Two Rooms. By Lee Blessing. Study Guide Compiled by Justine Lawton with help from Kevin Seime

Transcription

1 Two Rooms By Lee Blessing Study Guide Compiled by Justine Lawton with help from Kevin Seime

2 Who is Lee Blessing? Lee Blessing is a famous playwright who has written several successful shows (see complete list of work below). His most notable plays include A Walk in the Woods (1988), dealing with the friendship that develops between an American and a Russian diplomat; Eleemosynary (1988), about three generations of independent women; and Cobb (2000), which explored the many facets of baseball legend Ty Cobb. Blessing was born in 1949 in Minneapolis, MN. He attended Reed College in Oregon and later the University of Iowa. Blessing s work was first produced at the Actor s Theatre of Louisville in 1982 and many of his subsequent scripts would premiere and find success regionally. His most famous play, A Walk in the Woods, is about an American arms negotiator and his friendship with his Soviet counterpart. The play follows the walks they take together in the woods over many months. Their countries are trying to avoid a nuclear war while economic and political problems make the war seem inevitable. List of works: o The Authentic Life Of Billy the Kid (1979) Formerly "The Real Billy The Kid" (1975) o Oldtimers Game (1981) o Nice People Dancing To Good Country Music (1982) o Independence (1983) o Riches (aka War Of The Roses) (1984) o Eleemosynary (1985) o A Walk In The Woods (1986) o Two Rooms (1988) o Cobb (1989) o Down The Road (1989) o Fortinbras (1991) o Lake Street Extension (1992) o Patient A (1993) o Going To St. Ives (1996) o Chesapeake (1999) o The Winning Streak (2000) o Thief River (2000) o Black Sheep (2001) o The Roads That Lead Here (2002) o Snapshot (2002) o Tyler Poked Taylor (2002) o Whores (2002) o Flag Day (2004) o The Scottish Play (2005) o A Body of Water (2005) o Lonesome Hollow (2006) o Moderation (2007) o Great Falls (2008) o Perilous Night (2008) o Into You (2009) o Heaven's My Destination (2009)

3 Lebanon Hostage Crisis From , 96 hostages were taken in Beirut, Lebanon. Ten of the hostages died in captivity, while many of the others were let go or escaped from their kidnappers. Most were not killed directly, but died from neglect, medical issues, or malnutrition. It is believed that captives were taken by various members and factions of Hezbollah, a political group of extremist Shi ia Muslims. While some support Hezbollah for opening schools and providing social services, many other governments have regarded it as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has been linked to countless numbers of suicide attacks since the 1980s and are suspected of numerous other terrorist attacks. Of the 96 hostages were taken, most were American or Western European. With the exception of two hostages, none of them were taken for any particular reason besides their country of origin. Some of the hostages were: David Dodge-An American; president of American University of Beirut, Dodge was released 367 days after his capture. While on campus, July 19, 1982, he was abducted by pro-iranian Shiite Muslim extremists. He was later released July 21, Benjamin Weir - A Presbyterian minister from the United States, kidnapped by a fundamentalist group called Islamic Jihad in May of He was released 488 days later in September of His abduction was surprising, since he worked in a Shi ite part of Beirut and was working with Muslimoriented charities and relief groups. Terry Anderson - An American and a correspondent for the Associated Press. He was captured by Hezbollah Shi ite Muslims on March 16 th, He spent 2471 days being held captive and was released on December 4 th, Of all the hostages, he was held the longest. Charles Glass - An American TV correspondent who was kidnapped by Shi'ite militants. He was held hostage for 62 days in Rudolf Cordes & Alfred Schmidt - Originally from Germany, they were kidnapped after West Germany arrested a Shi'ite terrorist who had supposedly planned the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 which resulted in the killing of Navy diver Robert Stethem. Kidnapped by an organization called "Strugglers for Freedom," they were released in exchange for the terrorist. They were held from January 1987 until September 12, 1988, spending a total of 601 days being held captive. Terry Waite - A British humanitarian who was kidnapped while trying to negotiate the release of other hostages. He was abducted on January 20, 1987 by the Islamic Jihad Organization and spent about 1763 days in captivity. The first four years of his captivity were spent solely in solitary confinement and he spent most of his last days being frequently blindfolded. Whenever he was transported to a new location, he was put inside a refrigerator. During his captivity he was put through a mock execution and suffered from severe asthma. He was finally released on November 18, Some hostages who were killed include: William Francis Buckley - Buckley was a former CIA Chief from the United States who was kidnapped on March 16 th, 1985 by Hezbollah. He was treated very poorly and died of an illness that resembled pneumonia. It is believed he died on June 3 rd, 1985 but his remains were not found until That would mean he spent about 444 days in captivity. Alec Collett - A British worker for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Collett was kidnapped on March 25 th, 1985 by the Revolutionary Council, an Abu Nidal terrorist group. A video that supposedly showed his hanging was released in April His body was recently found in November of 2009 in the Beqaa Valley. Arkady Katkov - A Soviet diplomat, kidnapped on September 30, 1985 along with four other people by Hezbollah. Katkov was the only one who was never released.

