The last few days have gathered together the perfect storm for Lebanon to erupt. A strike was held and taken hostage by the feuding opponents of the Lebanese government. After the leader of Hizballah spoke, Beirut witnessed some of the nastiest street fights it has seen since the unforgettable civil war. Residents of Beirut were left listening to the sounds of bullets and grenades and rendered helpless.
I recall at one moment, all I could do is pray for rain. Rain for some reason, which is very rare during the spring and summertime, might be able to slow down the deterioration and aid in restoring the calm.
Unbelievably, I'm sitting here at almost 3 am, during a very violent thunderstorm which woke me up from my brief sleep. I was almost certain I was hearing RPGs or some sort of explosion, but it was ordinary thunder. I felt that I had to write at least for my own thought and record of how this perfect storm just seem to enter the scene at the right time. While I don't have the energy to keep writing, I couldn't resist putting this one in the books. :)
3/23/2008
End of the 40 days of Mourning
The latest twist in the fate of Lebanon finds the country and its people brought once again to their knees by foreign powers. With the Arab Summit approaching (ironically being held in Damascus), the main topic of discussion is supposed to be how to end the stalemate in Lebanon. This will prove to be an extreme challenge with the Lebanese delegation absent at the Arab League event. Other Arab countries have threatened to boycott the event if Lebanon does not have a president. Since there has been no signs of a deal, it would seem these countries will have to make good on their threats.
While this topic is worth reflecting on, I would rather take a minute to discuss the current threat of conflict, the new potential Israeli-Lebanese War. One could say that this new war began in February with the assassination of Imad Moughnieh.
I remember hearing on February 13th that Imad Moughnieh was assassinated in Damascus. My initial reaction was of pure shock because I knew how covert this guy was in all his movements and activities. He was so good at keeping on the down low that many intelligence agencies didn't even have a photograph of him.
He was killed in a carbomb assassination, which Hizballah holds Israel responsible for and has guaranteed retaliation for this loss. Israel has told Hizballah and Syria through different diplomatic messengers that it will retaliate for any retaliatory attack.
In the end, this leaves Lebanon staring down another potential war that will push the country to the brink of internal and external breakdown. The real question is when will the foreign powers open the gates of hell?
While this topic is worth reflecting on, I would rather take a minute to discuss the current threat of conflict, the new potential Israeli-Lebanese War. One could say that this new war began in February with the assassination of Imad Moughnieh.
I remember hearing on February 13th that Imad Moughnieh was assassinated in Damascus. My initial reaction was of pure shock because I knew how covert this guy was in all his movements and activities. He was so good at keeping on the down low that many intelligence agencies didn't even have a photograph of him.
He was killed in a carbomb assassination, which Hizballah holds Israel responsible for and has guaranteed retaliation for this loss. Israel has told Hizballah and Syria through different diplomatic messengers that it will retaliate for any retaliatory attack.
In the end, this leaves Lebanon staring down another potential war that will push the country to the brink of internal and external breakdown. The real question is when will the foreign powers open the gates of hell?
1/16/2008
The Infinite Perceptions of Reality
News in Lebanon travels fast. You sit. You wait. You hear about an explosion. You wait. You hear that it was in a certain area. You wait. The area changes. Someone tells you they heard it, they see smoke, it was definitely a bombing. But who? Why? All of these questions keep swirling in your head. Plenty of people will offer what they think, and when the day is done, you probably have heard just about every possibility out there.
THIS TIME, it was a bit different for me. After living here for three years, you gradually begin to accept a situation, and everytime something happens you just sink a little further into depression, but feel that eventually it will just go away. The last bombing, the assassination of Francois Hajj, left me depressed and not in the mood to write, because in the end, I feel like I am writing the same thing over and over again, which might reflect exactly how the Lebanese feel. It's like having a disease that slowly breaks you, so slowly that you have enough time to develop a false sense of improvement; this is the Lebanese disease. However, this time, it was "close to home".
Today, around 4:40pm, a remote controled bomb was detonated as a U.S. Embassy vehicle passed by on the searoad, near Nahar l Mout. Witnesses have said that a car was trying to pass the diplomatic vehicle and inadvertently took the brunt of the explosion as the bomb was detonated. The embassy SUV was lightly damaged, in comparison to the car that was mangled next to it. 4 people died. 20 injured.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack up til now. The question may never be answered. The more important question is where exactly is this country going? In the end, all of the victims of this horrific attack WERE LEBANESE.
As an American living in Lebanon, I have to admit that the situation has left me with a new fear. Not only are there explosions in Lebanon, but they have begun to target my country, which includes me, even if I don't agree with the current politics. At the end of the day, I'm American, I will be seen as an American, and my intentions are irrelevant. This new dynamic has brought me back to my original fears, leaving me in solitude.
The hardest part is getting up the next day and trying to live it as you did the day before, hoping that the situation will calm down.
If history is any indicator of events, it would look as if Lebanon is yet again destined for another rocky dead end, leading to civil strife. The only thing that can save them is the "watan", which is what someone told me, and I believe she is right. "Watan" translates as nation, but carries a meaning that is beyond words, that only one man has seemed to have mastered. I leave you with this thought.
"Pity the Nation" by Khalil Gibran
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting, and farewells him with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
THIS TIME, it was a bit different for me. After living here for three years, you gradually begin to accept a situation, and everytime something happens you just sink a little further into depression, but feel that eventually it will just go away. The last bombing, the assassination of Francois Hajj, left me depressed and not in the mood to write, because in the end, I feel like I am writing the same thing over and over again, which might reflect exactly how the Lebanese feel. It's like having a disease that slowly breaks you, so slowly that you have enough time to develop a false sense of improvement; this is the Lebanese disease. However, this time, it was "close to home".
Today, around 4:40pm, a remote controled bomb was detonated as a U.S. Embassy vehicle passed by on the searoad, near Nahar l Mout. Witnesses have said that a car was trying to pass the diplomatic vehicle and inadvertently took the brunt of the explosion as the bomb was detonated. The embassy SUV was lightly damaged, in comparison to the car that was mangled next to it. 4 people died. 20 injured.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack up til now. The question may never be answered. The more important question is where exactly is this country going? In the end, all of the victims of this horrific attack WERE LEBANESE.
As an American living in Lebanon, I have to admit that the situation has left me with a new fear. Not only are there explosions in Lebanon, but they have begun to target my country, which includes me, even if I don't agree with the current politics. At the end of the day, I'm American, I will be seen as an American, and my intentions are irrelevant. This new dynamic has brought me back to my original fears, leaving me in solitude.
The hardest part is getting up the next day and trying to live it as you did the day before, hoping that the situation will calm down.
If history is any indicator of events, it would look as if Lebanon is yet again destined for another rocky dead end, leading to civil strife. The only thing that can save them is the "watan", which is what someone told me, and I believe she is right. "Watan" translates as nation, but carries a meaning that is beyond words, that only one man has seemed to have mastered. I leave you with this thought.
"Pity the Nation" by Khalil Gibran
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting, and farewells him with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
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