As shared on this blog more than once, Bambi is a fan of Mr. Mike Massy, an international Lebanese singer full of talent. Today, she searched his repertoire for fun. She discovered that in 2014 he sang a “Muwashshah“ called “Lamma Bada Yatathana” that she adores!
First, what is a Muwashshah? In classical Arabic, this term is the singular of Muwashahat and it means girdled. It refers to an Arabic poetry (or poetic form) and secular musical genre. Precisely, it is made of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written in classical or standard Arabic, usually “in five stanzas, alternating with a refrain with a running rhyme” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muwashshah).
Now, Lamma Bada Yatathanna is one of the most famous Arabic poems of its era. It is unclear who is the author of the piece (disputed). According to Wikipedia, “it is thought to be either Mr. Lisan al-Din al-Khatib (1313 – 1374 AD), which is the most plausible, or Mr. Muhammad Abdulrahim Al-Maslub [ar] (1793 – 1928 AD)” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamma_Bada_Yatathanna).
If you are interested in a quick English translation, here is a site for you: https://lyricmusicarabic.blogspot.com/2010/06/lyric-lama-bada-yatathana-lena.html. This being said, Bambi is not sure if the beauty of this Arabic verse poem translates well into other languages. This being said, she is happy to be able to find a public translation for you.
To conclude this post, regardless of who wrote this love poem or its precise era, it clearly stood the test of time. As for you, Mr. Mike Massy, Bambi visits heaven when you sing. Thank you for your voice and talent!
First, here is Hiba and how its snow/cold is affecting the Lebanese population, especially in the context of their country’s economic fiasco:
Second, Hiba means a gift in Arabic.
The best gift the world can give to the Lebanese population is to support financial accountability while helping them put an end to impunity of criminality in their country.
The Lebanese are suffering from a socio-economic catastrophe of nearly
unprecedented global magnitude and gravity. We hold the ruling class — a coalition
of sectarian leaders backed by a militia, with a complicit financial sector
leadership — responsible.
The crisis is the result of decades of ill-designed policies, poor
governance, nepotism, corruption, and state-capture by the same elite that remain
in power today.
The balance of payments, currency, sovereign debt and financial crises
has been compounded by deliberate inaction on behalf of the political and
financial actors who sought to exclusively protect their interests.
Rather than accept losses, restructure the banking system and rebuild
Lebanon’s economy, the ruling elite is enforcing the most violent and
inequitable “adjustment” possible. Current policy combines an extreme
currency devaluation, a huge inflation tax, unregulated capital controls, an
unprecedented contraction of the economy, and an implicit incentive to
emigrate.
The result is mass unemployment, poverty, and brain drain. The pillars of
long-term growth are being systematically destroyed and many residents must now
rely on humanitarian assistance and informal support networks.
Two and a half years have been wasted since the default of both the state
and the banking sector, marking the bankruptcy of the post-war rent-based
economic model. It is only now that authorities seem ready to negotiate the
terms of a stabilization program with the Fund, long after having protected
their interests.
The current adjustment clearly indicates that their objective is to
stabilize the economy at a very low level, with weak-value-added activities,
mainly based on informal trade, regardless of the extent of poverty and
inequality.
The IMF’s responsibility is not to condone this crime.
In this context, we call upon the IMF to consider the grave concerns
outlined in this letter in its negotiations with the Government of Lebanon.
While we welcome the involvement of the Fund, which can be a historical
inflection point for the country, we are wary of, and shall vehemently reject,
any agreement that compromises the principles set below thereby jeopardizing
the equitability and effectiveness of any potential program.
Holistic and sustainable framework underpinned by an adequate governance structure: The authorities’ approach towards the crisis has relied on short-term piecemeal measures that have proven inefficient and unjust. Any financing plan engaging Lebanese taxpayers over several years must rest on a holistic, comprehensive macro-fiscal-banking/financial-monetary program. It should also aim at rebuilding a sovereign, effective and sustainable state with a regulatory environment conducive to private investment in competitive sectors, and one that guarantees to its citizens their fundamental social rights.
Coherent exchange rate regime and new leadership at Banque du Liban: The unification of multiple exchange rates is key for the restoration of sound monetary policy away from the pegged exchange rate regime, and a foundation of economic sovereignty. The central bank restructuring process must be assigned to a new management, committed to good governance and transparency and capable of re-instilling the confidence and credibility at the apex of the banking system.
Debt restructuring: The restructuring of public debt and that of the banking system and Central Bank are essential for long-term stabilization and recovery. A significant reduction in the stock of sovereign debt is necessary to create the fiscal space needed for growth-inducing and strategic spending on social programs and infrastructure. Closing the huge gap at the central bank is key for sound monetary policy.
Wholesale banking sector reform and an independent task force: A new banking resolution framework needs to lay the foundations of a new model for the Lebanese banking sector. This includes the abolition of banking secrecy, the right sizing of the sector, and the provision of incentives for banks to support long-term growth. The restructuring process should be entrusted to an independent authority.