4 Peter Kilburn, John Douglas and Phillip Padfield - All employees of the American University of Beirut, they were kidnapped on April 15, 1986 and supposedly killed three days later on April 18 th. They were kidnapped and killed by The Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims. It is suspected that they were executed as a retaliation against an air raid of Libya on April 15, Col. William R. Higgins - Kidnapped on February 17, Higgins had been driving along the coast when he was kidnapped by Iranian-backed terrorists. A year later they released a video of him supposedly dead. The Pentagon declared his death to be July 6, He had been serving in a UN peacekeeping mission. Possible perpetrators: Hezbollah is widely believed to have been the organization to instigate this decade-long hostage crisis. They have denied any accusations repeatedly, while other groups have insisted that they, themselves, had done it. There were two terrorist leaders who were suspected of planning the hostage-taking operations: o Imad Mughniyah - Known as a master terrorist and a senior member of the Hezbollah group. o Husayn Al-Musawi - Suspected to have perpetrated most of the kidnappings in Ras al- Ein and the Beqaa Valley. Possible reasons for the hostage crisis: After the bombings of Marine barracks and embassies, it is believed that hostages were taken to reduce retaliation from the United States, Syria and other various countries. Some Lebanese believed that taking hostages would pressure American to intervene in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Imad Mughinyah supposedly wanted to free his cousin, Mustafa Badreddin, from imprisonment. He was later captured and put in prison. Resolution: Many events factored into the resolution of this hostage crisis. o In 1991, Shia radical operatives had been freed from Europe. o In Kuwait, Dawa party members had been freed by Iraq s invasion. The members had been convicted of terrorism. o Pressuring the Western countries who supported Iraq was futile; the Iran-Iraq war had already ceased. o Iran needed money to rebuild their economy and infrastructure after the war left 1 million of its people dead or wounded. Because Iraq used chemical weapons, Iranians continue to die today from the after-effects.

