I feel like I have no right to even mention your name.
I have been sitting at home reading the #RIPMohammadChaar tweets for the past four hours.
Your friend Yasmine broke my heart.
It’s killing me. Wow, what a weird choice of words.
I am going to make it worse by telling you that it’s not fair. And that no, you are not a martyr and that no you are not a hero.
You are 16.
You still don’t know what you want to do, you just want to be stupid, have fun and stay up late with friends.
You want to kiss someone under the rain, steal your parent’s car, get into college, get a part time job and dance in the streets.
You won’t.
It’s unfair but you won’t.
You won’t because you were murdered and robbed from your friends and family. You won’t because some lowlife squeezed a button.
You did not pick this battle, you did not look for it. Heroes and martyrs usually know what they’r fighting for.
Right now you are a murder victim.
You are not a hero. The only way for you to become a Hero is if your death does not go in vain; the only way for you to be a martyr for a cause is if your death causes a change.
Every time this happens we hear the same reactions; and innocent people are automatically given martyrdom and hero status as if they were looking to die; for some cause that we don’t know of.
None of the innocent bystanders wanted to die. If we gave them all a choice they would not have wanted to die, specially that it always goes in vain. We cry and get angry, we organize a march or a sit in and then we forget.
Every single time! We get angry, we cry and then we forget.
This is going to happen again. That’s the sad part, we all know that another bomb is going to blow up somewhere again soon. We have to do something about it. We have to, this is unbearable we cannot accept this anymore, we cannot just sit and watch as homes are shattered, as people’s lives change in a second for nothing! We cannot stand by when 16 year old kids get slaughtered in mid day for reasons that we do not believe in!
We are not allowed to act cool anymore every time a bomb goes off and go have a drink because “nothing keeps us down”… We cannot distance ourselves from the victims. Guys, anyone of us could have been there when the bomb went off. I am sick of making phone calls to make sure everyone I know is alive every time a bomb goes off! Do you understand what we are getting used to? this is not the norm. This has to change, we have a responsibility to change it because like it or not; more sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, cousins and friends are going to die! Like it or not the bombs are going to keep going off! Like it or not you are already in this fight! Someone is already killing you!
This is where we decide that enough is enough. Our friends and families souls are not just statistics and numbers in a newspaper. Our parents went through even worse times, they had non of the abilities and tools that we now have. This is the time for us as a generation to say that we have had enough.
Mohammad’s friends are organizing a march that will start from his school “Hariri high school 2” (next to Lycee Abdel Kader in Zarif) at 10a.m Monday morning leading to where the explosion took place (Details on this Facebook link). They are asking people to get a white flower with them. They should be joined by students from all over the country. They should be joined by all of us.
This should not end here. I have a feeling it won’t. There already are calls for action.
Once and for all, let us make real Martyrs and real Heroes out of the innocents who have died.
Enough people have died in vain.
“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.”- Søren Kierkegaard
Rest in peace.
-The T times- 
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what about the rest of the people who died because of that explosion? If u ask me, Mohammad, God bless his soul, had it easy since his death was painless. What about those who were severely injured and died out over time in their hospital beds, suffering in sheer agony? Who will mention them?
I mean no disrespect to Mohammad, do not misunderstand my post.
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Hey Joe! You’r right, but I do mention that there are other victims. There have been for a long time and there will be in the future; by mentioning Mohammad specifically I do not mean to deny the other victims existence or the pain that their friends and families are going through. And I think it would be painful for you to know that Mohammad’s death was not instantaneous…. He passed away after a night in the hospital… Regards…
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Mohammad died in the hospital, after being in a coma for 24 hours. His death, unfortunately, was anything but. On another note, he is only one example of what happens every single time. No one is overlooking all the other people that have passed every time this happens, and this is exactly why people like us are desperate for change.
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Mate,… Mohamad was still alive! He was in a coma and no person could have felt his pain! No one! Let me tell you one thing! The ‘Selfie’ that the four guys took before the bomb, behind them was the car that killed Mohamad! He was so close to it, So close! so you can’t say “NO DISRESPECT TO MOHAMAD” because you are being DISRESPECTFUL as his death was PAINFUL! Allah Yerham all that died that day but don’t write things you don’t know! … JUST A SUGGESTION!
