Saturday, August 05, 2006

Hezbollah: the Corleone family of Lebanon

From the NY Times: “Charity wins deep loyalty for Hezbollah

They cover medical bills, offer health insurance, pay school fees and make seed money available for small businesses. They are invisible but omnipresent, providing essential services that the Lebanese government through years of war was incapable of offering.

Their work engenders a deep loyalty among Shiites, who for years were the country’s underclass and whose sense of pride and identity are closely intertwined with Hezbollah.
This underscores why the Cedar Revolution must succeed in Lebanon and establish a modern state.

2 comments:

marjon said...

Mormans, Catholics and other major religions provide social servies, too. I guess the NYT believes rockets, bombs and destruction are just the cost of providing social 'servies'.

JorgXMcKie said...

And don't forget the Amish. They somehow take care of everyone without using a single bomb, bullet or suicide belt.