The West Has It All Wrong: Popular Support for Sayyed Nasrallah, Hezbollah Stronger Than Ever!
By Fatima Haydar
Beirut – What was planned to be a candlelight vigil and a prayer gathering, turned into a celebration where a great number of people from all walks of life attended.
On November 27, social media users in Lebanon circulated an invitation to participate in an event held in Dahiyeh [Beirut’s Southern Suburb]. People were invited to celebrate Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s 60th birthday, on November 28, by reading a prayer and wishing him a long and healthy life.
On the 28th, event organizers headed to the venue, just to be surprised by the presence of a music band and a crowd of people eagerly waiting for their instructions and voluntarily providing assistance.
The organizers: Zeinab Itawi, Jana Issa, Rami Shamas, Hussein Jawad and Nour Deeb, had not expected the huge turnout. To them, it was merely a gest of love to Sayyed Nasrallah amidst the ongoing media attack by the West on His Eminence.
By 5:30 p.m. [Beirut time], the venue was crowded with men, women and children; the music band had offered to play for free; the cakes and treats that were distributed had also been contributed by the people who attended the event, so were the balloons and the fireworks.
Both, the organizers and participants confirmed that the event did not require any over-the-top funding. No podium was rented, no tent was set up, no food was cooked… the celebration spontaneously amassed on a public highway – the Hadi Nasrallah boulevard – a street named after Sayyed Nasrallah’s eldest son who was martyred by the “Israelis” in 1997.
Furthermore, the event was not Shia-restricted nor was it exclusive to Dahiyeh residents; people from other sects and various Lebanese cities such as Zgharta and Ashrafiye, also attended – all to show their support and affection to the Resistance Leader and Hezbollah.
“I attended the event, with my 3 kids. They distributed sweets which I brought with me from my house. I took photos of them eating cake and celebrating to the music of the band. We sang the birthday song.” explained Fatima Al Ashi, a young mother who attended the celebrations.
She added, “People got out of their cars and motorcycles to participate in the party. It was a modest party, the kind of party you’d usually do at home and invite family and friends! It was so nice!”
Al Ashi added that people held hand-written posters with words of adoration and support to sayyed Nasrallah, hoping that His Eminence would see them. Some posters read:
O, Our father...
May you always be our sanctuary, hope and homeland.
May you always be our dearest!
Sixty years of love
Once again, I emphasize that this recent event is but one of many portrayals of popular support for Sayyed Nasrallah and Hezbollah amidst the constant systematic attack on them by Western media outlets.
The West and their Arab allies in Lebanon and elsewhere are so preoccupied with Hezbollah, its political party and its Secretary General that they downplay the latter’s achievements, not to mention, the popular embrace and support they enjoy in Lebanon and the region.
As the West continues to cook up a storm in Lebanon, the country turns into a journalistic market, where wannabe journalists are desensitized into figures that can be exploited by the Westerner to earn some dollars and potentially make a name for themselves.
So, no matter what happens in Lebanon, all eyes are directed first and foremost at Hezbollah. The public discourse in the West puts the Resistance movement somewhere in a parallel universe and portrays it as an unpredictable threat and as a “terrorist organization,” at times.
Of course, the protests in Lebanon are no exception. And with the unfolding of the slightest newsworthy event, any reporter can suddenly transform into a Hezbollah expert, read the mind of every Hezbollah supporter and predict every step they will take.
On the 25th of October, a couple of days on the protests, Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the nation and voiced his support for the protesters, urging them to beware of foreign influence that could take advantage of them and “ride their wave”. However, Arab and international media was quick to misquote and misinterpret Sayyed Nasrallah’s statements and present them as threats.
In the light of this, it is worth mentioning that slothful Copy/Pasting is the most recent, most preferred journalistic practice. The terms “Iranian-funded,” “proxy,” “Shiite militant group,” “Southern Suburbs,” and “Hezbollah stronghold,” in addition to Western imageries, will most likely be included in any writing about Hezbollah in Western media.
Accordingly, Hezbollah and the people it represents, are dehumanized to an extent that anyone can easily feel entitled to talk about and on behalf of Hezbollah without having to face any consequences.
When it comes to Hezbollah, factual reporting is not only unnecessary, but it is consciously avoided by the West and their contractor journalists and mouthpieces. Even more, Hezbollah’s own words do not matter.
What the world needs to do is to wake up and beware of the reality that fake dubious news spreads faster than credible ones – which might not even have any impact on the West, shall it be regarding Hezbollah.
To this end, fake news – as rumors – are started by haters and spread by fools. Come the readers, they should not be the idiots who accept the rumors!
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