are related to social security, spoiled food, drugs, theft and others. And there are contentious issues; and I say that we disagree on who Lebanon's enemies are. Some might disagree, but I say that we do disagree on who are Lebanon's enemies and friends.
He explained that the resistance has been calling for dialogue in the government and the parliament on the issues which the parties disagree on, adding "It is unacceptable to diverge on one or two issues and obstruct other issues. There are groups which say that there are a lot of controversial issues; therefore either we resolve them or not."
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that administrative and security corruption is not related to the Resistance arms, which some in Lebanon claim to hamper several files. "For example, some say that there is no Lebanese state with the presence of the Resistance arms. Does this mean that social issues should not be addressed, because of the Resistance's arms?" he questioned, adding "This is not realistic. On the contrary this means that the groups who support such arguments have commitments towards the West, the US, and "Israel".
Palestine
Concerning the latest developments in the Occupied Palestine that took place during the past two weeks, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Palestine witnessed the painful scene of tens of martyrs and wounded [due to the "Israeli" assault on the Gaza Strip], adding that on the other hand, it witnessed the strength, steadfast, determination and retaliation of the resistance in the coastal enclave. He noted that at the time the Palestinian resistance remained steadfast and proved to be capable and unwavering, it also forced a million and a half "Israelis" to hide in shelters, which is a very important equation.
What happened in the Gaza Strip is a reminder to the hypocrisy of the US, Security Council, international organizations, International community, also the Arab league as they have been adopting these policies against the Gaza Strip for the past 60 years.
Sayyed Nasrallah stated that unfortunately some Lebanese and Arab media outlets which enjoy tight bonds with "Israel" held the resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip responsible for what had happened, but this is a lie. "The truth is that there were truce and "Israel" had breached it by carrying out an airstrike in which Zuhair al-Qiasi was martyred, so the "Israelis" actually started the assault. These outlets were the same that had claimed Hizbullah started the July war for the sake of the Special Tribunal and the Iranian nuclear file. He further noted that some Lebanese media outlets intersect with "Israel" on claiming that the war on Gaza is a war on Iran, which is also a lie that goes in conformity with the desire of many Arabs: to present Iran as a threat.
Hizbullah Leader paid tribute to the Palestinian martyrs as well as the people's sacrifices and steadfastness.
Syria
On the situation in Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah said that "we fear division in Syria, especially in presence of certain parties in the Arab world that look forward to such federalism and division. He reiterated the fear is that a civil war may erupt in Syria because of its national position in relation to the Arab-"Israeli" conflict as well as because of its support to the resistance.
"We all support democracy and reform and we are sad over every drop of blood that is shed in Syria. It's been a year since the Syrian crisis began. We support a political solution and anything other than that will lead to more bloodshed."
"It's in our interest as Lebanese and as Syria's neighbor to reach a political solution in Syria. It's up to the Syrians to implement reform," His Eminence added.
"We as Lebanese cannot solve our own problems, and we have to speak the truth when we see it. We stand by what is right, no matter what the cost," he explained, adding "Those wagering on the fall of the Syrian regime, foreign intervention, and civil war will be disappointed."
His Eminence reassured "We support people who back the resistance. We advise our Syrian brothers to lay down their arms. The bloodshed must stop and we cannot but condemn the massacres that are being committed."
Bahrain
Hizbullah Leader said that "the massive peaceful demonstration by the opposition, which is keen on Bahrain's security, demonstrates its strong will and those wagering on its failure will be proven wrong."
He added that the Bahraini people refuse to be used as pawns and it is clear that the people have a will that cannot be broken.
As for media reports that speak of division among the opposition ranks, Sayyed Nasrallah explained that these are claims based on false facts. Some sides are working on creating tensions among the people.
Source: moqawama.org
Comments
person Hadi
Thank you
Special thanks to Nour Rida for her very good and quick translation of Sayyed's speeches!
