The answer is as simple as it is complicated. We’re not concerned for two reasons: First, because in Lebanon not only does every sect and every party have representation in the government, but also every leader has a say in decision-making, with consensus ruling supreme in order to ensure no segment of the population feels slighted.
The second reason is that we’ve already gone down that road, and during Lebanon’s 15-year Civil War we learned the hard way that there are no winners in such conflicts, and the only outcome is grief, pain and destruction across the board.
Unfortunately, the very concept that helped this country’s leaders finally put an end to the bloodshed has denied closure for its population. The agreement that there would be no victor and no vanquished ensured that all participants in our conflict emerged with their dignity and honor intact, and allowed them to proceed with the business of rebuilding a nation.
At the same time, however, many of the truths remain obscured nearly three decades after the end of the war. With no one coming forward to shed light on any of the atrocities that occurred, or on the killings that claimed countless lives, to this day their families still harbor hope that their loved ones may still be alive. As a result, a significant portion of the population remains chained to the last vestiges of the conflict, unable to move on until they discover the fates of the missing.
We may not be concerned about a new war, but we have yet to lay the last one to rest.