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Koussa
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Deep, intellectual and very appropriate comment Mr. yankey…
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koussa me7she
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You took the words right out of my mouth. Every time this goes on I have o call everyone I know in Lebanon to make sure they are OK . Make sure they are alive !!! This is what drove me out of Lebanon , this is not a way of life its an evil imposed on us. We need to fight back and not only by Facebook pages that will be forgotten with time , not only by feeling sorry for the victims and their families. We as the next generation need to BE the next generation. We need a revolution against this injustice inflicted on every single one of us. The minute this revolution starts I will bring my ass back to Lebanon to fight for my rights !!!
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We shouldn’t wait until it starts. It won’t just start out of nowhere, we should all START it and start it now before the situation gets worse
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martyr is a title given by God, and in his case he diserved it.
as for the hero part, coincidentally his photo with the famous honda, was a major clue for the intelligence agency.. those.. one more time, unluckily you:) he IS a HERO !!
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great way of looking at things…
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given by god? did anyone see this so mentioned god come down from his perch and bestow his/her heavenly blessing? dude, the problem with you all is your fanatic devotion to a fairy tale.
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To say that no one except the legal authorities has the right to bear arms (or at least military grade arms) is already taking position against one party. Sad. To think that when the Syrians were leaving, the Lebanese were dreaming of an independent and respected country. Only one party had arms and refused to surrender them. Lebanon didn’t have an organised Islamist or salafist party. Now Lebanon has them. Which would lead one to say, that, whether Assad stays or goes, the odds are against Lebanon. and those crimes will continue. How sad.
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It’s not much of a position.
Most countries have only one army whose job is to serve the country, not a particular political party. It’s the most fair option, and it reduces tensions.
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The essence of the revolution should stem from the core of our problems in Lebanon; The marriage of religion and politics. It has been decades and we still don’t understand that the very makeup of the Lebanese society ensures that no one “deletes” the other. So when will we learn to just face the facts and ensure equality across the entire country? After yet another civil war? Have we not learned what civil war does? Here is a reminder; thousands of people die from all sides and then NOTHING. NOTHING changes. If history is an indication of anything, it tells us that we are doomed to repeat our mistakes, it tells us that we are blind sheep that cattle behind leaders who can simply change their minds and ally with the “enemy” two days later disregarding the “martyrs” that have fallen in the alleged wars they wage.
If there is a call for revolution, it should be a call against our discriminatory constitution. A CALL FOR SECULARISM. Keep your religion to your God, your country is for ALL. End the Madness already!!
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Excellent ya Zeina. Nothing to add. How could we awake people? The Secularism is our sole key as real citizen and not sheeps in this country. We haven’t time or potency or what else to kill each other again and again! Stoooop! In the name of all these innocents people who died by no chance. In the name of…. us! In the name of our children, parents, friends…
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He is a martyr regardless of your artistic vision. Religion says he is and God wont change mohammad’s title after reading this article. We count him as a martyr because he died without having the choice in it. The definition of a martyr is not that narrow to include only those who decide to die for a good cause. the definition also fits his case. Bieng a hero or not is something you can dwell on but remember that this is your opinion alone. He is a hero to me because after his death things will get better. The pessimistic view you adopted made you blind enough to miss that the march you are organizing for his sake and the revolutionary thoughts you have in mind are because of his death. These are the good things that his death implanted in us and that is why , to me ,mohammad is a hero and a martyr.
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Secularism would allow this country to be governed ideally by the most eligible individuals who could bring about a change in the way people think. This is because, in theory, separating the matters of Governing the Lives of a country’s citizens from those citizen’s Beliefs could help create a governing body that could aid people’s lives in a more equal manner.
The difficulty here is that the problems that exist in Lebanon, and continue to affect our everyday lives, extend far beyond the borders of our own country. The way I see it, Lebanon is composed of so many different factions, each vying for power and control over the country, in an attempt to model it in their own image. Note this includes those who want peace and those who would rather have chaos. Several different countries (be it Syria, Saudi, Iran, Israel, Palestine, the US, Russia, etc..) have their own hands extended into Lebanon (picture this as tens of hands being shoved into a small tiny little bowl of jewels, each trying to take as much as possible, without outright attacking the others), and are actively trying to shape Lebanon’s events to help their own countries and further their own agendas.
Then you have the citizens of this country who are living their ordinary lives, who wish to have no part in this greater struggle that plagues Lebanon, the citizens that are living in uncertainty and constant worry. These people have their own beliefs, but don’t wish to force these beliefs on others. Add to these the people who have their own beliefs, and wish to force these beliefs on others. Now, add the people who believe in the evil of other factions. These are the ones who find it easier to point the finger, rather than attempt to look within themselves, to assess their own shortcomings. So many different stories of certain political factions, certain sects, certain religious groups, are floating around, with So Much false media going on, how can you really discover pieces of truth from within a larger ball of lies?
