He witnessed all the conflicts from mid 70’s, from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to the Israeli’s operation in Lebanon; the conflicts between Druses and Christian Maronites; and the Myanmar-Thailand border war between Keren minority and Myanmar regulars.
A number of Maronite historians claim that their people were the descendants of the Canaanites or Phoenicians, or also the Mardaites, residents in parts of Caliphate province of Bilad al-Sham, who kept their identity under both Byzantine and Arab authorities.
•
Modern Maronites often adopt French or other Western European given names (with biblical origins) for their children, including Michel, Marc, Marie, Georges, Carole, Charles, Antoine, Joseph and Pierre.
•
El-Fadle never returned to Lebanon; he was a passenger on board the ship SS Waratah, which disappeared in July 1909 en route from Durban to Cape Town.
•
Given names of Arabic origins identical with those of their Muslim neighbors are also common, such as Khalil, Toufic, Jamil, Samir, Salim or Hisham.
Baskinta is also known for the variety of its fruit especially apples and vineyards.The residents are Christians: 70% Maronites and 30% Greek Orthodox.
Legally, the Greek Cypriot community comprises the ethnic Greek population as well as Cypriots belonging to three Christian minorities – the Armenians, Latin Rite Catholics and Maronites.
They were primarily made up of Latins, which included Venetians, French, Genoese and Occitans and Maronites who had converted to Islam to spare their lives and avoid slavery.
Following continued animosity and fighting between the Maronites and the Druze, representatives of the European powers proposed to Sultan Abdülmecid I that the Lebanon be partitioned into Christian and Druze sections.