Lebanon’s gangster movie does not have a happy ending
https://arab.news/29umz
A massive, institutionalized banking Ponzi scheme, suspicions of corruption in the awarding of government contracts, illicit contraband and drug trafficking, money laundering, assassinations and military-style attacks are but a few headlines that make for a perfect parallel between Lebanon with its cartel families and “The Godfather” movie by Francis Ford Coppola. In a country where political leaders and stakeholders are accused of being criminal organizations, references to gangster books and movies seem appropriate.
On the sad and tragic anniversary of the Aug. 4 Beirut Port explosion and despite the victims, the outcry and the protests, the perpetrators are free — not even worried by an irrelevant local investigation. They simply all went “to the mattresses,” like in the movie, to hide and fight back. At the same time, they seek political and judicial protection. In that sense, haven’t MPs from across the political spectrum stalled the lifting of immunity in the explosion investigation? But who are they protecting? Who is really behind these attacks?
One of my favorite scenes in “The Godfather” might give the answer. It is the one where Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, finally discovers who was the real mafia boss targeting his family through another clan: The Tattaglia family. It takes place after a meeting with all the mafia bosses, in which he reluctantly agrees to give political protection for the drug trafficking activities. And, as he rides with his consigliere (adviser) Tom Hagen, played by Robert Duvall, he states who the real puppet master is by saying: “I didn’t know until this day that it was Barzini all along.” This dialogue applies perfectly to Lebanon in terms of the port explosion: “It was Hezbollah all along.” Yet, for decades, we have kept living this moment over and over; and we keep stating the same, to no avail.
We could easily assign to each “family” and character from Mario Puzo’s book and the subsequent movie an equivalent group and figure in Lebanon. However, I will stop at the Barzini parallel as I am convinced most in Lebanon know who the Tattaglias are and might also guess who the Corleone family is. It is quite alarming how closely the political landscape has a real and direct link to mafia movies. The ending and the plot might differ a little. As we all know, in the movie the Corleones come out victorious. In Lebanon, the story is being written differently and it is Barzini who is the victor to this day. Yet, as we read the book or watch the movie, we side with the Corleones as the heroes, always forgetting that they are also criminals. And this is the tragedy for Lebanon too: All the heroes seem to have become criminals.
It is quite alarming how closely the Lebanese political landscape has a real and direct link to mafia movies.
Khaled Abou Zahr
There is no place for freedom, liberty and justice in a terrorist and corrupt system like this one. Even the decent and strong become evil. It is like Michael Corleone, the son of Vito Corleone. His character is introduced as a decorated Second World War veteran who sets out not to be part of his family’s criminal organization, but a failed assassination attempt on his father plunges him into it. And, despite stating his desire to make all their activities legal, he becomes stuck in a vicious circle of criminality. In the book, but not in Lebanon, he turns into a ruthless, unforgiving mafia boss who outsmarts all the others.
This is what happens in Lebanon — it is a ruthless environment that corrupts absolutely because absolute power and unaccountability are available. The Lebanese terror-gangsters can even pull off having the international community let them off the hook. This is something not even the Corleones could have dreamed of. When the Lebanese protests started in October 2019, the main slogan (which is the needed solution) was, “All means all,” meaning the entire political and civil landscape needed to be overhauled.
How did the Lebanese mafia answer this threat? It deliberately plunged the country into an even graver depression. Lebanon was already on track for severe economic hardship, but they decided to use it and make it worse. They decided to make the people suffer for their basic needs. The international community, represented by France, seeing the humanitarian catastrophe looming, changed its proposed solution from accompanying a transition to begging the political parties to form a government so that they can send them international aid. It is like the mafia sending hoodlums to smash up a small shop owner’s premises so that he comes to them begging for protection and pays for it happily.
This extortion scheme has been going on for decades. The Syrians were the original masters. They have played this game with other Arab countries and the West for far too long. Hezbollah, the “capo di tutti capi” (boss of all bosses), is now doing the same. However, Arab countries have broken free of this arm-twisting scheme and are no longer willing to abide by it. The West, not only for humanitarian reasons but also for national security purposes, is accepting this situation. I have little hope that any funds raised by any summit will reach the people who really need it. Just like in the movie, the criminal groups will find a way to smuggle it out of the country and resell it, probably in Syria.
Despite the uproar and justified rage of the Lebanese people, there is little hope for change. Undeniably, like in “The Godfather,” the power goes to whoever controls the streets; whoever has armed men on the ground; whoever has the muscle. In Lebanon, it is Hezbollah. Clashes in Khalde this week have shown that they know how to leverage sovereign institutions to wipe out even the smallest and most irrelevant threat. It is, once again, a sad tragedy for Lebanon that we can not only draw a parallel with Puzo’s book and its movie adaptation, but probably most movies from the same genre. There is no joyful end in sight.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