5 First Phase of the Civil War Timeline of Lebanon s Civil War and Conflicts Lebanon erupted in a civil war between the Christian, Muslim and Palestinian populations. Most historians regard the PLO as the catalyst for the outbreak. The PLO began its campaign against Israel from southern Lebanon, it also began to kidnap and torture Lebanese Christians and then dumping their mutilated bodies on roadsides. Eventually this lead to the Christians retaliating by also kidnapping and killing Muslims, which result in all-out fighting between the militias With fighting throughout the country and the Maronite Christian government on the verge of defeat, Syria sent troops into Lebanon to aid the Phalanges. This technically put Syria on the same side as Israel, as Israel had already begun to supply Maronite forces with arms, tanks, and military advisers. With the Syrian occupation there came an uneasy quiet to the end of the first phase of the civil war, but with this peace the nation was now effectively divided into several religious and political factions Second Phase of the Civil War The first Israeli invasion is executed in response to PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) attacks. An attack called the Coastal Road Massacre may have been the catalyst for Israeli forces to invade. The massacre had killed 38 Israeli people and wounded 71. A team of Fedayeen, or freedom fighters as they are known in Palestine, hijacked and shot at several cars along a coastal road. They later hijacked a bus and it caught fire. This could have been caused by a grenade or a fuel tank explosion. The Camp David Peace Accord between Israel and Egypt made Syria change its mind, and support was withdrawn from the Christians and now turned towards the Palestinians. This reaction was to become a typical characteristic throughout the civil war, where alliances and enemies were constantly changing sides to exploit and take advantage of one another. Without knowing who was supporting who, or who was allied with who, the situation was a political nightmare, and negotiations for peace were futile for the next few years Lebanon, Syria and Israel agree on a cease fire. However, Yasser Arafat and the PLO, refused to condemn attacks occurring outside of Lebanon, on the grounds that the cease-fire was only relevant to the Lebanese theater Third Phase of the Civil War (The beginning of the hostage crisis) 1982 After the PLO broke the cease fire agreement by firing rockets into Israel, the IDF responded by invading southern Lebanon for a second time. Multinational Peacekeeping missions are sent to Beirut, this included US, French and Italian and later British troops. o David Dodge is kidnapped and released about a year later in The United States Embassy, US Marine and French barracks are attacked in suicide bombings. o April 18, 1983-The US embassy is attacked and 60 people are killed in the attack. Embassy workers, marines and sailors are among the casualties. Many people have viewed this as the beginning of Islamic group attacks on the United States. This particular bombing was strong enough to break windows in other buildings a mile away.

6 o October 23, 1983-The US Marines barracks in Beirut is attacked in a suicide truck bombing. 241 American servicemen are killed. Fifteen minutes later, the French barracks were attacked by another suicide bomber and 58 paratroopers and 6 civilians were killed. There was a lot of resentment directed towards the US, French, Italians or any UN Force, as they were all seen as another faction in the war instead of a peacekeeping force Fourth Phase of the Civil War In the following years, Hezbollah emerged from a loose coalition of Shi'a groups resisting the Israeli occupation, and splinters from the main Shi'a movement, known as Amal. With Iranian assistance, and a large pool of disaffected Shi'a refugees from which to draw support, Hezbollah quickly grows into a strong fighting force. With the help of Syrian troops, the Amal militia starts to remove the PLO from their fortified positions in Lebanon. o Benjamin Weir is kidnapped Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon. They established a buffer zone in the south, leaving the Southern Lebanese Army, a Christian armed faction, in control and to prevent any attempts by the PLO to attack Israel. This is also the beginning of some of the bloodiest sectarian conflicts of the civil war (The War of the Camps) that would continue for several more years. Shi ites fought Sunnis, Druze allied themselves with the PLO and fought the Maronite Christian forces, and Hezbollah fought Amal, the Syrians and Israeli forces. Alliances and enemies were constantly changing, and everyone was fighting a multi-front war. Even Iraq and Iran began to involve themselves in the war. While Iran influenced Hezbollah and Amal, Iraq backed the Christian groups. o Terry A. Anderson is kidnapped. He was released more than 6 years later. o William Francis Buckley, kidnapped in 1984, is thought to have been killed on June 3 rd, Alec Collet, kidnapped in March of 1985, is thought to have been killed after a video of his death is released. Also, Michael Seurat is thought to have died from hepatitis while being held captive. Peter Kilburn, John Douglas and Phillip Padfield are (all were employees of the American University of Beirut) supposedly executed on April 15, Major combat returned to Beirut, when the PLO and Druze fighters allied against Amal, eventually drawing further Syrian intervention. o Charles Glass is kidnapped and released 62 days later. Rudolf Cordes and Alfred Schmidt are also kidnapped. Terry Waite is kidnapped as well, and not released until almost 5 years later Violent confrontation flares up again in Beirut between Amal and Hezbollah. Hezbollah swiftly seized command of several Amal-held parts of the city, and for the first time emerged as a strong force in the capital. o Col. William R. Higgins is abducted from his Jeep by Lebanese Hezbollah. He was not considered a prisoner of war by the U.S. Government, and therefore, they did not insist that his treatment be consistent with international law. It is believed that he was murdered by his captors July 6 th, 1990.

