BEIRUT - “When is the war coming?” is one of Madame’s favourite questions to ask of her occasional foreign visitors, especially journalists, who she assumes get some sort of secret bulletin about security developments.
“Who is winning in Syria?” comes a close second, followed by, “What will become of Lebanon?”
Ensconced in a large, old-fashioned flat in east Beirut’s well-to-do Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, Madame’s concerns are shared by many other elderly Christians who live in Lebanon: they have been through one war, and have no desire to see another one.
It’s a fear held by nearly all Lebanese regardless of sect or age, especially as the so-called 'Syria spillover' effect continues. But a growing number of Lebanon’s Christians feel, rightly or wrongly, that if a full-scale conflict erupted, they would be particularly at risk.
Attacks on Christian churches and priests across the region, despite occurring alongside many more attacks on various Muslim symbols and institutions, further fuel suspicions.
“Look at what is happening in Iraq, in Egypt, in Syria,” Madame says with a grimace, one manicured hand clutching a Vogue cigarette.
“And now al-Qaeda is here,” she adds, a red nail jabbing the L’Orient du Jour’s front-page coverage of the recent bombings of Beirut’s Iranian Embassy. “They want us to leave, but we will not go.”