Alia Al-Solh is from the Al-Istiqlal family
She gave the national conscience its meanings, drew its features, embodied it, protected it, raised its word, and was an extraordinary ambassador for it in the corners of the world.
She saw the birth of Lebanon's independence in 1943 in the house of her father, the late Prime Minister of Lebanon, Riad Al-Solh. Alia Al-Solh was happy with this newborn, and he resided in every beat of her heart, and sat in her eyes. Through him came the vision, visions, and dreams. She describes herself as a servant of independence, but it was her greatest passion. She dedicated herself and her pen to raising its banners, shining its light, and raising the walls of defense against every aggressor and pretender. If you are asked who you are, you say... It is enough for me that I am from the family of independence. In her first political articles, she dedicated herself as a writer of a high caliber with the rank of a freedom fighter.
With her culture, her knowledge, and the abundance of principles in her personality, she defended every just Arab cause. She conducted political journalistic interviews with Arab presidents and leaders, wrote political articles with a high level of boldness, and poured into the words all the fragrance of patriotism and freedom, so they overflowed with beauty in content and splendor in style.
Alia Al-Solh was a role model for me, a model of an educated, cultured, aware and sophisticated woman. I read her articles, documented them and memorized them. I went into the archives of the magazine “Kul Shi’i” and confiscated all her pictures to collect them in an album. Her friendship with my father made me see her a lot over the years, and every time I saw her was for me like the joy of children on Eid.
I remember once that she invited us to dinner at the Crillon Hotel in Paris, where she lived for several years, before moving to her house next to the Elysee Palace. That day, she invited many cultural, political and diplomatic figures, and I remember the presence of the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Javier Perez de Cuellar. I was with my sisters, but she refused to let us sit at one table with my father and mother, so she said that each one of you would sit at a table. I was a teenager at the time, and I found it difficult to be alone at a table with figures who were talking about politics, economic crises and other topics, but she encouraged me and said, “Girls, you must express your opinions. Do not be afraid of people and do not fear places. Arm yourself with your knowledge and self-confidence.”
Lebanon was always the focus of her conversations, and I remember that her sessions with my father in Paris and Lebanon were a pleasure for the mind and heart, and they would always recall their memories in Cairo and Lebanon with great nostalgia.
Lebanon inhabited her heart and thoughts, with bitterness and regret, because the Lebanon that her father, the hero of Lebanon's independence, wanted, its landmarks are being demolished, its charter is being undermined, and its independence is being wasted. Alia Al Solh, an honorable model for the Lebanese woman, wrote her name in letters of glory in the history of Lebanon with the ink of pride and the pen of dignity. On the sixteenth anniversary of her death, I shed tears and scatter white roses on her grave, and I pray for mercy for her and I tell her I miss you.
May Serbey Chehab