Lebanese expatriates in Brazil, home to the largest community in the diaspora, celebrated the third anniversary of the liberation of the South from Israeli occupation last weekend.
After reciting the Koran, a minute of silence was observed for those killed in the occupation. Many used the stage of the crowded 600-seat Sao Pedro Theater to remember the suffering of the Lebanese people through the years of Zionist occupation. They also asked the people of Iraq and Palestine to resist aggression and adopt Lebanese ways to fight invaders.
Imam Sayyed Hassan Ibrahim of the Bras Mosque in Sao Paulo said Lebanon is free today thanks to the resistance, and that Lebanon and the resistance are linked. Sheikh Taleb Jumaa, representative of the Mufti of Lebanon, said that the struggle of the Lebanese people was one of the most difficult in history. He condemned the United States and accused America of planning the destruction of all other cultures and religions.
The leader of the Orthodox Church, Dom Damasqinos Mansour, said that national unity was the main reason for the victory of May 25. Mansour also said that President Emile Lahoud was “the symbol of steadfastness of Lebanon.”
The Maronite representative, Bishop Joseph Mahfouz, congratulated all Lebanese on the day and remembered those countries that helped Lebanon.
Consul-General of Lebanon Youssef Sayegh called for the return of the Shebaa Farms and the release of all detainees in Israel prisons.
The event was organized by the Lebanese consulate in Sao Paulo in cooperation with the Islamic Beneficence Association of Brazil. Various diplomatic staff from Arab and Islamic countries, religious authorities, politicians, representatives of Lebanese and Arab associations and members of the Lebanese community also were in attendance.