Leaving Ireland to be with the communist parties of the world in Beirut brought mixed feelings of huge pride and not a little trepidation. Would we be stopped, harassed, or deported on our journey? Would the Occupation decide to annihilate the comrades? I thought of Donnelly and the brigaders, the obstacles they must have faced, the determination on their journey in defence of humanity. Sadly, almost a hundred years on from the defeat of the Spanish Republic, fascism is on the march, but so too are Irish communists, at least, making the same journey to confront it.
Travelling via Istanbul, our journey was uneventful, and on announcing the purpose of our journey in Beirut, we were welcomed by officials and citizens in every corner. Many comrades, particularly from other parts of Europe, didn’t make it or suffered delays. Those who travelled through Germany particularly faced the gauntlet of state repression of any voice for Palestine, with phones confiscated, heavy questioning, and summary detention.
Beirut remains a beautiful city despite years of deadly attack. High-rise buildings similar to Dublin’s sit incongruously next to obliterated bomb sites and scenes of Zionist massacres. As the sun set on the beautiful seafront—only an hour up the coast from Gaza—it seemed the entire population turned out to mingle, greet, and share their hospitality, even as the sinister sound of an Israeli drone menaced in the background. Where are you from? Thank you for coming. Free Palestine.
Our invitation not only asked us to express our solidarity with Palestine but also to celebrate the anniversary of the Lebanese National Resistance Front, formed on September 16, 1982, the same day the Israeli army entered West Beirut. The Lebanese Communist Party, the Organization of Communist Action – Lebanon, the Arab Socialist Action Party – Lebanon, the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party – Lebanon Region, and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon issued a joint communiqué calling for the Lebanese people to rise up in arms and unite into a “Lebanese National Resistance Front” against the Israeli Occupation. The Front succeeded in uniting significant forces to that end and continues to organise the resistance ever since.
The international comrades set to their important work the day after arrival, with a tour of the Palestinian camps and meetings with Palestinian comrades from the Resistance, the PFLP, and the DFLP. The camps are well-run, orderly, and organised, despite the cramped conditions, heavy losses, and constant threat. The pictures of the martyrs line every wall, attesting to the human cost of resistance. Morale remains high, and our comrade hosts explained that their commitment to struggle is unwavering. They asserted that efforts to disarm them and incorporate them into an IMF-American deal of pacification will never be accepted.
The work of the Front includes not only armed resistance, but civil defence, the rescue of victims of attack, and the provision of health and education services, as state provision has collapsed due to the general attack on the country. In the recent and ongoing war, the Front played a key role in all of the above. As Beirut hosted a million refugees fleeing from the Zionist attack, comrades from the Front formed part of the resistance that successfully repelled the ground assault at the border.
At a one-day conference, over forty countries—from Sweden to India, Ireland to Australia—voiced their emphatic solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people and saluted the heroic efforts of the resistance. As party after party outlined their understanding of the global situation, a consensus clearly emerged.
The genocide in Palestine is not an aberration or uncharacteristic breach of capitalist hegemonic rule, but an unmasking of the true nature of capitalism itself. Just as imperialism is the highest form of capitalism, fascism is the highest form of imperialism, as evidenced by the unfolding genocide. Capitalism, having hidden behind the sham of bourgeois democracy for centuries, has given up the pretence of allowing the workers of the world a voice. Many pointed out that naked fascism in Palestine is mirrored by the rise of the right and proto-fascists throughout the globe. The consensus was that it is likely the workers of the world will face increasing repression and violence, up to and including genocide, as capitalism eats itself to death, consuming humanity and the planet as it goes. Comrades called for unity among the progressive forces of the world, support for national liberation movements, and for the building of the communist movement internationally. The only viable response to the genocide, to fascism, to capitalism itself, is socialism.
It was with heavy hearts that we left our comrades in Lebanon and the beautiful music of communist conversation and discussion of humanity. We shed tears and felt guilty that we were leaving our beleaguered comrades behind, but we were heartened as they urged us to return to our homelands, to continue to build solidarity movements, to build our parties, to build liberation movements internationally, and to build socialism.
Colm Laighneach
National Executive Committee
CPI