So how do you convince these “entities” to remove their hands? How do you convince the citizens to put aside their blind hatred, instilled in their minds since birth? I do not yet know. It’s really difficult to face this problem, let alone solve it, and much easier to simply go about our normal lives and attempt – not to Ignore the assassinations and casualties – to work around these events. By working around these events, we halt our activities for a few days, and then to continue our own lives, as each of us has their own goals in life. Not everyone’s goal in life is achieve world peace.
Do we neglect our duties to our own country and the citizens that live within? Definitely Not. The purpose of living within a state, and of having a governing body, is to create an environment where we can feel security and safety in living. Therefore, despite the fact that we were born into a specific country, and into a belief system already set out for us by our parents and elders, we must each be willing to do our part for the good of the country. No one has a right to live in a country and neglect the issues that country faces while still enjoying the benefits that country offers.
To help this chaotic country, spread awareness of suffering and casualties. Stop blind hatred and face-value evaluations of entire groups of people! Question what you are being told by media, by friends, by people you look up to! Try not to hear an opinion or ‘fact’ from someone (whoever they may be), and go about repeating it as truth! I am not saying you should further live in uncertainty, but I am saying that you should realize what state we are living in. Understand that there are so many lies being told, and so many people are resorting to prejudice and snap judgments whenever a bomb goes off, or a person is killed. There are facts and truth out there, you just need to look for it, and you need to use your reasoning to assess what happened and the reasons behind these occurrences.
Note: reading this, you may notice how many topics are being discussed, and how I move between them all. This is just an example of the confusion in many people’s minds, and just points to great number of issues that need to be resolved in Lebanon to achieve some semblance of peace.
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Tarek, I will be as frank as you would like to be not as you seem to be…and hopefully I won’t be boarding bluntness.
First, sadness is a transient speck of emotion when it comes to describe the killing of young Mohammd Chaar because the death of a young soul is always hard and unacceptable to the parents and others alike.
Second, expressing your feelings in the way you find appropriate is your own choice.,,,be it through marching….holding flowers….or any other way.
Third, and here comes the frank part, you …YOU AND OTHERS…will do nothing.
And enough will not be enough.
And your feeling that the “action” …whatever you mean by that….will not end there is a false feeling originating from the emotional spur of the moment. NOTHING else!
Mohammad Chaar has been killed by a bomb…others will be killed as well. And no one will do anything about it!!!! NO ONE!
why….?!!?!? …because no one …deep down…really believes that he/she has a country to call motherland. Thus, sadly, no one cares!!!! NO ONE, Tarek!!!!…Everyone wants change….but no one is working towards it. just words and more words…….
…..and in vain, many MANY will perish.
I pray, Tarek, that you all find a way out of the coming madness.
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We’ve become rather de-sensitized to political assassinations. A few montages are aired for a couple of days. Almost immediately, daily life resumes being fully aware that in a matter of months another political figure will reach his turn. Unfortunate – but assassinations have become the norm in Lebanese politics. Have something constructive to say? Does your opinion in any way challenge one of the billion sects of Lebanese society? Then you’ve already compromised your existence in someway or another.
The real sting is when innocent bystanders get sucked into these shady political schemes. Since when has it been a crime to hang around with friends on a Saturday afternoon? “Being in the wrong place at the wrong time” doesn’t begin to suffice as a justification – not even for Lebanon – and therefore, shouldn’t be shrugged off as such. If anything good were to come out of this, I’m glad that Mohamed El Chaar received the media attention that he did, because this is really the first time that the loss of a civilian is not only acknowledged, but personalized. For once, a Lebanese citizen is regarded with the dignity that they deserve rather than contributing to an ongoing list of another anonymous body count.
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You know what pisses me off? People are arguing down below about how this kid died. And something else is calling this the #MohammadChaarRevolution. I wasn’t okay with that name and I’ve been hated and criticized because of my disagreement and people claimed that this is due to the effort his friends are making to revive his name. But as the blog had already mentioned, he was a 16 year old who deserved none of this for all we care, he could have been at some point the cure to cancer. But then again other people have died throughout the years throughout the wars and throughout the times bullets were fired and bombs went off. Father’s mothers who had a responsibility they had to live up to, and after all they call it the Mohammad Chaar Revolution? If you ask ms that’s not fair and disrespectful for everyone else.
