The Lebanese people have experienced a lot of wars and occupations. This tidbit of Mediterranean land constantly changed hands. The residents of this small country know very well the price of the memory of their heroes. However, in local schools with French and American system of education there are practically no paragraphs with the description of the Soviet people’s contribution to the victory over fascism. Descendants of Great Patriotic War veterans from Russian diaspora have decided to fix the historical gap and tell their coevals in schools about the exploits of their heroes and Russia as a whole.
Victory Autographs
Thousands of citizens of Russia and other post-soviet countries live in Lebanon. Annually, during “Immortal Regiment” parades one can estimate the number of descendants of the heroes of that terrible war living here.
Primary and secondary school pupils ask their mothers and grandparents about the people thank to whom they are alive, with genuine interest. Together with their parents, they take part in dozens of events dedicated to the Great Victory. Many pupils study in schools with American or French program, where it is tried to conceal the heroism of the Soviet people during the World War II and many Lebanese children really think that only severe frosts and Western allies helped the USSR to defeat.
Natalya Semaan, a teacher of the Russian language at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture, gave the children the task to write an essay in memory of veterans in their families on the eve of the Great Victory. Children from 8 to 12 years old wrote stories about their heroes practically from memory, and they were real stories. Pupils told about the war way: where their ancestors fought and were buried. On each leaf of a notebook “victory autographs” were reflected – that is how Semaan named their works later.
Tell the truth
“I study in a French school and there it is tried to avoid talking about the war, in principle… My teacher allowed me to tell the whole class about the events of those times. It was really hard for me because nobody understood anything. And still some kids are teasing me. It is complicated to tell people the truth”, 12-year old Danielle Dia, a pupil at Cedar School at the Russian Cultural Centre, said.
Danielle remembers the story of his great grandfather and his brother. He knows their exploits and stories of victory. “Brikov Andrey Ivanovich, I would like to meet you very much. I would like to learn about the history of the construction of Baikonur, in which you took part, and what you were really doing in Korea… I, your great grandson, live in another country but I will tell the truth and will not let anybody distort the history. Thank you for the victory! I am proud and I remember! Your great-grandson Danya”, the young man finished his work with these lines.
Vanessa Issai, 14-year old, a descendant of five veterans, made a presentation about the Great Patriotic War and the exploit of her great grandfather in one of the schools in Beirut, where she studies.
“Only in seventh grade there was one paragraph about the Great Patriotic War in textbooks on history. But the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany was greatly reduced, while a lot of attention was paid to the USA. It was said: if not for our allies, the USSR would have lost the war. When we were studying that topic, I really wanted to tell the truth about the war”, Vanessa from Sevastopol said. In her work, she wrote about her three great grandfathers and two great grandmothers.
“They both (great grandmothers) told me about horrors, hunger and hard times of war. I am very proud of my ancestors and think that the whole world should know the truth about the war”, Vanessa explains her life position.
Different versions of the truth
“I live and study in Lebanon, where students are told different versions of the truth. In one of them Hitler was defeated by the French, in the other one – by the Americans. But it is high time for all my coevals to know that the USSR played the biggest role in that victory…I would like to thank every hero for peace”, 12-year old Nazokat Makhmudova wrote in her work.
Afzal, her brother, told that studied in an American school, where children are told that the USA played the most important role in the victory over fascism. “But I am a direct descendant of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War…I hope that one day I will follow their example of setting and achieving goals. I would like to devote my life to the benefit of people and pass these values on to others”, an 11-year old pupil wrote.
How history is being distorted can be seen in the textbooks in schools and in the documentaries that are played on local TV channels. One can understand the knowledge about the victory over fascism when talking to American or French high school students. However it is unlikely that anybody can tell about the war so much as the descendants of the real heroes from around the world.
Source: RIA-Novosti
Photo: Chaldey Eugene / TASS