PERSEVERING DURING CIVIL WAR

In April 1975, armed conflict erupted in a suburb of Beirut. It continued to escalate in stages until the whole country was involved in civil war. The war went on for nearly two years, with the death toll eventually numbering into the tens of thousands. Many brothers’ homes, businesses and other property were destroyed, three Witnesses were killed and an unknown number were injured.

One Witness died by sniper fire as she was hanging out her wash. And another, who ignored warnings not to leave the house where the Witnesses had gathered, was shot dead when he returned home. Other Witnesses were wounded by bullets and shrapnel, one by a bayonet. But gratefully such incidents were remarkably rare.

The religious aspect of the war has been felt very strongly, and it is perhaps the most frightening feature of the whole conflict. In areas where the Moslems predominated, professed Christians were taken from their homes in the middle of the night and many of them were never seen again. Moslems received the same treatment from professed Christians. But Jehovah’s Witnesses are known to be different.

PEACEABLE WITH ALL

Jehovah’s Witnesses have always tried to deal with everyone alike, whether they are nominal Christians or Moslems, applying the Bible counsel: “If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men.” (Rom. 12:18) On one occasion members of the Catholic Maronite League visited a Witness in an effort to persuade him and his children to join the vigilantes and to contribute 300 Lebanese pounds for ammunition.

The Witness told them: “I cannot share in anything to do with war. And besides your war isn’t God’s. In fact, God soon is to bring to an end all men with their guns and usher in a peaceful system under Christ’s rule.” Later, when conditions in the area improved, the Witness noted that his firm and neutral position had won the respect of his neighbors.

This neutral stand has repeatedly worked to the benefit of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Just being able to prove that one was a Witness often was lifesaving. One brother produced the card he always carried refusing blood transfusion, and his life was spared. Similarly, another brother escaped execution by repeating a student talk that he had earlier given in the Theocratic School to convince a group of would-be executioners that he was a Witness. There were many instances where the Christian conduct of Jehovah’s Witnesses saved their lives.

For another example, one evening a Witness offered a ride home to a Moslem fellow worker. They were stopped by armed men who were going to kill the Witness because he was a Christian. But his Moslem companion pleaded for his life, explaining: “This man is different from the others who call themselves Christians. He is neutral. He doesn’t involve himself in politics.”

When the gunmen refused to listen, the Moslem man said: “If you won’t leave us alone, you will have to kill both of us.” Because of his sincere plea, they both were set free.

Another Witness relates that he had no food in his house, and because of the armed men everywhere it wasn’t safe to venture outside. But then a young Moslem boy from a nearby village appeared at his home. “My parents,” he said, “sent you this bread. And whatever else you need, please tell us. We are ready to get it for you.”

REPUTATION OF WITNESSES SPREADS

In the north of the country there is a “Christian” village that is surrounded by Moslem villages. There are two congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in this village. When the Moslems attacked the village and came to the house where the Witnesses had gathered, the gunmen were told: “We are Jehovah’s Witnesses. We have no weapons and we are completely neutral. Here are our houses, do to them as you see fit.” The gunmen were surprised and promised not to harm them.

In another village, even the Catholic priest had armed himself with a machine gun. Extreme pressure was put on the Witnesses to give up their neutral position and also to arm themselves for an anticipated attack. Because they would not, one rightist leader said: “When this war is over we will turn our attention against you!” Yet what happened when the attack began on January 20, 1976?

Regular defenders of the village fled. The priest discarded his weapon and hid. Other villagers who had armed themselves sought to hide their weapons; still others threw theirs away. One rightist leader tried to give his gun to a Witness, saying: “It’s known that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t have weapons.”

Also, many persons sought refuge in the homes of Witnesses. In one such home over 60 persons gathered! After one of the Witnesses offered prayer asking Jehovah’s protection, a daughter of the political leader remarked: “Now I feel at ease, for Jehovah is the God who can protect.” Though armed men entered the home and stole some valuables, no one was harmed.

