Many thanks to journalist Roula Douglas for re-tweeting the moving picture of a billboard originally tweeted by Mr. Philippe Bustros, the Managing Director at AGC Equity Partners.
At the precise moment of posting the above, Bambi received a personalized message from her sister (the journalist mentioned above), along with today’s inspirational quote, which happens to be VERY relevant for this post. It is by Mr. Pablo Casals and it is valid for all the countries of the world, including Canada too. It goes like this:
“The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border“?
Related to the above, please do not let anyone fool you into thinking that loving, or being grateful for your country, is a bad thing in life. It is actually healthy, not toxic. It is genuine, not racist.
In the tragic case of Lebanon, what is beyond bad is how the officials of this country do not have an ounce of love/respect for their country and for its people. Of note, among the damage costs listed above, there is the further damage to the country’s basic infrastructure: The electricity sector in Lebanon, notoriously known to be dysfunctional. Today more than ever :(! Bambi is planning a future post on the daily life of two unnamed seniors living in Beirut.
To conclude this post on a musical note, Bambi will leave you with a moving interpretation of “Elle s’appelle Beyrouth” of the most talented and generous Mr. Khaled (featuring Mr. Rodge), by SOS Children’s village, Lebanon. As a reminder, if Bambi is not mistaken, Khaled may have been the first (international) singer who composed a song to Beirut shortly after August 4, 2020. All the benefits went to the Lebanese Red Cross (a per the older post below). As written on YouTube in the description of these talented kids’ performance: ” We remember with a sad heart, but we sing with hope that our beloved Beirut ?? will witness better days”. May “their” Beirut heal, get justice, rise, and shine again.
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Even here in the Netherlands we still think about this tragic accident. All the people who were lost we are still in thoughts and hearts. Thank you for sharing this blog post ❤✨ that ends with this beautiful song ??.
Bambi is deeply moved by your VERY kind words. Dank u well, Salome. A big thank you to the Dutch people for their continuous support/generosity toward the Lebanese people. Bambi has a post from 2020 honouring Ms.Hedwig Waltmans-Molie. What a BIG LOSS her death :(. Condolences and solidarity with her spouse (Ambassador in Beirut back then before Mr. Hans Peter van der Woude) AND to the entire Netherlands. Generously, she donated her organs after she lost her life suddenly only at age 55 in the Beirut blast (https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/10/beirut-blast-dutch-ambassador-s-wife-donated-organs-after-succumbing-to-injuries-from-expl). Thanks for her inspiring humanity and may her memory be eternal. As for you, please keep on being the wonderful human being/young lady you are: Filled with wisdom, compassion, and what Beirut and the world need the most: HUMANITY.