The UK’s Independent has decided to take a trip to Mleeta in south Lebanon to Hezbollah’s Resistance Museum, aka, Hezbollahland. The article in itself is unremarkable though one sentence did catch my attention:
More than 500,000 people have flocked to Mleeta, 37 miles south-east of Beirut, since it opened in May.
In the first four months of its opening, half a million people have visited the park. In comparison, an average of 280,000 visit the Jeita Grotto annually. Not sure how accurate the Mleeta statistics are, but nevertheless, it is quite intriguing. It seems that Hezbollah has successfully commercialized the Resistance and have deployed a new source of income (I had a feeling that selling Hezbollah-branded merchandise to the US Ambassador and her entourage just wouldn’t cut it).
I have not visited the Resistance Museum yet, but I sure will with my family and if the school administration allows, with my students. Hezbollah’s resistance and its museum are icons of our pride as much as, if not more than, the Jeita Grotto. At last, in 2006, our resistance taught the Israelis that it is finally very costly for the most technologically powerful military to encroach into our land.
I seems kind of obvious doesn’t it?
Jeita Grotto has been around for millions of years (literally) everyone who wants to see it has already done so, probably a few times already. The Hozbollah thingy is new, so it makes sense in the first year of opening many people will want to see it at least once.
Pat, that is absolutely true – though I’m still in awe at the number (although unsubstantiated). I can see people thinking we should go see the museum before Israel destroys it compared to Jeita which has existed for centuries.
Dany, I don’t see why not – the school did take us to the Cedars cigarette plant and we did get free samples to take back home!