7 Syria attacks the Baabda presidential palace and the Lebanese Ministry of Defense in Yarze. Prime Minister Aoun, a Maronite Christian, declares a Liberation war against the Syrian Army, which is now supported by the US Government for its involvement in the Gulf War On October 13, the civil war is declared over. The Syrian government helps Lebanon regain control over most of their country. Exiled Prime Minister Aoun claims that the United States "has sold Lebanon to Syria" Palestinian Exodus The Nakba as it is sometimes known, occurred between December of 1947 to March of Over 80% of the Palestinian population, in what is now Israel, left their homes. During that time most Palestinians left because they were afraid of Jewish advances on their lands that sometimes lead to violence. There was also a degeneration of Palestinian leadership that motivated them to leave. Those who stayed behind were forced out by Jewish soldiers or the Israeli government. Due to the Absentees Property Law, people were not allowed to return to their homes and claim their property. As a result, 650, ,000 people became refugees. Today, these people and their descendants add up to more than 4 million people. o Some people believe that the Palestinians left because they did not want to live with the Jewish population or they thought that the Arab military would eventually overcome the migration of Zionists, and return their homeland to them. o Others believe that the Palestinians were forced out of the country so that the Zionists could make it a Jewish state. o The UN sent observers to see how the partition plan was proceeding on the ground. The partition plan was put into place to separate Jewish and Arab areas from one another to prevent conflict. One observer reported that the Arab people were being forced to leave by the Israeli government. Another observer said that people were leaving due to fighting, violence and rumors. o The Palestinians were forced out to different countries such as Jordan, Syria, Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon. These countries supported the Palestinians plight, but did not want them as refugees. When the Palestinians were unable to return, the same countries that had supported them began to drive them out of the refugee camps. o The formation of the PLO in southern Lebanon, was one of the contributing factors to the Civil War. It s aggression towards Israel often brought periods of occupation by the IDF in southern Lebanon and retaliation from other Lebanese forces. Forces Involved in the Civil War Religious Groups o Islam-the religion on which the above beliefs are based. Islam was founded by the prophet Muhammad. Muslims consider Muhammad to be the most important prophet sent by God. Islam says that it completes the revelations of God that began with Judaism and Christianity. God supposedly revealed Islam s sacred text, the Qur an, to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe that the Qur an is the word of God in text. The Qur an is also considered a physical manifestation of the Divine. o Sunni Sunni Islam is by far the largest denomination of Islam in the world. Of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, 85% identify as Sunni.

8 They believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor when he died, and their belief is that they must seek out someone to fill that role, one they refer to as a caliph. He then becomes the political leader of that community. In the Sunni faith, political and religious authorities lie with the community and are guided by Islamic law, the Qur an, scholars and leaders. o Shi ite Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. People who are a part of this denomination are usually referred to as Shi as, Shiites or Shi ites. Shi ites believe that Muhammad had appointed his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, to take over as the religious leader of Islam. Ali is considered to have been the first of the Twelve Imamis, who were divinely guided and therefore infallible to their interpretation of Allah s law. The last of the Twelve Imanis disappeared in 873 AD, and according to tradition, is still alive and in hiding. All authority is given to imams, mullahs and the ayatollah. The authority of the leaders guides Islam teachings. Although not mentioned in the Qur an, a Messiah, called al-mahdi, has been accepted in the Islamic tradition. The idea of al-mahdi is more developed in the Shi ite sect than in the Sunni sect. The al-mahdi is one who will come to earth, bring peace and justice, restore the true religion, and usher in a golden age that will last between seven and nine years before the end of the world. o Druze This sect of Islam is located heavily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Their religion is an offshoot of Islam, but they incorporate Gnostic philosophies like Isma ilis or Shi ites. They like to call themselves People of Unitarianism. While the Druze are not regarded as Muslims by other Muslims, they regard themselves as Muslims as well as carriers of the core of this Islam. The Druze seem, to a large extent, to have originated from a group of Shi'ites, the Isma'ilis, but they have diverged much, and the Koran does not seem to be a part of their religion. The faith does follow Islamic principles, but they are more separatist within their sect. There are also some different fundamental points of their religion as compared to Islam. The Druze believe God to be transcendent and immanent, meaning He is above attributes, but still present. He is part of existence, rather than being above it. The theology of Druze religion is called hikma and its main theme is that God incarnated himself in the Fatimid caliph al-hakim, who they claim disappeared in While most Muslims believe he died in 1021, the Druze disagree and believe that al-hakim is awaiting to return to the world in order to bring a new golden age to true believers. o Maronite Maronites are a part of the Lebanese/Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches. These people represent a large portion of the Lebanese people. The Lebanese constitution once stated that the President of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian. The main churches of the Eastern Catholic Churches include the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Coptic Catholic Church and the Syrian Catholic Church. Since the 7 th century, Maronites have adopted the belief that Jesus had no human qualities, only divine ones. Political Terrorist Groups o PLO-The Palestinian Liberation Organization A paramilitary and political group who is recognized as sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and holds diplomatic relations with over 100 states. The organization started in 1964 as a way to lead Palestine to liberation through an armed struggle. Their first goal was to prohibit the existence and activities of Zionism in Palestine. They used different types of guerilla warfare and terrorist tactics to attack Israel from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

