Second Exile
At a meeting at Bkerke, the French Ambassador ordered Karam in the name of Napoleon III, to leave Lebanon in return for French guarantees of safety for his men and people and the implementation of all of Karam's national demands. Karam was warned that to refuse would mean to place his men and the welfare of his people in jeopardy. On Thursday 31 January 1867, Karam left Lebanon on board a French ship bound for Algeria.
Karam traveled from Algeria to European capitals explaining the plight of the Lebanese people and stressing their desire to form a sovereign and independent state. Whilst there, he wrote many letters and memoirs in support of self-rule for Lebanon. Most of his writings have survived to this day, and include:-
Karam also traveled to European capitals seeking economic help for Lebanon. He offered to mortgage all his personal Lebanese holdings, amounting to five million francs, to French businessmen in return for the establishment of coal mines and a railroad network in Lebanon.
Read more about this topic: Youssef Karam
Famous quotes containing the word exile:
“Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say “death”;
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death. Do not say “banishment!””
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The bond between a man and his profession is similar to that which ties him to his country; it is just as complex, often ambivalent, and in general it is understood completely only when it is broken: by exile or emigration in the case of one’s country, by retirement in the case of a trade or profession.”
—Primo Levi (1919–1987)