LEBANON: Man jailed for thirteen years is released only to find his country back in ruins

Najib Freiha was counting the days for his release from jail after 13 years but was only able to enjoy freedom for a few hours. Shortly after his release on July 13, Israeli planes bombed Beirut's international airport, a day after Hizbollah kidnapped two of its soldiers. Reviewing old photographs in his family home on Wednesday (July 26), Freiha, 36, recalled his days as a fighter with the Christian Lebanese militia during the civil war. "The war is really dirty. It is a sad to see buildings in destruction. Maybe I am the one who fired that bullet. This is our country whatever happens, whether it is Israelis, Iranians, Syrians, Americans. This is our country," said Freiha. While in prison, he dreamed of seeing Beirut and the rest of Lebanon - a nation he remembers as divided between factions. "I haven't seen anything in Lebanon yet. When I was in jail, I used to think that once I am released and there is no more war, I will be able to see the country. I will go to Beirut and will go to the south of the country," Freiha said. Jailed in 1993, Freiha missed the prosperous years of Lebanon following the country's 1975-1990 civil war. Now the country is once again in ruin and the destruction of roads and bridges has made it difficult and dangerous for movement. On Thursday (July 27), Israeli warplanes destroyed radio masts north of Beirut and attacked three trucks carrying medical and food supplies to the east, security sources said. They said two truck drivers were killed. Other Israeli aircraft blasted targets in and around several villages and towns in the mainly Shi'ite Muslim south, and artillery batteries opened up from Israel's side of the border. The fighting has left more than 400 dead, 2,000 wounded and many towns and villages destroyed. At least 40 Israelis have been killed from Hizbollah rockets. Being part of the Christian militia, Freiha spent much of his time in the predominately Christian area of Mount Lebanon, outside Beirut. Now, he says that he regrets his past but if he was forced to defend his family, then he would carry a gun again. "I say now 'I do not want to carry a rifle anymore, or any weapons', after all the humiliation that I had to go through. But if someone tries to hurt me...then I would carry a weapon," he said. Driving through the city, Freiha was stunned to see how it all changed and is worried that Israel's bombardment will heighten sectarian tensions in a country yet to recover fully from its dark past. "We worry that there might be now a civil war between the Shiites and the Christians because of the current situation," he said while touring . The current conflict was triggered on July 12 when Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid.

ITN Source | July 30, 2006

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