Bank shareholder losses: The fair distribution of financial losses is a priority. We reject the current strategy of socialization of losses. Any bail-out scheme is unacceptable, and the distribution of financial losses must follow a “loss waterfall distribution” starting with shareholders’ equity, in line with best practices.
Strategic use of remaining state assets: State-owned enterprises, real estate and gold reserves are strategic resources that should be used to ensure social protection and economic recovery. They cannot be used to offset the financial losses of depositors who constitute less than half of the population, notwithstanding the extreme concentration of deposits (13 percent of the accounts hold 90 percent of deposits). That being said, gold assets, technically on the balance sheet of the central bank, could be partially allocated to protect the savings of certain categories of small depositors in the context of a comprehensive plan.
Protection of small depositors and pension funds: The allocation of losses should be gradual to protect smaller depositors. Deposits corresponding to pension funds (unions, professional orders and NSSF, etc.) must be protected and treated as first-class creditors.
Audit of financial sector activities: A forensic audit must be conducted on the accounts of all shareholders, members of boards of directors, members of the general management of the financial institutions and the central bank, as well as those who have exercised or are exercising political functions, and those who obtained major contracts with the government, to determine if any undue or excessive profits have been taken, or if transfers abroad occurred after October 2019. This audit fulfills the need to put an end to the culture of impunity that has prevailed since the amnesty in the aftermath of the 1975-90 Civil War. It is also aligned with Lebanon’s international commitments in the fight against money laundering, tax evasion, and embezzlement.
• Fiscal policy that prioritizes growth and social
protection: A fiscal overhaul, anchored in a medium-term planning framework,
should ensure a complete detour from the state’s current mismanagement and
redirect spending towards social services and growth enablers namely:
• A social protection system based on universal access to
healthcare and education.
• Key infrastructure to support economic growth:
electricity, telecommunications, and public transport. State intervention
should be limited to areas where the multiplier effect is immediate on private
investment, which should be the engine of growth.
• A transformed civil service, made efficient and
transparent by investing in technology and government digitization. This
assumes the backing of a retirement fund and a training fund.
• Security forces capable of national defense.
• Tax reform: Even though Lebanon has been savagely
impoverished, it still possesses important resources that can be used to the
country’s socio-economic recovery if managed in a fair, efficient and
transparent manner. Reforming income tax rates and schedules is needed to
reduce inequality and informality and raise fiscal revenues.
As the ruling elite faces a destabilizing crisis, its top priority is to
perpetuate itself, buy time ahead of key electoral milestones, evade
accountability, and avoid assuming losses. These same priorities are guiding
its negotiations, and a possible commitment, with the Fund. Instead, priorities
should be set to reverse the severe social hemorrhage, ensure equitable loss
distribution, and guarantee sustainable economic recovery.
As such, the upcoming discussions will place great responsibility on the
IMF, whose intervention in the Lebanese crisis will enter the annals of
history, and should not, by any means, contribute to the further build-up of
odious debt and the perpetuation of an illegitimate regime, particularly ahead
of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2022.”
Surprise: Bambi would like to dedicate this post to you Mary as well as to her own dad. Both have an impressive collection of Fairouz songs. They must surely have the following two pieces.
Bambi is now also thinking of her friend Firas in heaven (yesterday was his birthday actually). He was also passionate about Fairouz.
To come back to the post now, it will introduce two songs. The first one is entitled “We used to meet” and it is from a famous musical of the Rahbanis. Bambi woke up this morning singing it. No clue why. She must have heard it on her internet radio this week. It kept coming to her mind several times during her busy day.
Below you can find the lyrics followed by the song:
“We used to meet at night
Sitting on the old bridge
And the fog used to come down the
Valley
Erasing the horizon along with
the road
No body then knew where we were
Except the sky and the autumn
leaves
And then you said I love, I do
love you
And the sad cloud took us and ran
away
Oh, my old years that passed,
please come back
Just for one time come back
And leave me on the door steps of
my childhood
If you do, I will run under the
sun of roads
Oh, my old years that passed,
please come back
Just for one time come back
Give me back my smiles which have
gone
Far away to the corners of yards
You remember what they said about
me
when I waited and you just forgot
to show up
And then winter came
And summer came too but you didn’t”.
The second song, Kifak Inta?” [How are you doing, you?], was written/composed by Fairouz’ son, Mr. Ziad Rahbani. It is sub-titled in English in the video shown below.
To conclude, Fairouz is surely the asset of tiny and now bankrupt Lebanon. Not only culturally/artistically, but also as a unifying voice: Yes, one Lebanon, one love, one singing voice. Thank you Fairouz (now 87) for your inspiring career that you began in your teen years in the late 1940s!
