Cut off from the world, surrounded by the outbreak of war in Gaza by the firepower of the Israeli army intent on repelling the infiltrations of Hezbollah and the Palestinian commandos of the al-Qassam brigades, part of Hamas: these are the conditions of the inhabitants remaining in the town of Rmeich (around 10 thousand people) and in the two nearby villages of Aïn Ebel and Debl, located on the edge of the Lebanese-Israeli border. For this reason, the visit in recent days of the apostolic nuncio Msgr. Paolo Borgia came as a great surprise.
The Vatican diplomat arrived in Rmeich with a convoy of the Lebanese NGO Solidarity, chaired by businessman Charles Hajje, who is also president of the Maronites in the World Foundation, an institution of the Maronite Patriarchate. Welcomed in the town hall, the nuncio conveyed to his guests the blessing and concern of Pope Francis and the Secretary of State, Card. Pietro Parolin, who exceptionally authorized him to visit this war zone.
The town is in fact located in a war zone. “As far as we are concerned, the conflict that Prime Minister Nagib Mikati is trying to avoid by visiting Arab capitals is actually already there and present,” says Milad Alam, president of the Rmeich municipality. The official then thanked the nuncio for his visit. Of course, it is a contained war, but “it has already claimed many victims, including a photographer from the Reuters agency”, he recalls.
However, although limited, this war, which the vast majority of Lebanese do not want, is starting to take its toll on the border population. Faced with Hezbollah, the Lebanese state has revealed the extent of its impotence. Municipalities are deprived of their resources and the population feels forgotten by the central government. The Lebanese army has no say in the south of the country of cedars and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) is reduced to appealing to reason towards all parties involved.