Initiatives of Change - Pangea Day Interview with Lebanese Former Militia Commanders

Amanpour started by asking Assaad Chaftari what his perception had been of his enemies when he first joined a Christian militia in the mid-‘70s. Chaftari replied that his enemies had been the Palestinians and the Muslims, and he was sorry to say he had viewed them as ‘of a lower class, filthy, uneducated and untrustworthy’. They were traitors because they were fighting against the pro-West, Christian Lebanon he wanted.

Mohieddine Shihab, who had fought with a Muslim militia, said that his perceptions of his enemy had been the exact opposite: all the Christians in Lebanon were his enemies, they were traitors, and pro-Israeli. The Christian cross was a symbol for him of a dagger to kill the Muslims. He had fought to make Muslims equal to Christians in the country.

Amanpour asked how they had managed to come together after the war in view of the depth of their feelings. Shihab said that the feelings were a product of a ‘culture of hatred’. Each of them had lived in a ‘fanatic society’ which taught them how to hate, how to fight for a cause which they believed in at the time, but later realised was totally wrong.

Asked what they did when they decided to work together after the war to show that the two societies could live together, Chaftari said that the first step involved changing many aspects of his personal life. This meant seeing others as they really were and not as he wanted them to be. It led to him making a public statement in the press asking forgiveness from his victims and their families, and forgiving those who had harmed him.

Referring to the violence of the last few days in Lebanon, Amanpour asked where, even though they were ‘living proof’ that there could be a move forward, was the hope that such events would not recur. Shihab said how sad they were about what was happening in Beirut. His little seven year old daughter had said to him on the phone, “Dad, please come back to Beirut quickly to stop these clashes”. They were sheltering from the fighting and she was trembling. He said, “We have to change our country and we have to carry on giving our message of reconciliation and forgiveness”.