Would I, as a person, go through with it? Yes.. Would I, as a person, promote it? Hell yes.
God bless everyone’s soul.
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Reblogged this on Al-Must'arib (the vocational Mossarab).
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Reblogged this on Musings and Wonderings and commented:
I read this and it mirrors some of what I am thinking and feeling about the explosion that took place this past Friday. So I am sharing it with you all, because I am unable to type hollow words that will not do justice to the aching I feel in my soul, the aching that has made a home for itself in the hearts and souls of many people.
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I have no dog in this fight (since I am Egyptian) but you have to understand that the fact that I have no real attachments to the issue, provides me with the gift of objectivity, and please feel free to ignore every single word I say, and please accept my apology in case you find my opinions offensive, ok; we got that covered, now let me say what I want to say
1- People who want to do, don’t say, they just do, this is an emotional piece, with an expiry date that is linked to the existence of the anger/sadness emotions resulting from the tragedy at hand
2- People have a problem with idolizing Mohamed, because it’s a Muslim name, the same will happen if you choose another victim with a clear Christen name, no one wants to say it, but it’s written between the lines in all your comments, and people are using the excuse of “But other people died too”, my advice is to pick a victim with a neutral name (or make up one) it’s just a symbol guys!
3- No one wants to be the trigger for action, everybody is waiting for someone else to trigger the action, but guess what? There is no one else!
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Hey Nour… The piece represents what i felt, and no… I honestly do not care for those who attach a religious emblem to Mohammad; to me he is a 16 year old boy who died on the street precisely because of religious struggles burning through our society. As for this having an expiry date, Mohammad’s existence has been immortalized by thousands of others who wrote about him. And as for action, I personally am acting, and will continue to act and you would be surprised to know that many are joining this fight for change. Regards, and much much love to all of Egypt! Thank you for reading…
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I see where you’re coming from about picking a neutral name (given the social dynamics in Lebanon.) However, when we start to worry about how neutral Mohamed/ Gabriel/ Adam as a name is, we begin to accommodate the divisions in our society that shouldn’t be there in the first place. It does nothing more than obstruct us from focusing on the greater picture — that is the unacceptable murder of an innocent teenager. Shouldn’t being Lebanese suffice for Lebanese people to identify with a Lebanese teenager like Mohamed?
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Im sorry to look around and see how stupid we lebanesse are and u know whT pain me more is thT our governmet with all the cams 20 at least cant make out the. Face of the murderers how pity….but with the iran ambussy bomb wow same day Puffff here we have the killer….pitty we live in a murderious country…..
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I’m not Lebanese, I know nor have I ever heard of Chaar, not until the day he died, but it kills me knowing a guy my age, living almost right next to me, who probably had the same dreams I have right now won’t ever get to live them. Is getting to go to college too much to ask for? Growing old with your friends, becoming something big, spending new year’s with your loved ones? God, the thought of him looking forward to 2014 only to die 6 days before it starts is horrible. It’s painful knowing that we live in countries where even the right to dream has been taken away from us, only to be replaced with constant fear of death for, quoting you: “reasons we don’t believe in”. His death will not go to waste, he sparked up a light of hope, dreams and thoughts of freedom inside each and every Arab that got to see him dying live on television, and I promise you, Mohammad, it’s not fading, at least not until they pay for your death. الله يرحمك.
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Plz you young people you are our only hope , plz do something our age group is sick with fanatism tarnished with lies and blood , you are still clean pure plz help us.
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I feel guilt, pain and anger, yet my anger overweighs my feeling of guilt and pain that we do nothing to stop the killing of innocent people. How much more blood needs to be spilled until we become a civilized nation. When does it end if ever. I hope that no parent ever has to suffer from losing a loved one. A day will come when the perpetrators will pay for their cowardly actions.
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I posted the following in the facebook group “R.I.P Mohammad Al Shaar”. I wanted to share it here:
I’m from Venezuela. I’ve never been in Lebanon and sadly I don’t speak Arabic (though I do want to learn). My grandfather came from Tripoli almost 60 years ago after he (a Sunni Muslim) married my Christian grandmother. My other grandfather was Jewish, born and raised in Beirut, who came here to marry a woman he didn’t like, so he broke off the engagement and ended up marrying my Venezuelan grandmother. Although my family isn’t a “traditional” Lebanese family, we have always felt proud of being of Lebanese descent. I remember vividly my sitto telling me about her nation’s many beauties, so I grew up wanting to visit someday that wonderful place. Sadly, my parents have been afraid to go there because of the news they hear everyday about the sectarian violence, so I haven’t had the luck to know the land of my ancestors.
