The president of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad announced: “We are today at the start of a strong new mandate, built on the rock that the Christian Pact constitutes. We are concerned with this pact, and we wish that it gets extended to all other parties, as, the more united we are as Christians and as Lebanese, the stronger we are.”

Moawad emphasized that “Just like René Moawad paid with his blood the price of remaining attached to his values and his political beliefs, we also paid a heavy price with the curbing that we endured and the political assassination attempts we withstood.”

And he hoped that: “Zgharta-Zawiyat remains at the heart of the Christian equation and at the heart of the national partnership, as it historically was in the past, and we want it to be in the future.”

He added: “We were wounded but we remained immovable, with our head high. We did not kneel down. We stayed as we always are: authentically Lebanese, sovereign, Christian, believing and keeping hold of the National Pact, of moderation and of the principle of national partnership. We remained the spearhead for development and for fighting corruption that has become a sickness in our country, each one of us suffers from.”

Moawad’s words came in a ceremony during which the René Moawad Foundation (RMF) presented a power generator to the Commission of St Joseph’s “Wakf” in Mazraat El Nahr, in the presence of the priest of the parish Father Sarkis Khalil, the Mokhtar Georges Khalil and residents from the town.

After the event, everyone gathered at the church’s hall where the Mokhtar Khalil gave a speech in which he said: “You have visited us many times, and each time our town was dressed like for a festival and everyone was joyous. Today, you visit us again, carrying good news. We therefore thank you for your visit… Thank you for being amongst us.” Khalil then shared a poem for the occasion.

Moawad

This was followed by a speech by the president of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad, in which he said: “I am today amongst my family and my brothers. The ties between you and us are much more than a donation or a power generator. Our ties with you are ties of brotherhood, conviction and presence. Development was never for us an act offered to receive gratitude in return, but a right for you, as you struggle daily to remain rooted in this sacred land, despite all the economic, social and daily-life difficulties that we are facing in Lebanon today and in particular in this region.”

Moawad added: “If we have neglected you for some time, it was not because we intended to, but because circumstances forced us to. We showed negligence because there were attempts to curb us in the previous period. It was not the first time we face this. The attempts to curb and strangle us came because of our insistence in remaining faithful to our political firm beliefs. We paid with our blood the price of holding on to our national beliefs. If President René Moawad had agreed to bargain, he would have stayed on the presidential seat for 6 years, which would have been extended for 6 additional years. If we had accepted to get corrupted, like many others in the political circles, he would have lived graced by money and wealth. But choosing between power and money from one side, and remaining attached to national beliefs on the other, President Moawad chose to stay attached to his national beliefs and he thus paid for this with his blood.”

He also added: “We belong to that school in particular. We have been recently the target of a political assassination attempt and of curbing. Between the culture of manipulations and political bargaining that we lived through and that you witnessed, and our attachment to our political fundamental principles, we chose to stay faithful to our fundamental principles. And just as René Moawad paid with his own blood the price, we too have paid a price which was those attempts to curb us and to politically assassinate us.”

He continued: ““We passed through a period where we were forced to be far from you, as we were healing our wounds; it was not because we meant to neglect you, and not because Mazraat El Nahr is far from our hearts and minds. The proverb says, ‘He who digs a pit for his brother, falls in it’. We stayed immovable. We were wounded but we stayed on our feet with our heads high. We did not kneel down. We stayed as we always are: authentically Lebanese, sovereign, Christian, believing and keeping hold of the National Pact, of moderation and of the principle of national partnership. We remained the spearhead for development and for fighting corruption that has become a sickness in our country each one of us suffers from.”

He also said: “Here we are today. We remained strong because of you. And despite our absence, you remained faithful to your beliefs and values, which we felt today in your joyful welcoming to us, showing on your faces. You know well that when you are strong, we are strong too. You also know that with our presence, you are free, as our relation with you is a relation of partnership, freedom and balance, based on a common will for partnership.”

And he concluded: “We are today at the start of a strong new mandate, built on the rock that the Christian Pact is. We are concerned with this pact, and we wish that it gets extended to all other parties, as, the more united we are as Christians and as Lebanese, the stronger we are. I therefore call from this place for the extension of the Christian agreement, and that we all come out of petty matters and from past conflicts, so that we build a better future for you and your children. We hope that Zgharta-Zawiyat remains at the heart of the Christian equation and at the heart of the national partnership, as it historically was in the past, and we want it to be in the future.”

The event was preceded by a mass at the St Joseph Church, led by Father Sarkis Khalil and served by the St Joseph chorus.

In his sermon, Father Sarkis Khalil said: “We never presented a request from President René Moawad that he did not satisfy. His name is written in history. His name is also mentioned in every village of our region, and it is linked with mercy, as he was martyred because he refused to sell his country. Minister Nayla Moawad too, always provided support and help, discreetly, without talking about it. She has gained our highest respect, as she is a Lady in the full sense of the word. And you are walking in their footsteps. We thank you and present our deepest respect to you because you are working for development and for the human dignity of the poor and the sick. No matter how great our capacity is, and how high our status is, if we don’t live like President Moawad did, we won’t reach Heaven. All your actions, Michel Beik, reflect what you really are. Mazraat El Nahr is your parish, and we are brothers to you. Our houses are all fully open to you, and I am all proud to stand by your side always, wherever you are standing.”

At the end of the mass, Father S. Khalil and Mokhtar G. Khalil presented an honor shield to the president of the Independence Movement; a token of thankfulness and appreciation for his person and for the RMF foundation.