Bambi would like to thank her friend Mary for sharing this inspiring short interview with Ms. Slim. She is the mother of the brutally assassinated Mr. Lokman Slim. What a dignified mother. They broke her heart yet not her soul. Like her son, she is a free thinker, a writer, and a researcher (the journalist referred to her as “an encyclopedia“). Bambi searched the net and found what she believes to be his article in An Anhar. He signed it as follows: “We are all your children, Ms. Slim“.
Bambi did not know this distinguished woman before. She salutes her sorrow as well as her wise yet sharp words. Below, she will allow herself a free translation into English (the interview was conducted in Arabic). Before doing so, Bambi would like to cite Mr. Gibran Khalil Gibran who wrote: “Your Lebanon is not my Lebanon“… his words about his birth country are sadly still very relevant, perhaps today more than ever. Indeed, the Lebanon of the Slims is clearly not the Lebanon of those who ordered his killing or those who executed it, to use his mother’s words.
This being said, here are the words of Ms. Slim verbatim:
“… I say that they slaughtered me because Lokman, in addition to being my son, was my friend and my partner in thinking, reading, and debating… and what did they gain? They lost an energy that existed for Lebanon. I am not just talking about a source of energy for me. I am talking about Lokman as a man of knowledge, a man who reads, who writes, and analyzes. I am selfish. I am his mother. I need him. He is my son, but if they think of their country, they do not get rid of such sources of energy [= human capital]. What did they gain? They spent on him 5 or 6 bullets? Many thanks. Many thanks for their generosity!“
The journalist then asks her if she has a message to share. She replied: “What shall I say? Here, we have been raised that education is the most important thing, same for the thoughts, and for the good manners. And then when the world may contradict us, we retire home, we read, write, and analyze. There is no need to expose ourselves. Life is tough, but people should not become criminals. I am not just talking about those who executed the crime. I blame more those who ordered/incited it. There is someone who incited and those who incite are to be blamed more than those who committed the crime. Those who execute crimes are usually like a machine. They just deliver. It is like a kitchen’s mixer. I may program it to make it work. It works, but who is the responsible? The cook making it work, the cook inciting it. I can only say that he is the responsible only. That’s all I can say.”
The journalist asked Ms. Slim if she is accusing anyone or leaving the matter to the justice system. She replied: Of course, I am leaving this to the justice system and this afternoon my son Hady is arriving [to Beirut] and he is a lawyer who teaches in France. He is the one to look at all the laws or the investigation, etc. However, what matters is to find a solution because, if I recall, when Mr. Kamel Mrouwa was assassinated, my husband was his lawyer and that story remained unaccountable. Me, I refuse that they do the same with the case of the murder of Lokman. This I refuse it!”
To conclude this post, bless your broken (“slaughtered“, to use your own term) heart, Ms. Slim. May your son rest in peace. Thank you for having raised your beautiful family with such wonderful values, with courage/dignity, and with the most precious gift in the world: Being/remaining free thinkers (despite the pressures, threats, and criminality). May your final words be heard: May impunity finally ends in Lebanon!