9 When the PLO was officially considered a terrorist group in 1991 by the United States, the PLO started to demand that East Jerusalem become the capital of Palestine, letting Palestinians return to their homeland and the right to continue an armed battle to defeat Zionists. Their leader, Yasser Arafat (leader of the PLO), had promised to remove parts of the charter that mentioned destruction of Zionists, but that promise was never fulfilled. The PLO is recognized by the UN as the representative of the people, even though a nominal legislative body is also present in Palestine. The Palestinian National Council (PNC) elects 18 people to the PLO executive committee, which makes laws and political decisions. o Hezbollah- Party of God Hezbollah is also a political and paramilitary group in Lebanon, but they are affiliated with Shi ite Islam. Hezbollah provides social services, schools, hospitals and agricultural services for thousands of Shi ites in Lebanon. They therefore play a significant role in Lebanese politics. In the Muslim and Arab world, they are considered a resistance movement, and many western nations regard it as a terrorist organization. Their first emergence as a militia was in 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon. In 1985, their three main goals came about. 1-To expel Americans, French and their allies from Lebanon and put an end to the colonialist entity. 2-To bring Phalangists (a right-wing Lebanese political group) to justice for their crimes against Muslims and Christians. 3-To establish an Islamic regime in Lebanon and put an end to any future attempts of infiltration into their country. Hezbollah receives strong support from the Shi a population in Lebanon. They also have gained support from the Sunni, Christian and Druze population after the 2006 Lebanon Civil War. They receive financial support from Iran and Syria and from donations from the Lebanese people. They have become more of a military organization in the 2000s and are now recognized by the Lebanese Cabinet as an armed organization that has the right to liberate or recover occupied lands. o Amal Amal is another Shi ite Islam Organization that was founded in 1975 as a militia. It is short for Lebanese Resistance Detachments, and as an acronym, it means hope. At their highest point, Amal had 14,000 troops. Their initial goal was to achieve more respect for the Lebanese Shi ite people and to have more resources given to the southern part of Lebanon, where Shi ite people were the majority. In 1982, Husayn Al-Musawi started to disagree with another leader s desire to go along with US mediation of Lebanon and formed Islamic Amal. Islamic Amal was supported very much so by Iran, since one of the founders of the original Amal was from Iran. Iran allowed the militia to pay its soldiers up to $200/month and give them free education and healthcare for their families, something many other political forces never provided. Islamic Amal focused more on getting the PLO out of Lebanon, while Hezbollah (which was an offshoot of Islamic Amal), was more motivated to move all parties out of Lebanon. After the disappearance of Musa Al-Sadr, one of the founders of Amal, in 1978, Amal became angered over Iran s relations with Libya, who they believed was responsible for Al-Sadr s disappearance. Iranian government and Amal s relationship deteriorated quickly, and Hezbollah was created with help from Iran. Hezbollah became more appealing to those involved in Amal, and recruited many of their followers.

