قتلى – ضحايا – شهداء: الأب سامي حلّاق

La visite que le Père Arturo Sosa a faite à la communauté Saint-Ignace a eu un impact profond sur chacun de nous, scolastiques de la Compagnie. Cet impact a dépassé toutes nos attentes. Ce ne fut pas simplement une rencontre pastorale ou une visite officielle, ce fut surtout une rencontre fraternelle.

A few months ago, when bombs were falling on the country and on Beirut, it was uncertain whether I could be with you on this occasion. Yet, I deeply wished it would be possible. Today, I am truly delighted that the situation, which has so profoundly changed since then, allows me to be here. I am very pleased to be able to join you in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Saint Joseph University of Beirut and, through this celebration, to express the deep attachment and esteem of the Society of Jesus.

Dear Rachel,
I have just received horrifying news about what happened in Bethlehem after Joseph, the child, and I left that night… The king’s soldiers came and slaughtered the children without mercy. Neither the mothers’ pleas nor the fathers’ courage could stop them!

As you will be visiting the CJC tomorrow and seeing how the Society of Jesus in Lebanon is responding to this crisis effectively, I would like to share with you how I, as a Jesuit, experience this impoverishment of the Lebanese population on a spiritual and human level.

On the first day when the war escalated here in Beirut, a mother from our parish called me. “Brother, if it gets bad can we come stay in the church?” She her children were living in Dahiyye, a neighborhood that was likely to face heavy bombing if the war picked up.

In the following lines, I will share my personnal experience with the uprising that took place on the midst of October 2019. For those who are coming from abroad, the protests took place here, just few meters away. So, I couldn’t stay in my room and watch the event through my window. The temptation to join the gathered people was so great and noble.

The blast in the port of Beirut was not just one of many that I have experienced, sometimes very closely, as a war child. Beirut blast on 4 august 2020 was an earthquake, an upheaval, an apocalypse.

The October 17, 2019 revolution in Lebanon was a profound experience for me, filled with enthusiasm, contradictions, personal challenges, and deep wounds. From the very first days, I was swept up by the momentum of Lebanese youth dreaming of a better country, free from corruption and systemic injustices. Their energy, determination, and hope were contagious, and I felt immense joy in being among them, sharing their struggle, and marching alongside them in the streets of Beirut and other cities.

Today, I want to share with you how Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour faced and survived some of the worst crises in Lebanon’s history. Between 2017 and 2023, Lebanon experienced political turmoil, economic collapse, social unrest, and national disasters—each one threatening the very existence of its institutions, especially schools. Yet, despite these challenges, Jamhour endured, adapted, and even thrived, thanks to the support of some Jesuits, friends, families and benefactors. Let’s look at how the school navigated each crisis.

I will speak about what the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel stirred within me. Like many Lebanese—perhaps all—I felt a deep and overwhelming uncertainty about what this war would mean for our country. This uncertainty was already deeply rooted, given the more than two-year-long presidential vacuum and the gradual disintegration of state institutions.