Inschallah (novel)

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Inschallah (original title: Insciallah , German meaning: so God will ) is a novel by the Italian journalist and writer Oriana Fallaci . The novel deals with the deployment of the Italian contingent of multinational armed forces during the Lebanese civil war from the end of 1983 to the beginning of 1984. The background of the plot is the massacre of Sabra and Shatila and the attack on the US base in Beirut in 1983 and the headquarters of the French paratroopers in October 1983.

action

The Italian armed forces are stationed in the south of Beirut and tasked with protecting the inhabitants of the Palestinian refugee camps Sabra and Shatila, who were victims of a massacre the year before. On October 23, 1983, two suicide bombers blew themselves up with trucks filled with explosives at the headquarters of the US Marines and at the base of the French paratroopers. In the book, the Shiite Hezbollah is blamed for the double attack .

The Syrian government provided the explosives for the attacks. After the American contingent has been severely decimated and the French units are gradually withdrawing, the Italian contingent is quickly lost and is forced on its own to separate the warring parties and protect the residents of the refugee camps. On Christmas Day 1983, a battle breaks out between government troops and the Shiite Amal militia , which control the south of the city. The Italian troops get caught between the fronts.

Acting persons

The novel deals extensively with the characteristics of the characters involved and their motives for enlisting in the army and being transferred to Beirut. Many soldiers in Beirut have lost their idealistic motives and are taking pacifist positions.

  • Angelo - a paratrooper and brooding ex-math student. In the chaos surrounding him he is looking for the “formula of life”, but believes that Boltzmann's entropy can only prove the formula for chaos and death. He bears clear traits of Fallaci's partner Alekos Panagoulis .
  • Charlie - an agent leader who wants to emulate Lawrence of Arabia , but has to find resignedly that his Machiavellian tricks are ineffective because none of his informants and no war party adheres to the negotiated agreements of his secret negotiations and he does not succeed, his comrades and the inhabitants Protect Beiruts.
  • The condor - the general of the Italian troops. An overly proud and authoritarian man trying to bring order to the chaos of civil war. Realizing his failure hurts his pride in the extreme.
  • Crazy horse - an aristocratic colonel who always appears with a monocle and riding crop and speaks Latin sentences.
  • Ninette - a rich Christian Lebanese woman who desires Angelo and who keeps a dark secret.
  • Khalid - called "Passe-partout", a 14-year-old child soldier and murderer.

expenditure