سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

قبل أن يُوقِّعَ بنجامين فرانكلين، البريطانيُّ الأصل، في تموز 1776 معاهدةَ الاستقلالِ الأميركيِّ ويُصبحَ أحدَ الآباءِ المؤسّسين للولاياتِ المتّحدة الأميركيّة، أعلن سنةَ 1760 بفَخرٍ وتباهٍ، وهو يُحيِّي الانتصارَ في معركة "الذئب" في سهول أبراهام الأميركية: "أنا بريطاني". لكن ما لَبِثَ أن تخلّى عن جِنسيّتِه البريطانيّةِ وآمَن في وجدانه العميقِ بـأن أميركا صارت دولةً قائمةً بذاتِها، وعلى كل ساكنٍ فيها أن يَنسى أصولَه الأولى ويَضع عليها خطًّا أحمرَ قوميًّا لبناءِ الولاياتِ المتّحدة. ومنذ أن اعترف بالولاياتِ المتحدة الأميركيّة وطنًا نهائيًّا، أصبح ولاؤه الكاملُ "النهائيُّ والثابتُ" لبلدِه الجديد.

الاعترافُ بــ"لبنان وطنًا نهائيًّا" ليس مجرّدَ إقرارٍ سياسيٍّ لتمريرِ تسويةٍ دستوريّة لم يقْبلها حزبُ الله وسواه. هو شعورٌ فرديٌّ وجَماعيٌّ يَسكنُ وِجدانَنا ومشاعرَنا ولاوَعْيَنا أكان مذكورًا في الدستور أم غيرَ مذكور، وينتفض تلقائيًّا تجاه أيِّ خطرٍ يَتعرّضُ له لبنان. وهو شعورٌ استقلالي يَقطعُ الولاءَ نهائيًّا للبنان عن مواصلةِ الولاءِ لأصولِ غابرِ الزمانِ وأعراقٍ وقوميّاتٍ بائدة. أن أكونَ لبنانيًّا لا يعني الانغلاقَ على حضاراتِ الآخَرين وثقافاتِهم شرقًا وغربًا، فالإنسانُ أصبحَ مواطنًا عالميًّا. ولا يَعني بالمقابِل التَذرَّعَ بالانتماءِ إلى المحيط لتبريرِ الولاءِ له أو التواطؤِ معه مثلما يَحصُلُ بين جماعاتٍ لبنانيّةٍ وعددٍ من دولِ الـمِنطقة وكأنَّ لا استقلالَ ولا ميثاقَ ولا "طائفَ"، وكأنَّ الاعترافَ بلبنان بالنسبة للبعض كان مناورة للحصولِ على تعديلاتٍ دُستوريّة.

The Hill LAURA KELLY - Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is blocking the Senate from voting on a bill aimed at providing close to $3 billion to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calling for victims of the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, to share in the compensation. The Republican senator opposed efforts by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last month to fast-track the “Fairness for 9/11 Families Act” to a vote on the Senate floor. The bill, H.R. 8987, passed the House in September with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 400 in support and 31 against. Cotton’s opposition presents an obstacle as the 117th Congress comes to a close and could force the bill’s sponsors to reintroduce it in the House in the next Congress, which begins in January. Cotton exercised his right to oppose the bill amid negotiations by Schumer to bring the legislation for a quick Senate floor vote through a process of unanimous consent, which can be employed when a bill is viewed as noncontroversial. “Senator Cotton will not allow a live [unanimous consent] of the bill as long as the Beirut bombing victims are left out,” James Arnold, press secretary for Cotton, told The Hill.

The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act was drafted to compensate 5,364 9/11 victims, spouses and dependents who were excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSSTF), established in 2015 as a way to compensate victims of terrorism who have secured final judgements in American courts against a state sponsor of terrorism. The more than 5,000 9/11 victims had earlier received compensation from the 2001 Victims Compensation Fund, but had argued they had been unfairly excluded from compensation from the USVSSTF. A report by the Government Accountability Office published in August 2021 found that the funds the 9/11 victims applied for through the USVSSTF amounted to about $2.7 billion. Lawmakers sought to provide this amount of money in a “catch-up payment” and drafted the Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, using leftover funds from the 2020 CARES Act, which was Congress’s COVID-19 relief package. But victims of the 1983 Beirut bombings are lobbying to also be acknowledged as missing out on payments provided by the USVSSTF.

by middleeasteye.net -- Qatar shipped in around 1,500 foreign fans, mainly from Lebanon, to support the country's national team in this year's World Cup, according to a report by the New York Times. The fans, who were also said to have come from Egypt, Algeria and Syria, were all "ultras" - a term originating in Italy, but now used worldwide, to describe followers known for their fanatical support. Authorities in host country Qatar had made the decision to bring in the fans amid concerns that matches involving the national team would otherwise only attract small numbers of low-key Qatari supporters.

The NYT said the main contingent had come from Lebanon after a test event was arranged in Beirut in April where hundreds of Lebanese students and fans of Nejmeh, a local club, were recruited to make a video at a stadium recreating the kind of intense atmosphere found at games attended by ultras. After impressing officials in Qatar, the fans were offered free flights, accommodation, match tickets and food, plus a small stipend, to support Qatar at the World Cup games. The newspaper said the fans arrived in mid-October, around a month before the tournament began, to rehearse their support, including newly written chants.

Story by Ryan Phillips — thebiglead.com — Iran’s run at the 2022 World Cup came to an end Tuesday, as it fell …