Around 30 000 Norwegian soldiers served in UNIFIL during and after the Lebanese civil war. The first soldiers came to Ebel El-saki in 1978 and many developed a very special relationship to Lebanon.
Also many Lebanese got a special relationship with Norway. The current police chief of Ebl El-Saki, Omar Assi, was 12 years when the first Norwegians came to his village. The soldiers taught him English and then Norwegian. Still he speaks impressive, fluent Norwegian!
Even though the Norwegian UNIFIL contingent is now replaced with other nationalities, the inhabitants still great Norwegian guests in Norwegian. - We appreciate the efforts the Norwegian soldiers made for us and Lebanon. They sacrificed much for us, and we will never forget that, said the police chief Omar Assi during the celebrations yesterday.
In addition to the peace-keeping operations, the Norwegians build and reconstructed houses and provided health care. Also, the soldiers introduced the celebration of May 17, a strong Norwegian tradition celebrating the constitution of 1814. Wherever Norwegians go in the world, they celebrate May 17.
Yearly a group of UNIFIL-veterans return to Lebanon to celebrate May 17 with the people and the families they got to know during the war. For many it is a special visit, both positive and negative as many of them had some rather rough experiences during their time in UNIFIL.
About 30 veterans participated in this years celebrations, which was organized by UNIFIL and the municipality of Ebl El-Saki. Although somewhat different from the long children’s parades in Norway, this 17th of May celebration also contained the essentials: Flags, children, music and food.
The Norwegian ambassador was also present yesterday and gave a speech where she emphasized the close ties between the two counties. She also put down flowers together with the veterans at a remembrance monument for the many soldiers that died in Lebanon during UNIFIL service.