When 12 of your kids are killed on the soccer field

For over a thousand years, three principles have guided the Druze community: protection of the faith, protection of the land, and protection of the community’s human dignity. Three principles that I thought about after attending the funeral of the dozen children who were killed on the soccer field.

Despite Hezbollah’s attacks, the residents of Majdal Shams did not leave. In order not to betray our principles. They stayed and buried their kids, aged 10 to 16 years old. Maybe the Druze belief in reincarnation and the passage of their souls to a new life helps them stand the pain.

In our region, we are already used to hearing about soldiers being killed in war, but not about children. We stayed up all night on Saturday to listen to the news that came from Majdal Shams. There were 39 boys and girls on the soccer field.

The sight of 12 white coffins in one row was shocking. It had been difficult to identify them from what remained after the bombing; the innocent beautiful faces and the eyes staring at you from their photos are too difficult for us.

Yet both sides, Hezbollah and Israel, are interested in preventing a large-scale conflict, also because it would be 10 times more destructive than the conflict with Gaza. Iran has established a terrorist army in Lebanon with satellite-guided missiles, and it continues to grow. That said, it is also true that Israel cannot continue to absorb this situation on its border, and sooner or later, it will have to solve the problem.

We Druze are pacifists and will remain pacifists. We like stability. The four largest communities, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, have strong patriotic feelings. We are gentle, but we know how to be tough towards those who attack us. I am sure that the Druze community in Syria and Lebanon will put pressure on Hezbollah so that no more incidents like Majdal Shams will happen.

Is there a possibility that the Druze will leave their villages near the Lebanese border? No. The Druze live on the hilltops and will stay there to protect their land. In 1948, none of the Druze left their villages in Israel. In 1967, when the IDF occupied the Golan Heights, only one community decided not to leave — the Druze. That’s why we’re still there today.