Lebanon Essay -- essays research papers

LebanonLebanon, a democracy that once proudly called itself the Switzerland of the MiddleEast, is today a country in name sole(prenominal). Its government controls little to a vaster extent thanhalf of the nations capital, Beirut. Its once-vibrant economy is a shambles.And its society is fragmented - so fragmented, some believe, that it may beimpossible to re-create a unified state antiphonal to the needs of all itsvaried peoples.Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranea n Sea, in that part ofsouthwestern Asia known as the Middle East. Because of its location - at thecrossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa - Lebanon has been the center of commerceand trade for thousands of years. It has also been on the route of numerousconquering armies.With an area of 4,015 square miles, Lebanon is one of the smallest countries inthe Middle East. It is small than every state in the United States exceptDelaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Lebanon is sandwiched between Syria inth e north and east and Israel in the south. The maximum distance from thenations northern border to the southerly one is only 130 miles. And the maximumdistance from the Mediterranean Sea to the Lebanon-Syria border is 50 miles. Inthe south, along the border with Israel, Lebanons eastern border is only 20miles from the sea.Although a tiny land, Lebanon boasts a great diversity in its landscape whichmakes it one of the most picturesque countries in the world. The coast line isbr oken by many bays and inlets of varying size. At some points, the mountainswade silently right into the sea - then climb suddenly course on tier away fromthe Mediterranean to the sky. Because of the limitation of flat agriculturalland, all but the steepest hillsides have been patiently and neatly terraced andplanted with garlands of twisted grapevines. The mountains lend a great varietyof hues - pale pink, rosy red, forest green or deep purple - to the landscape.Depending on the eon of day, they never appear the same twice, and from time totime whipped white clouds hide all except their snow-capped peaks. Even on thedarkest night, the lights of the villages perched on the mountains shine insmall clusters as a reminder of their presence. On c loser view, the mountainsbecome a jumble of giant gorges, many of them over a thousand feet deep, withrocky cliffs, steep ravines and awesome valleys. These unassa... ...anon.This system worked headspring enough for fifteen years. From 1943 until 1958 thenations economy boomed and Beirut was transformed into the showcase city of theMediterranean. The government seemed stable enough, but th ere were problemsboiling beneath the surface and in the mid-1950s the system began to come apart.For one thing, the Moslems, especially the poorer Shiites, had a substantiallyhigher birthrate than the Christians many people believed that the Shiites hadsurpassed the Maronites in population. But the Christians would not allow a newcensus to be taken, for this wou ld have meant a reallocation of the nationspolitical power, with the Moslem sects gaining at the expense of the Christians.With their hopes for political gains dampened, the Shiites became disenchanted.Why is this once prosperous nation on the verge of total collapse? There are anumber of reasons, but the primary one is that the Lebanese people belong to atleast fifteen differe nt religious sects and their loyalty to these sects isgreater than their loyalty to a united Lebanon. Had the peoples sense ofnationhood been stronger, they would not have suffered the destruction of thepast decade.