Arabic Version: PDF

Nothing is greater for a human being than to give one’s life for someone else. Thus spoke our
Lord, and thus did our martyrs.

They died in silence and departed in glory. They left without a goodbye, they did not ask
permission. They raced for martyrdom and, of their own will, they gave themselves as pure
offerings and a clear ransom for Lebanon and its great people. They rose to the rank of saints and
became one with the conscience of the nation. They inhabit in the deep memory of people and
have become the light that illuminates the darkness of the days. And is there darkness darker than
the gloom of these days?

The martyrs have a special standing in my heart. I love them as I love Lebanon, and I have a
passion for them like my passion for the Cause. I write with their inspiration and I seek my
thoughts and positions from them. Form them I draw my determination and the strength to
persist.

They are my relatives and my family. They live with me in my house and inhabit the deep of my
depth. I find solace with them in my loneliness and in my exile I chat with them in the evening
until the end of night. They are my companions and my friends in these days when companions
are few and friends have long since gone. They are the bread and the resource, the model and the
example, and the remaining hope in a country from which hope has long migrated.

They are loyalty in the time of treachery, honesty in the time of deceit, purity in the time of filth,
hope in the time of despair, devotion in the time of treason, fearlessness in the time of
irresolution, heroism in the time of cowardliness, and integrity in the time of perversion… They
are silence in the time of chatter, and is there anything more eloquent than the silence of martyrs?

Before you, I renew the promise and I raise the prayer.

The promise: We won’t swerve and we won’t change regardless of how often people change,
how much times are unfair, and the days are hard. Not one letter will we change to a creed you
embraced and for which you made the ultimate sacrifice. In fealty to you, we will pursue our
march no matter the bends in the road. We will continue on our journey until your aspirations are
met in the rise of Lebanon from under the ruins, its lifting from the hell in which filthy politicians
have enslaved it, and the return of peace to the homeland of peace.

The prayer: Oh Lord, take our martyrs close to You and let them reside by Your side, honor them
with Your angels and saints because heroes deserve honoring and welcoming. Do not let their
blood go in vain and grant their parents and loved ones the virtue of patience and the balm of
consolation. As for Lebanon which is dying before Your eyes, rush to its rescue, now and before
it is too late. No need to remind You that Lebanon is your homeland on earth. Save it Oh Lord, in
mercy for its people who belong to You and who have been on the cross for 30 years, because
You are omnipotent, Oh most merciful…Amen.

Lebanon, at your service
Etienne Sakr - Abu Arz