May Chidiac at AUB

May Chidiac spoke at AUB today. I have a lot to say about her visit, and would have more to say if her remarks hadn't been in Arabic. Nevertheless, there are some aspects that one doesn't exactly need a translator to understand.

First, a little background. Chidiac is a television journalist who was the victim of a terrorist attack on September 25, 2005. She was targeted because of her outspoken criticism of Syria's involvement in Lebanon's internal politics. Her program on the Lebanese Broadcast Corporation the day of the attempted assassination discussed Syria's possible involvement in the killing of Prime Minister Hariri. Chidiac was not the only journalist targeted for their anti-Syrian stance -- Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni paid for their beliefs with their lives. As for Chidiac, she lost a leg and a hand in the explosion, and spent 10 months recuperating in a Paris hospital.

Needless to say, Chidiac's speech was unlike any university lecture that I've ever been to. She was greeted by a standing ovation, and her words were interrupted every few minutes by applause. National pride ran high -- before she began, everyone stood and most sang the Lebanese national anthem. At one point, when reciting the names of the politicians and journalists targeted in the terrorist campaign by pro-Syrian forces in 2005, Chidiac broke in tears. The whole event felt like a highly charged political rally, rather than a dry, factual lecture.

And you know what? Chidiac deserves every round of applause that she received. Lebanon's journalists were tremendously courageous to tell the truth about Syria in 2005 -- at a time when the government was still run by Syria, and its intelligence services had carte blanche to run wile throughout the country. It would have been easy to hide behind a dishonest veneer of objectivity; to downplay or ignore Syrian's role in Hariri's assassination. But many of them didn't, and their speaking truth to power made it easier for regular citizens to oppose the Syrian regime. I'll give May Chidiac a standing ovation any day.