10 In the final years of the Civil War Hezbollah and Amal clashed in a violent takeover in Beirut. By the end of the war, Amal had almost vanished due to Hezbollah s overwhelming forces. Occupational Forces o Syria In June of 1976 the president of Syria ordered an intervention attempt to halt the violence in Lebanon. Syria was motivated to intervene because of the appeals from Christian who were under attack from the Islamic leftists, who were also a threat to the Syrian Government. Having done significant damage to the leftist groups, the Arab League ordered a ceasefire and expanded an Arab peacekeeping force. The force however, consisted mostly of Syrian troops, and became recognized under the Arab League, and thus received subsidies from them. Many people consider the occupancy of Lebanon by Syria illegal, since there was no legal authority authorized by Lebanon allowing them to stay. Lebanon had, in fact, requested that Syria leave the country in After an appointment of a new President of the Council of Ministers, Michel Aoun was declared the new President of the Council of Ministers in Lebanon. Aoun later declared a War of Liberation against the Syrian forces. Syria defeated him, and eventually sent him into exile in France. In 1991 Syria and Lebanon signed a treaty that stipulate that Lebanon would not threaten Syria s security, and that Syria would protect Lebanon from outside forces. o Israel On June 6 th, 1982, Israel began its invasion of Lebanon. They invaded after the UN had passed a resolution that all parties cease fire on June 6 th. They started by attacking PLO bases in southern Lebanon, driving themselves 25 miles into Lebanon and moving towards East Beirut. They had support from the Maronite leaders and militia. Nine days later, on June 15 th, the Israeli militia had reached Beirut and Sharon, the Prime Minister, had ordered bomb raids to take out the PLO near Beirut. These bombings went back and forth between Israeli forces (IDF) and the PLO, killing an estimated 20,000 people on all sides, including civilians. On June 26 th, the UN Security Council demanded that Israeli forces withdraw 10 kilometers from the borders of Beirut as a step towards total withdrawal of Israel from Beirut. The US vetoed the resolution because they saw it as a way to keep the PLO in Lebanon as a legitimate political force. Finally on August 12 th, US Ambassador Philip Habib organized a truce that called for withdrawal of both Israeli and PLO forces, as well as US, French and Italian units to make sure the IDF and PLO left. Peacekeeping Forces o United States, France, Italy and British These three nations were recruited to form the Multinational Force (MNF)in Lebanon to oversee withdrawal of the PLO and IDF. The troops from each country landed on August There were 800 Americans, 800 Italians and 400 French troops. After the withdrawal of occupational forces from Beirut, the Lebanese President, Bachir Gemayel was assassinated on September 14 th. From September 16 th until the 18 th, Phalangists started murdering Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Ronald Reagan, the US President at the time, sent out a new MNF with 1200 Marines. Their mission was to help Lebanon make their government stable again. In 1983, British troops joined the MNF.

11 Their mission was carried out well for the most part in the winter of They were initially a neutral force, responsible for preventing Israeli attacks. They later received criticism from different factions of the Lebanese Civil War. In opposition to the MNF, the US embassy in West Beirut was bombed on April 18 th, 1983, killing 63 people. In May of 1983, Israeli forces agreed to withdraw from Beirut. Marines at the airport were constantly shelled by Shi ite Muslim and Druze militias, to which the MNF responded by shelling the opposing side s positions near Beirut. On October 23, 1983, the US Marine and French Paratroopers barracks was bombed by truck and suicide bombers. The attack killed 241 Americans and 58 French. Despite calls to withdraw from Beirut, Ronald Reagan insisted that they stay. The US has blamed Iran and Hezbollah for the attacks. Later in 1983, Syria began to fire missiles and other projectiles at US planes patrolling Lebanon. The US then had it s first involvement in Lebanon on December 4 th, and began to target Syrian missiles in mountains east of Beirut. Syria shot down two American planes, killing Lt. Mark Lange, and later capturing Navigator Bobby Goodman. He and another two pilots were ejected from their planes. The two pilots and were rescued with severe injuries, though Bobby Goodman was later released after negotiations with Rev. Jesse Jackson. Congress had now begun to plead with Reagan to withdraw troops. He listened, and began withdrawal on February 7 th, Resources Gellman, Rabbi Marc, and Monsignor Thomas Hartman. Religion for Dummies. New York: Wiley, Print.