The Insult Page #7

when you lose the war,

you become history's scapegoat.

I'd like to say something

to Tony Hanna:

I know you're watching.

Don't think I don't understand

your pain.

I know what happened to you.

We can't change the past.

We can remember it,

but we can't live in it

and let it control us.

And then?

The war is over.

If Bashir Gemayel were still alive,

he would tell us the same thing,

it's time to turn the page.

Did your party

ask Wajdy Webb

to defend Tony Hanna?

Not at all.

But he defended you in the past?

It doesn't mean he works for us.

Tony Hanna is registered

in Beirut,

District 135.

But the records show

he was born in District 112.

The change of registry was in 1976.

He was 6 years old.

Birthplace:
Damour.

Why didn't he mention it?

We didn't ask.

Or he didn't want to.

Tony Hanna didn't want to tell us.

Take a look at these.

Mr. Tony, have you ever belonged

to a militia?

No.

Ever used a weapon?

Even a hunting rifle?

I never shot anyone.

Have you ever attended

a political rally?

Every rally of our party's leader.

Did you ever fight in the war?

No.

I wish I had.

I was too young.

- What if war starts?

- We are at war.

I mean a real war.

I don't know. Maybe.

Do you have something

against Palestinians?

"I wish Ariel Sharon

had wiped you all out."

Very insulting.

Curse his mother, his sister, his honor,

our vocabulary is rich with insults.

Why choose those words?

I'm impressed.

You're good with words.

You should join my law firm.

As the defense said,

you went too far.

From their first contact,

Tony Hanna knew

that Yasser Salameh was Palestinian.

- You knew it from the start?

- Yes.

How?

- From his accent.

- From his accent.

Any person in his right mind,

wouldn't say what you said

to your opponent.

And if he assaulted you, it's because,

and I quote the defense:

your words put him

"in extreme distress".

Mr. Tony,

where do you come from?

Please tell us

which village you come from?

Damour.

- Were you born there?

- Yes.

And your parents?

- Yes.

- What did your father do?

He grew bananas.

Damour is famous for its bananas.

Still considered the best.

How would you describe

your life back then?

- Normal.

- Like how?

Normal.

Like in every village?

Simple, calm, peaceful?

Yes.

A mainly Christian population?

Yes.

When was the last time you went?

- A while ago.

- How long?

A while ago.

- Ten, twenty, thirty years?

- Roughly.

Damour is only a 20-minute drive.

Stop asking.

I don't need to go.

Don't need to, don't want to,

or can't?

How old are you now?

In 1976, you were 6 years old.

Yes.

Do you remember

the night of January 21, 1976?

Mr. Tony?

May we talk in private?

Not now.

- You don't have the right to...

- Not now!

Your Honors,

I have some footage

that I'd like to show, if I may.

What sort of footage?

Footage shot in Damour

between January 9 and 21, 1976.

That's irrelevant to this trial.

The defense claims

Tony's words were driven by hate.

I want to prove that it's true.

The film will stir up emotions.

It's irrelevant.

You made us listen to Bashir Gemayel,

it also stirred emotions.

Can you describe them to us?

To better understand,

it must be seen.

They used to call it

"The Bride of the Sea".

It was a beautiful village.

Pristine beaches,

vast banana fields.

Life in this village was calm,

simple,

peaceful.

All that changed on January 9, 1976.

Trucks loaded with fighters,

with artillery and rocket launchers

rolled into Damour.

They numbered

around 4,000 to 5,000 fighters.

Young men from the village,

in various Christian militias,

fought to protect the city.

Most inhabitants,

around 15,000,

hid in the village of Sadiyat.

The Lebanese army

could only send a few helicopters

to evacuate them.

Families got separated.

Some stayed in Sadiyat,

others were evacuated to the north.

Those who couldn't reach Sadiyat

took to the sea,

or fled along the train tracks.

Those who couldn't escape

hid in churches,

like Saint Eli Church.

Militiamen surrounded the village

and launched the final assault.

On January 21,

after 12 days of fighting,

Damour fell.

They entered the village,

arrested many young men,

gathered them in the village square,

lined them up,

and executed them.

They combed every street, every house.

The first victims

were Samy Rizk's family.

The whole family was killed.

The orders were to spare no one.

Entire families were killed.

The Abu Merhis, the Metnis,

the Eids, the Abdallahs,

the Kanaan family.

Children,

mothers,

fathers,

grandfathers.

There are conflicting claims

as to which militias

carried out the massacre,

but what's certain

is that it was carried out

by the Lebanese Left Wing Movement

and Palestinian factions,

such as "Sayqa",

and the Yarmuk army.

The images you're seeing

are the only ones that eXist.

Most were taken by the militiamen

as a souvenir of their heroism.

More than 500 were killed,

22,000 refugees.

It happened over a few days,

quickly,

and then,

the freeway to Damour was reopened,

as if a truck had flipped

or a dog had been run over.

I know what you're thinking.

What we just saw,

we've become inured to it.

It doesn't affect us anymore.

You may be right.

But can you say this

to the victims?

Or their families?

Tony Hanna's lived about 500 meters

from the main square.

George Hanna didn't have many options.

Either hide them in the church, or...

Silence.

Counselor,

what happened?

What did we expect?

The footage put him

in "extreme distress".

How many ribs did I break?

Two?

I just patted you.

You know what's your problem?

You talk too much.

You drove everyone crazy,

lit this place on fire,

because you talk too much.

You just can't keep

your f***ing mouth shut.

Listen,

your little show in court today

was pretty pathetic.

What did you want to prove?

That you're the victim?

Victim my ass!

Everyone knows

who Lebanon's Christians are.

You talked about defending your country

while you lived

in your fancy beach villas.

You played the tourists during the war.

Shopping in Paris,

skiing in Switzerland.

You eat sushi.

You speak French.

Half the bombs that fell on you

didn't have detonators.

You don't know what suffering is.

What a bunch of cry babies!

I'm sorry.

Counselor.

Forty years ago,

a massacre took place in Damour.

A heinous massacre.

Thousands of families had to flee.

Mr. Tony Hanna was

among the lucky survivors.

What happened back then

remains buried.

The perpetrators unpunished.

No justice. No closure. Nothing.

We can understand why Tony Hanna

said those words to Yasser Salameh.

He wanted revenge.

For Tony, Yasser is guilty,

guilty by association.

We've all been through hard times.

We let our emotions

get the better of us,

like Tony Hanna

and Yasser Salameh.

Yasser Salameh also reacted to words

that targeted his identity,

his history, his people's history.

When one goes too far,

and those words did,

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