October 18, 2025

“He who has no shame dares everythingIf” the French would say. Well, that seems to be the motto of some corners of the Lebanese press these days.

In a time when noise speaks louder than truth, and when some journalists have traded their pens for political megaphones, one Lebanese paper decided to take a swing at our diplomats abroad, this time the embassy in Ottawa. The article, dressed up as concern for the community, throws around accusations of “negligence” and even hints at political motives. In plain English, it is just another chapter in Lebanon’s endless game of blame and spin.

In Lebanon, politics isn’t a debate; it fringes on cold war. Every article becomes a bullet in a media shootout, and no one seems to care who gets hit in the crossfire. The embassy in Ottawa just happened to be today’s target.

But as the old English saying goes, “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has its shoes on.” Most readers already know that many newspapers back home have stopped being watchdogs and turned into echo chambers. In Lebanese slang, they’d just brand it “haki jarayed” or newspaper talk.

The Lebanese community in Canada isn’t buying it. They live the reality every day; they know what’s true and what’s not. The real target of the story, Ambassador Bashir Tawk, hasn’t even officially started his post yet. When he does, he is expected to pick up right where Ambassador Fadi Ziadeh strived best at; professionalism, calm, and a clear focus on keeping the embassy above Lebanon’s messy politics.

In the meantime, the team on the ground, led by Consul Ali Dirani, is doing the heavy lifting. Running an embassy these days is no walk in the park. Administrative delays, short staff, financial strain, and endless requests keep coming, yet somehow, they keep things moving.

Let’s get real. Lebanese missions in Canada, from Halifax in the East to Vancouver in the West, are doing their jobs in nearly impossible conditions. Lebanon is in economic freefall. The ministries back home can barely function. Employees can’t afford to get to work, and the power goes out like clockwork. Expecting embassies abroad to work flawlessly while the system at home is collapsing is like expecting “to draw water from a dry well.”

Then comes the usual talk of “electoral influence.” That’s rich. It’s the same tune we live every time, treating the diaspora as a “cash cow” but when it comes to opinions, priorities, or respect, they are totally ignored. Let’s be honest, these articles aren’t about democracy. They’re about stirring drama. But the Lebanese in Canada are smarter than that. They’ll speak, vote, and stand tall because that’s what this community does best: it calls things by their names. They would better “… light a candle than curse the darkness.”

At the end of the day, the truth doesn’t need defending. The sun is up, and everyone can see. Those who keep spreading half-truths and rumors should maybe take a breath and remember what Abraham Lincoln said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time.”

So maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop writing hit pieces and start writing the truth.