In another Witness home about 50 persons gathered. The presiding overseer of Jehovah’s Witnesses there reports: “I heard a Moslem neighbor tell the armed men, ‘Don’t touch this house. They are Bible students, different from the others.’ Later, though, gunmen did appear. But I had opened all the doors purposely. So when they called I answered quickly, inviting them in. I spoke kindly and unhesitatingly, explaining that we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Finding no weapons, they left.” All the homes in the neighborhood were looted except this one.

In the northern city of Tripoli clashes between the fighting factions were extremely violent. Hundreds of shops and homes were looted and burned. It was particularly dangerous for Christians to go outside, so one Moslem neighbor told a Witness: “These people don’t know that you’re Jehovah’s Witnesses. So tell us what you need and we will get it for you.”

HEADQUARTERS FAMILY IN DANGER

At the beginning of the civil war the branch headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses was in a Moslem section of Beirut. Before moving from there to a safer place outside the city, the headquarters family had some scary experiences. On February 6, 1976, one family member described conditions this way:

“For about a month we didn’t even bother to go to bed in our rooms. When it was time to sleep we put mattresses in the little entranceway, as it was the safest room in the house. We all curled up there and slept in our clothes, since we never knew what the night would bring. When that phase of the fighting passed, the rightists tried to get control of strategic buildings on our side of town.

“Then it got down to real street fighting, from street to street and from house to house. It looked like the rightists would come up the street in front of us and the leftists behind us, so we decided to evacuate. However, there was no way to get completely out of the area, but there were safer houses, so we went to the home of a Witness about a mile (1.6 km) up the street from us. We stayed there for two weeks and then we were able to go back home.”

One night was especially harrowing for the headquarters family. It was a night that the main commercial center of Beirut was set aflame, and the section around the branch home was also marked for destruction. Witnesses at the branch give some of the details:

“About 10:30 p.m. we were startled by a burst of machine-gun fire right in front of the house. As two members of our family looked from the veranda, they saw five or six gunmen come out of the hotel directly in front of us​—then, suddenly, a loud explosion. What a racket when seven floors of glass windows and doors came shattering down in front of us!

“Then shop after shop was set afire, and gunmen drove back and forth in front of the shops adding fuel to the flames, making sure they burned. They shot at anyone who tried to put the fires out. The night sky was red from all the blazes.

“As we were watching the fires from one of the back bedrooms, we were rocked by another explosion. We rushed to the front of the house and saw that a bomb had exploded in a grocery shop in our building. Our own building was on fire! What worried us most was a gas-storage room in the building. If the fire reached it, it would probably bring down our building and the one next to us. All the neighbors on the street cooperated and we got the fire out before it did much damage.”

CHRISTIAN MEETINGS AND PREACHING

Through all the violence Kingdom interests continued to be looked after. Congregations held their meetings in small groups or in large ones, depending on conditions in an area at a given time. Even circuit and district conventions were held! It was not at all unusual to hear the sound of nearby gunfire and exploding shells during meetings. On occasion the speaker had to pause for a time until the din of battle subsided sufficiently so he could make himself heard.

The brothers kept on in house-to-house witnessing wherever possible, and much informal presentation of the good news continued to be done. Many responded favorably to the message, while others were so preoccupied with just staying alive and out of harm’s way that it was difficult to penetrate their thoughts with the Kingdom hope.

PRESENT SITUATION AND THE FUTURE

Four-and-a-half years have passed since the beginning of the civil war, and still matters are not settled. There is an Arab peace-keeping army in most of Lebanon and a United Nations force in the southern part of the country. In parts of the country violent clashes and sustained artillery barrages still occur. In December 1978 machine-gun fire and shell explosions were still echoing through the area where the branch office is located. During one 12-day period in the fall of 1978, the branch family had to spend eight days in a shelter in the lower part of the building while some 200 shells and rockets landed in the immediate vicinity. It has been much worse for brothers living in other areas.

[Picture on page 204]

Witnesses walking through a war-torn Beirut suburb during a cease-fire