Martyrs Tree Gives Bint Jbeil a New Name

By Mohammad Hussein Bazzi

Translated by Arwa Mahmoud

Bint Jbeil – Hundreds of visitors continue to flock Bint Jbeil, the southern Lebanese town considered the capital of Islamic resistance, from different parts of Lebanon and the world in an attempt to see the Martyrs Tree, a tree stem cut in 2005 and placed in the main hall of the town commemorating fighters who lost their lives in wars with Israel

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the stem surprised the town residents with natural green leaves growing out of its branches. The branch was also surrounded by drops of musk that came out of a large crack that was suddenly found in the stem

The tree stem has names of the martyrs carved on small blocks of wood, and it is painted in dark brown, symbolizing the color of the land after absorbing the blood of the martyrs. After the July 2006 war with Israel, 43 more blocks were added with the names of the martyrs of the recent war

Town residents were astounded to find that the green leaves that grew out of the branch were exactly 43

This week, Bint Jbeil honors the memory of the martyrs that gave their lives one year ago in the war with Israel. The timing of the incident is considered a Godly miracle honoring the martyrs

"On Saturday night we organized a festival celebrating the victory in the war one year ago," explained a resident, "we had invited Syrian poet Omar Al Farra. As he sat in the hall he asked about the tree and eyed it with respect as Haj Selim Bazzi [leading town figure] explained to him the idea of the monument and how it was made. No leaves were in the monument at the time. Everything was normal

Lebanese immigrants have booked flights from the US, Canada, and Australia, while people from different parts of Africa and the Gulf, have started to flood the town to see the monument

"Bint Jbeil has been called the capital of resistance and liberation, the mother of the martyrs, and the town of the revolutionaries," commented another resident, "Now it has a new name: The Capital of Godly Miracles. May Allah bless this sacred town and its martyrs and fighters, and may Allah bless all those who have a heart, and who will learn

photo gallery - pictures by Dar Al Amir team