“Mabrouk” (= Congrats!) to the bride & groom, celebrating their union in the middle of the Lebanese revolution on the street!
Below is a moving picture and a video of a Lebanese soldier with tears in his eyes, touched by the demonstrators’ expression of patriotism and pacifism (chanting the Lebanese anthem)!
The video now (moving material here):
Here is a video of medical residents/physicians at Saint George Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon (the healthcare centre near the apartment of Bambi’s parents):
Some even danced on the streets.
Even the rain did not stop people.
There is also an organized daily clean-up. Here is a picture of two kids cleaning with their mom!
Last but not least, here is a picture of the Christian religious leaders. All united in their support of the people’s revolt, which is an outcry for a dignified life!
What will happen to Lebanon? Only time will tell.
Today, Washington declared that it understands the Lebanese people in their demands.
So did France earlier, asking the Lebanese authorities to respect the protestors’ right to demonstrate.
What will the President of the Lebanese Republic do or say tomorrow at noon (Beirut time)? Indirectly, what will the Hezbollah say or do… or not do?
The Lebanese army will be in a tough position if it will be asked to stop the protestors, as they tried to do today, it seems.
Clearly, people seem not to fear a political vacuum. They went through one recently for over a period of two years. The country survived and kept moving forward (or backward?), even without a President (and/or a government?).
To conclude this post, people do not trust their politicians anymore. All the politicians. PERIOD.
As the slogan/song of this revolt goes: “Thawara yiwne thawra…. “Killoun yiwne killoon”. This literally means: “A revolution means a revolution. All of them means all of them” (= loss of trust in all politicians). All of them must step down or go away…. but go where? No clue. Who cares now?
Wow–At the exact time of concluding this post, that was the song playing on a radio station called “Mount Lebanon” from LA (USA) that Bambi enjoys listening to whilst working (no commercial ads, just joyful Lebanese music).
End of Day 7. Tomorrow is a new dawn…
May the light of political wisdom, honesty, and economic prosperity shine on Lebanon at the end of this revolt process.
May the ghost of any violence fade away and let Lebanon just rise again from the ashes of poverty and despair like the phoenix that it has always been!
Thanks.. I see Demian Hammock was sharing this on Twitter as his “Sackville Seniors” information flow… he’s a funny guy – he’s the first guy I saw talking about the altright so I googled it .. turns out he thinks that I am altright but I’m anti-communitarian and there is a huge difference between those two labels.. part of the problem in a university town is the LACK of intelligence conversation because the town is all about programming people rather than teaching them to think for themselves.. I recommend Niki Raapana’s work.
I am a little bit pressured by time today up until Sunday. However, I would like to take the time to thank you Sally for your posts, comments, and for sharing news and views.
One thing I like about you without knowing you in person is that you seem to enjoy reading books. Good for you. You have also written thoughtful comments, like one of your earlier ones that Bambi is still thinking about. Thank you.
So, alt-right or alt-left or alt-whatever, Bambi does not understand this language much. As a deer, she jumps in all the directions :). That was a joke. More seriously, Bambi also cares about critical thinking. It is crucial to develop one and keep nurturing it throughout our lives.
Bambi also enjoys learning. She learns something new and valuable from everyone, including you Sally. We do not have to agree with each other on all or… even at all! We can respectfully listen and learn from each other.
This brings me to thank “Sackville Seniors” from the bottom of my heart for caring for Lebanon (and for democracy there). It means a lot to Bambi.
Lebanon has been described by many, including the late Pope Jean-Paul II during a historic visit, as being “a message”. I like this word. Indeed, Lebanon has been/will hopefully remain a message of hope, of democracy, of aspirations for a better world, of love, of tolerance, of gratitude to all its friends across the world (including Canada!), and a message of hopefully eternal connection between the West and the East on its beautiful land.
Of note, today and these past eight days, Lebanese people have impressed Bambi with their courage, creativity, and… lessons of democracy. Paradoxically and at least thus far, the democracy in Lebanon seems to be somehow more vivid than elsewhere in the world (even in Canada…).
Despite divergent regional powers wanting to align this tiny country to this side or that side, Lebanese people understood that their unity is their strength, that Lebanon should come first no matter what, and that their demands for a dignified life are the least to ask for for the sake of basic justice and citizens’ rights.
Today, Lebanese people revolting against their current government are all one heart, one flag, one anthem, one (patriotic) love. Contrary to us in Canada (perhaps minus Québec?), they do not think they are racist, unprogressive, or uncool because they love their country (or their army) :). They just love it. They are proud of it. It is as simple as that.
Lebanese people are demanding accountability, a just system of taxation, economic reforms, and the minimum standards of living with dignity in their country. Is this too much to ask for… in 2019?