Interview with CHL Founders

On April 21, 2005, CHL (Comite des Handicaps (de guerre) Libanais) is organising an event at Mar Elias Antelias at 6:00 PM. During the last minutes of preparation, lebanese-forces.org met two of the founders of CHL, Bob and Fadi, to get more information about the League, its history, projects, achievements and events. The following is a summary of the meeting.

1- Brief History of the foundation of the CHL

The CHL (Comite des Handicaps (de guerre) Libanais) is a league for the Handicaps of the Lebanese war, mainly members of the Lebanese Forces and other Christian parties.

This association was established by LF veterans who were handicapped in battles against the Palestinians, Syrians and others. Before the banning the LF, they were a group part of the LF. After the imprisonment of Dr. Samir Geagea, leader of the LF, and the disbanding and banning of the party, the LF handicapped were dispersed and neglected. Few brave men stayed Comite  to their cause, refused to bow to pressures, and decided to stay Comite  to the cause their comrades died for.

They regrouped themselves and participated actively in defending the LF in crucial times, we note here the sit-in they organized in front of the of Justice Palace, back in 1994 and 1995 during Hakim's trial , at a time the LF members  were being arrested by hundreds and persecuted everywhere and the LF was living its darkest ages.

Later on, they decided to establish an association to help handicaps of war living in drastic situations, and give them faith and push them to actively enter the society. This idea was inspired by the various institutions the LF founded during Bachir and Hakim's time to help the poor and those in need.

Bob, one of the main founders of the CHL, quotes Hakim speech in which he said that the" LF is Comite  to the poor, to the needy, to the sick; to the handicaps... the LF is Comite  to Jesus Christ ".

Finally this strong minded group managed in 2002 to create CHL , after hard work and several obstacles mainly from the pro-Syrian government who gave them all sorts of trouble and had them change the name of the league from "Lebanese war Handicaps" to the Lebanese Handicaps (of War) League .

2- What does the CHL stand for?

The CHL is not another charity foundation collecting money and giving away wheel chairs to handicapped people; it is much more than that.

It was founded by handicaps who understand more than anyone the needs of other handicaps.

The League was established to give the war handicap, mainly the LF one a new identity and personality, to make the handicap an active and efficient member of the society, and a Comite  and loyal LF member.

The CHL wants the Lebanese people to see the commitment and the faith LF handicaps still have, even after all these years.

3-What are the goals of the CHL?

- Show the true face of the LF handicap and the war handicap in general.

- Gather the largest number of war handicaps to strengthen the league and make it more active.

- Help the handicaps morally and financially and rehabilitate them to become more productive and active in society.

4- What are the CHL major achievements and activities?

Founding the CHL was probably the biggest achievement regarding the small number of its founders and the degree of commitment and determination they have shown.

The CHL helped more than 300 cases, according to Bob. The league doesn’t hold the money collected, the money is routed directly to those in need.

The league provided basic needs to many handicaps such as providing them with proper medications, financial support and most of all interacting with them and boosting their morale.

CHL has also organized several training sessions (ex: Computer learning) for war handicaps who are eligible to work, and opened new opportunities to many of them.

For example Randa Krayyim, a war handicap, was able to find a job after taking computer lessons sponsored by CHL at Arc En Ciel office.

The CHL has been organizing since 2002 a yearly mass in the Martyrs Cedars Forest in Tabriyyeh, where cedars are planted for more than 200 martyrs. It is a very symbolic place for every ex-LF combatant and now for every LF Comite  to the Christian Resistance's martyrs resting in peace under the immortal cedars. It is to note that the LF handicaps tree was planted there back in 1981.

CHL members have been visiting Hakim's wife and parents for more than 10 years now out of respect and loyalty for their imprisoned leader and also visited few times the Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. 

5- What are CHL future plans?

Aside from enlarging the league to include more LF handicaps, CHL will be launching very soon the 'Tawou2ama' plan, designed to let several members of the Lebanese community to commit him/herself to help at least one handicap. CHL sees that supporting a handicap with at least 100$ per month will drastically improve his situation. The league insists that the most important is to help a handicap in a way that protects its member’s dignities and not giving them money as charity.

6-What does the CHL think of the current LF members?

Bob and Fadi both admit that there has been a major negligence in the past 10 years from the LF student body who has not shown the proper interest in the LF handicaps, except visiting them once every 2 or 3 years.  They noted that LF gave away martyrs but some were destined to sacrifice parts of their bodies for the Cause and those should be treated as living martyrs who stayed Comite  to the LF and what it stands for regardless of their injuries. 

Hakim, Fadi continues, always took care of LF Handicaps, the poor and those in need. He never made us feel as if handicap and weak. Hakim took care of our martyrs and handicaps families, he has taught us that the essence of commitment and Christianity. The only way we could thank him is by loyal to him and to our Cause, and helping him in our own ways. 

Both Fadi and Bob added that they never regret anything they did, and if they go back in time, they will be the first ones to stand up and defend their country. They believe deeply in the Cause, and would rather sacrifice their lives than lose their freedom and their faith. 

Fadi continued that in the past few years, he was very frustrated of the internal fights between LF members and does not hide that it was the only time he thought his sacrifices might have been useless. 

7 - Two Cases the CHL helps

Albert, 55 years old, was injured back in 1975. Since then he had more than 100 operations. We were able to help him with nearly 1000 dollars, and took care of him as a part of our family.  

Marie Khoury has more than 10 bullets in her body; she was shot several times during the Mountain war, in the Bireh Chouf region. She was a member of the female unit (Nizamiyyet) in the LF; she has been a symbol of faith and commitment. Marie learned how to draw using her mouth and tries to sell her paintings. She has drawn the last logo on our Easter card.

In conclusion, those veterans are a true lesson of commitment, loyalty and strong belief to all of us. CHL members are the core of the LF along with the martyrs; they are the living proof that Our Cause is great and will never die.

CHL website: http://www.chl-veterans.org