Hoy's comments 'insensitive'

Once again, the quasi-Canadian correspondent Claire Hoy adds injury to insult. I gather he supports the "measured response" theory of the ruthless invasion of Lebanon purported by the Conservative government. There is nothing like shooting the dog to get rid of the fleas. Where's the logic in that?

I am not a Lebanese Canadian but I am appalled by Hoy's callous insensitivity to the plight of this long-suffering nation. The Lebanese who I have known in my lifetime, and who I continue to meet, are honest, educated, hard-working Canadians and their beloved homeland is suffering unjustly, once again.

Blessed by a beautiful climate, Lebanon is also cursed by geography. It has been used as a battleground for untold decades by foreign interests, the French, the British, the Americans, the Israelis, the Syrians and the embittered and dispossessed Palestinians. Lebanon, like Canada, has a long tradition of tolerance but, unlike Canada, it has not been blessed by a long period of peace.

The resilience of the Lebanese people is awe-inspiring but many, exhausted by living in their ravaged homeland, chose to make Canada their home, a safe place to raise their children.

I have been a teacher for 27 years in both the public and Catholic school boards. In all this time, I never once encountered disrespectful behavior from my Lebanese students or endured unkind words from their parents.

How would Hoy have reacted in the wake of the Irish terrorist bombings of London, to Britain's bombardment of Dublin Airport and the systematic destruction of Ireland's infrastructure, not to mention the heavy civilian casualties? Would that have been tolerated by the world community as a "measured response" to the criminal actions of a few terrorists? Would the evacuation of Irish Canadians vacationing or retired from a war zone "suddenly become the instant responsibility of the rest of us?"

Does a snowbird or a Canadian working or vacationing abroad suddenly become a quasi-Canadian? I don't think so. Franky, Mr. Hoy, I don't care what ticks you off. And don't suppose that you are speaking for a majority of Canadians.

To Lebanese Canadians, I am so deeply ashamed of the ignorant remarks made by a Canadian journalist.

Barbara Pambianchi