According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a catch 22 is “a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule”. In other terms, it is “an illogical situation, or a problem in which the solution is denied by the problem itself” (https://tinyurl.com/2542ske2).
To give an example of Catch 22, newcomers to Canada often hear the following statement while looking for a job: “oh sorry, you do not have the Canadian experience to have this job“. However, you need a (first) job to get the “Canadian experience“. Like many other folks, Bambi heard this statement upon her arrival to Montreal in 1990 several times. She tried to solve this catch 22 dilemma by naming it during a job interview with her prospective employer, manager of a maternity store at a mall. She did it as an answer to the question about her former sales experience and ended it by asking how to solve this? Would you dare take the risk of hiring me so I can begin to have the “Canadian experience” and grow through it? If you say yes, I am fully ready for the job. She immediately replied: “you are hired! When can you start. Is tomorrow morning, OK?”
Tragically, Lebanon’s issues are much bigger than a job offer to a 17-year old permanent resident. Indeed, this tiny yet resilient Mediterranean country is now facing the question of disarming the Hezbollah (in addition to other illegal groups). Hezbollah is strongly opposing disarmament claiming that Israel needs to leave Lebanon first since it is still occupying five hills in the southern part of the country (https://tinyurl.com/595utv74). At the same time, Israel is stating that it needs Hezbollah to disarm before leaving Lebanon: “If the Lebanese Armed Forces “take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of IDF presence in coordination with the US-led security mechanism” (https://tinyurl.com/fw36p9h7), Bambi just read in the Times of Israel.
What a complicated and touchy catch 22 dilemma, isn’t it? It would be a bit easier had life been simple in the Middle East. But how could it be simple with the following conclusion of Mr. Naim Qassem, head of the Hezbollah: “We have many supporters who represent more than half of the Lebanese people, as well as influential political forces. All are united to protect the weapons and the Lebanese resistance. Anyone who wants to disarm us would be tearing out our soul” (https://tinyurl.com/595utv74).
So, what is next for Lebanon under the current circumstances, one may wonder? How could this dignified, and now hopeful, country achieve the goal of its overdue disarmament plan in a timely manner? Is it truly at risk of strife, as Hezbollah has claimed a few days ago (https://tinyurl.com/362u2rvr), or is it just a political game of bluff?
Many pending questions. Only time will tell what will happen in the Land of the Cedars, both in the short and longer term. Bambi is neither a military nor a political expert. She just knows that her troubled birth country deserves safety, peace, and prosperity. No more wars and violence. No more bloodshed and tears. Enough. Just enough.
