Simon Bestani: FIEL & later the WLCU: a Patriotic feeling in a spirit of effort, conviction & dreams

Buenos Aires, August 25 1993

In this piece of writing, I’d like to refer to the foundation of the Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities, a predecessor of today’s Worldwide Cultural Lebanese Union, which gathers Lebanese people living all over the world and their descendants.

1)      The Assembly of October 20 1956 appointed me as president of the Patriotic Lebanese Association, today’s Lebanese Club. On that occasion, the number of voters reached unprecedented figures. My term of office lasted up to the Assembly of May 31 1958.

2)      As the president of the Association and following the board of directors’ orders, I visited -with some other people- the Lebanese politicians who had arrived in our country. Unfortunately, on one occasion, the Lebanese legislator didn’t come up to our expectation.

3)      In the course of 1957, I visited the states and Europe on account of my work as a manager.

On September 25 1957, during my stay in Washington, I visited the Lebanese ambassador to the USA in his office in the Sheraton Park Hotel. Dr. Victor Khoury was one of the first Lebanese ambassadors, a prominent, affable diplomat, with a good command of Arabic, Spanish, French and English. 

Naturally, we spoke about Lebanon, about the officials who had come to visit America, about the immigrants, about the institutions that gathered them in different countries on the continent and about the convenience of relating each other. In reference to the last item, the ambassador mentioned Mr. Natalio Chediak, a well-known lawyer (of La Habana, Cuba), who shared our views and had a related project.

4)      Back in Buenos Aires, I informed the board of directors of the Association in the ordinary session of November 5, register N 559(from book N 3), about my conversation with ambassador Khoury and suggested to write to Dr. Chediak, honorary consul of Lebanon in La Habana, and invite him to visit Buenos Aires, and ask him to, in the meantime, send publications, books or any cultural item fostering a social and intellectual approach between the countries of America and the lebanese people living on the continent, in order to encourage the cultural activities of our Association. It was done thus.

In November 1957, one of the congresses that group lawyers of the American Bar Association took place in Buenos Aires. Dr. Chediak, who had already occupied important elective charges in the Association, assisted to it.

I took advantage of the occasion and invited Dr. Chediak to the acts organized to celebrate the Independence of Lebanon and also asked him to give a lecture on “the importance of an Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities”. I did it under the order of the board of directors, as stated in register N 56 of November 19 1957 (page 136 of book N 3).

5)      Therefore, on December 3, Dr. Chediak spoke about the subject above mentioned. Then, I invited him to attend on the following day (December 4 1957), the meeting of the board of directors (register N 562, pages 137 and 140).

Under the invitation of the presidency, Dr, Natalio Chediak, who delivered yesterday an interesting lecture on the importance of the Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities, attends the session. He is asked to work on the project of a federation aimed at grouping Lebanese entities inAmerica, to which he referred in the course of his lecture. Dr. Chediak explained the importance of the project and the way to follow to carry it out. Before leaving, Dr. Chediak thanked the board of directors for its warm welcome. After an exchange of ideas, the board of directors decides to:

1)      Carry out the project suggested by Dr, Natalio Chediak on the foundation of an Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities.

2)      Authorize the board of directors to do all the acts necessary to carry out the project in the country, making it known to all Lebanese entities and requiring their support to it.

3)      Authorize the board of directors to address to the Lebanese entities in Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile andBolivia, also to inform them about the project and gain their support to it.

4)      Ask Dr. Natalio Chediak to coordinate all the Lebanese entities in America willing to become a part of the project.

To me, the quoted part of register N 562 marks the beginning of FIEL because it starts out the idea of an American federation.

Furthermore, it was agreed that on his way back toCuba, Dr. Chediak would visit entities of Brazil,Mexico and the USA.

4) A) Under my suggestion, we agreed with Dr. Chediak on calling the new federation FIEL.

      In Brazil, Dr, Chediak contacted Dr. Alfredo Busaid, a prominent law professor and later Minister of justice. Dr. Chediak summoned a constitutive meeting to be carried out in La Habana, Cuba, on the second semester of 1958.

      Due to the hard times Cuba was going through, the meeting was postponed to January 1959, as stated in register N 575 of October 28 1958 – page 169 of the book of registers, a part of which I hereby transcribe.

“2  Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities. We have learnt from the note sent from Dr. Natalio Chediak in La Habana as the coordinator of the works previous to the constitution of the mentioned federation, that the first meeting of Lebanese entities scheduled to take place in La Habana has been postponed to January 31 1959”

      FIEL was finally founded on January 31.

   B) The first congress was summoned for January 1960 in Mexico City. In register N 586 of 21-12-59 (page 194) it says:

“4   Interamerican Federation of Lebanese Entities after considering the invitation made by the mentioned entity we have decided to adhere to the “first federal congress” that organizes the institution and that will meet in Mexico City from January 31 1960. For that purpose we appoint a member and ex president of our association, Don Simon Bestani, to assist to the assembly as a representative of the Patriotic Lebanese Association.

Delegations from Cuba, Guatemala, the USA, Costa Ricaand Haiti assisted to the congress in Mexico, which was a success. Apart from developing comradeship between its assistants, it paved the way to the realization of future congresses. In fact, it was decided there that the next congress would take place in Buenos Aires.

So, this congress was organized by the Patriotic Lebanese Association and took place in November 1961. Delegations from Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay andCuba assisted to it. It meant a step further in the task of strengthening the links between the Lebanese people and their descendants in America.

   C) The third and last congress took place in Boston (USA) in the course of October 1962. A numerous delegation from the Lebanese government, headed by the foreign Office minister, Dr. Philip Takla, and integrated by Dr. Fuad Ammoun and Dr. Fuad Breide, together with government officials and a few ambassadors, assisted to it. I still remember a great simulator of FIEL, the ambassador of Lebanon in Mexico, Dr. Nallib Dahdah.

That congress decided not to limit the action of FIEL toAmerica but to extend it to the rest of the world. FIEL came to be “The Worldwide Lebanese Union”, today’s Worldwide Cultural Lebanese Union (UCLM).

6)      I’ve tried to explain briefly the origin of FIEL and of its successor UCLM. The chronology of the events I’ve mentioned is backed by what’s stated in the registers of the board of directors of the Patriotic Lebanese Association. The time that has gone by since 1956 partly justifies my skipping mentioning some people who also worked hard to make possible connection between the Lebanese people and their descendants. But something crops up clearly and bluntly: the main role played by the Patriotic Lebanese Association in the foundation of FIEL and of the UCLM, organizations which took the first steps in a spirit of effort, conviction and dreams.

Simon Bestani.