This month’s Lebanese elections will be dominated by orphans and the ghosts of martyrs past. On the March 14 ticket no less than five children — Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt, Nayla Tueni, Michel Moawad and Nadim Gemayel — of slain politicians are all, in one way or another, forced to follow in a tragic tradition that has become the hallmark of Lebanese politics. Meanwhile, the opposition March 8 bloc has its own martyrs whose blood has helped make the soil of Lebanon so sacrosanct. Yes indeed, we Lebanese do like honoring our dead, but the living must not be forgotten. It is of the utmost importance that our politicians, while recalling past sacrifice, do not lose sight of future obligations. Lebanon is a country dominated by its business community — its bankers, its financiers, its hoteliers, its restaurant owners, its retailers, its property developers, its traders and its small business
