Beirut: Farewell to the Arabs
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be no match against the Goliath of Islam. And on the success
or failure of the organized Maronite fight for survival would
hinge, to a great degree, the future of all other Christian minorities in this turbulent corner of the Middle East.2
LEBANON'S COMMUNISTS
AFTER a week's effort I managed to corner Moustafa el
Ariss, one of the important leaders of Lebanon's Communists. He was president of the Typographers Syndicate and of
the Federation of Lebanese Workers, and had been a party
member since 1934. He was not in jail—yet—because his
union had gone on strike when authorities attempted to imprison him, indicating the iron discipline he maintained over
his organization. Interviewing him at his headquarters, I found
nothing subtle about El Ariss. He looked angry. A curl in his
lip gave his face a permanent surly and scowling quality,
"Why were you so hard to reach?" I asked. "You are meeting me now in the open."
"I am not trying to be mysterious," El Ariss replied. "The
police are searching for me in order to arrest me again."
What he had to tell me was not fresh nor new. It was true
to the extent that poverty and misery are universal throughout the Middle East.
'T know what poverty is," he said. "I have seen it among
the people. I am their pupil. Last month thirty women went
to Riad el Solh to say that the government flour was mixed
with dirt, sand, and stones. El Solh said that he would eat the