'Moment of Truth' Approaching for Crisis-Wracked Lebanon

The little girl wearing a red Mickey and Minnie Mouse tee-shirt was firm. “The rulers of this country are all trash,” she pronounced with indignation, and “they should resign; it would be better if someone from any other country came to rule us,” she told the host of a talk show on Lebanon’s MTV channel.

“We cannot get anything.  There is no medicine, no Internet, no fuel,” she said. The audience applauded. The host sighed.  Since Marita Derzeh’s pronouncements, made July 15, the plight of her small Mediterranean country has only worsened, and while the youngster’s comments might reflect the views more of her parents than herself, they aren’t out of place in a country that is losing patience with the everyday struggle just to get by.