It hurts me every time I read the news about terrorist attacks happening in Lebanon. And I cried when I read about the death of Mohammad Shaar. It was painful to see a boy not much younger than me die because of a war between people blinded by rage and hatred who doesn’t know they’re destroying their beautiful country by killing its most precious resource: its youth. It made me angry to see an inocent boy die because of a war he wasn’t involved in, because of old prejudices he probably didn’t even share.
I sincerely hope that you young Lebanese keep working to make society forget about the differences between religions and parties, and concentrate on your shared history and values. You’re not Sunnis, Shiites, Christians or Druze first, you’re LEBANESE. And you sould be proud of it! I know you will overcome these old and very difficult problems and make Lebanon once again a safe, free and prosperous land. Don’t you ever lose faith in yourselves and in your country.
Blessings!
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You’re from Venezuela but you’re also Lebanese! I’m from Senegal, from France and i’m living in Lebanon since 19 years. I’m from the south and i’m living in the north of this so small country!!!
As you’re saying, the Lebanese identity is not closed by a sect or a political idea. And as some writers said (Dominique Edde, Amin Maalouf…), Lebanon is an idea… an ideal of living together with/by our different cultures. Yes nowadays this ‘vivre ensemble’ is deadly affected. But simply by this communication, by sharing ideas, ‘liking’ for i’m not a martyr page, etc…. i want to believe that a ‘new model’ could emerge. It’s very, very hard but what is the choice: go away? The story of modern Lebanon is already full of migrations stories.
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amazing ! thanks tarek
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The blatant truth is every time someone openly challenges Syria, Hezbollah or Iran’s interests in Lebanon, people will die. None of those mentioned care how many civilians they take along with their target, they are not sitting at home with their hands on their foreheads regretting the innocent lives that were sacrificed in reaching their goals. The larger the impact, the more power they accumulate through the terror and paralysis they feel they create. A stone has no heart.
I have been living outside Lebanon for the last 30 years, not by choice. I used to come to spend vacations, but I can no longer bring myself to face a country I no longer recognize. I talk to my children of times when I walked the streets of Beirut alone at night, and felt as safe as one would in their own home. I tell them of the generosity and hospitality and family-centered pride of the Lebanese, and how we support and care for our life-long friends. I paint a picture that my childhood friends in Lebanon tell me is now a fairytale that exists only in mind.
And yet, the essence of Lebanon courses through my blood, and its music and culture are part of my breath. My father was a diplomat, my mother wrote one of the first comprehensive cookbooks in Lebanon, we were 7 children growing up in the Chouf mountains, in-love with life, in-love with family, in-love with the country that was once the pride of the Mediterranean.
Point your finger at one politician who you believe feels as we do about Lebanon. Point your finger at any public figure who can claim he operates from pure devotion to country. Point your finger at someone wanting to bring change to Lebanon without a group behind him/her with an agenda. If you can point you finger at that person, it won’t be long before he/she too is a martyr.
We are no longer a sovereign country, we haven’t been for years .. but we won’t admit it. We pretend we rule ourselves and can determine our fate.
We are an occupied country.
Nothing will get a militia, supported by a powerful extremist regime, both financially and militarily, out of our country. It would take a war, and not a war we can wage. The only way to halt a cancer is with poisonous drugs that kill many healthy cells along with the bad ones. It would take a ruthless war.
I now feel like an orphan. I hate to say, that I thank God my parents are no longer here to see what has happened to our beloved homeland. It would have decimated them.
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A Short Reply to ‘Cookingupthecure’: I’m agree with all your comments. Sure we’re orphans, not only ‘like’ orphans! We’re orphans of a State, a Nation for all of us, with our differences, our cultures, our faiths or no-faiths. We need a secular State, it’s more than an evidence. But on one central point, i’m not agree with you – or i have to complete your thought: “We are no longer a sovereign country”… this is true, but our problem is not only a militia or one militia. In Lebanon you’ve plenty of military groups today, and we need as Godfathers neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia (and neither Israel/USA nor France and Russia!!!). We need to discuss, to communicate between ourselves – and that’s all the problem!!
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I agree Souha. Too many chiefs.. legitimate or not.
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