Support for Hezbollah still high in south Lebanon
South Lebanese rely on Hezbollah for security from Israel as national army seems too weak to protect country’s borders.
AITA AL-SHAAB, Lebanon - He passed all his school exams, helped out in his father's sandwich bar, ran a bicycle shop and still found time to train with local Hezbollah guerrillas in this village on Lebanon's border with Israel.
Shadi Saad's parents mourn their 19-year-old son, killed in last year's 34-day war against Israel, but say they are proud of what he did and are ready to let his younger brother join the "Islamic resistance" once he has completed high school.
"I just want him to finish his exams first," said Hani Saad, fingering blue worry beads at his home in Aita al-Shaab, a village battered in some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
"I'm going to be a fighter too if the Israelis return. They have turned moderate people into people who hate them. I want revenge for my son. I want to drink the blood of the Israelis, not just kill them," added the 42-year-old with greying hair.
The words came out calmly and provoked no alarm from his wife Zeinab, whose kindly face and blue eyes were framed in a black headscarf.
"Haidar is now doing his middle school exams. He wants to join the resistance when he finishes school. He has chosen to follow his brother's path," Zeinab, a mother of five explained.
Shadi was among about 270 Hezbollah "martyrs" killed during the conflict that erupted after the Shiite guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a bid to free Arab prisoners and occupied Arab land.
He was not even a full-time fighter. Hezbollah relied heavily on part-timers like Shadi, who defended their towns and villages tenaciously when Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon.
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Pertinent Links:
1) Support for Hezbollah still high in south Lebanon
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