Ms. Nawal Ghosn (Moncton, NB, Canada) left us on January 19, 2022 A picture kindly shared by Ms. Nalida Timani and relayed by caring friends
Bambi is still speechless since yesterday evening, like ALL the “Lebanese diaspora” as she calls her wonderful friends in Moncton (NB) as well as in Sackville (NB), Amherst (NS), and many other nearby villages in both New Brunswick as well as Nova Scotia.
We all (Bambi included!) love Nawal. We are all mourning her now.
We are all in solidarity with her immediate family (spouse, children, grand-children) siblings, sister-in-laws (or rather sisters!), friends like family, etc. Bambi is thinking of each one of you, especially the Ghosns and the Timanis. She is also thinking of Nawal’s good friends in both Moncton and Sackville.
Perhaps her special thoughts are with Nawal’s grand-children now. Those with us on earth as well as of Abeer in heaven (as per the earlier post below).
Who knows? Perhaps you are hanging out with Abeer right now, Nawal? If so, this is a comforting thought for us in those sad times.
Ms. Nawal Ghosn and her adorable grand-daughter Abeer. A picture kindly shared by Ms. Nalida Timani
The last memory Bambi has of Ms. Nawal Ghosn was at the funeral of Abeer. In the past weeks or last month, she thought of Ms. Ghosn and sent a hello to her and to Abeer’s family through her relatives in Moncton. Too bad there was not enough time to see you more often, Nawal (at our wonderful dancing Lebanese parties pre-pandemic era or other friendly get-togethers in Sackville or Moncton).
You have touched so many hearts and lives. You have inspired so many of us with your big heart. Thank you for having existed. Thank you for hanging out with Abeer now… and watching over your beloved family from heaven.
May you rest in peace.
May your memory be eternal.
To conclude this post, and if she may, Bambi would like to offer you a song-prayer by Mr. Kendji Girac entitled “Les yeux de la mama” [They eyes of the mama].
Professor Ora Itkin is a talented pianist (if you do not believe Bambi, you can listen to her in the video at the end of this post!) and a music professor at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul (Minnesota, USA). “She graduated from the Russian Academy of Music (Moscow). She then emigrated to Israel and graduated from Tel-Aviv University as well as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Rubin Academy of Music. Following her impressive academic training journey, her performing career blossomed. In addition to her academic career ( https://cas.stthomas.edu/departments/faculty/ora-itkin/) , she is an active soloist and chamber musician”.
Prior to their conversation entitled “The Unbearable Lightness of Post-Truth – in conversation with Dr. Rima Azar and Dr. Timothy Jackson“, Professor Ora Itkin was described by Dr. Jackson to Bambi with the following beautiful words: She is a thinker and a pianist whose name means “light” in Hebrew (this would be “Nour” in Arabic). Being a thinker in our current collectively insane times is a shining “ora” in the darkness. Thank you Ora (Itkin) for taking time off your very busy schedule to host your inspiring podcast show called “Openspace with Ora”. Bambi was honoured to be your guest!
Indeed, Bambi was even more delighted and honoured because Dr. Timothy Jackson, an American music theory professor of Canadian origins, recently featured on her blog (as you can see further below) was Ora’s co-guest (along with Bambi).
She hopes you will enjoy their enriching (and “three to tango“) chat!
First, please find the meaningful and joyful lyrics of Sabah’s famous song that can be summarized as follows: “Be happy today, not tomorrow (as it is far away)”:
“Tomorrow the feast’s sun will rise
With the promise of a new day
Live today
Love today
Today is here… Tomorrow is far away
If life feels like all wounds
Your tears won’t do you any good
Let the sad song
Sing in your feast’s evening
Don’t let the days slip away
Slip away from your hands
Live today… Love today
Today is here… Tomorrow is far away
Don’t blame the garden’s flowers
It’s not their fault their thorns are big
And thank your God, human
For he has made you see those thorns
Flowers are picked up in April
Flowers don’t last a day
Like flowers live the day
Today is here… Tomorrow is far away”.
Second, a big thanks to Mr. Mike Massy for his BEAUTIFUL adaptation and interpretation of “Boukra btechrok shamsel id”.
To conclude this post on a note of hope for all, may the feast’s sun rise on everyone’s respective daily life, regardless of any dark circumstances!
Bambi would like to share two moving tweets by Ms. Sarah Copeland from Australia. As a reminder, Ms. Copeland is the mother of the cute Isaac Oehlers who lost his life in the surrealistic Beirut port explosion.
Her first tweet is recent, from yesterday actually. It is in Arabic and shows full solidarity with Judge Tarek Bitar… Beirut’s hero of justice, peace, and… hope (still).
A picture of sweet Isaac is held by a demonstrator and it reads: “I am still waiting for justice. Do not forget me“. The other man, to the right of the picture, is Alexandra’s (or the cute “Lexou”) Naggear’s dad with a painting of his daughter. The latter is now a Lebanese (or Lebanese-Canadian rather) angel.
Those demonstrators defied the harsh weather (+ 5 degrees Celsius in Beirut is Syberian cold!). Most importantly, they keep defying the Mafia that shamelessly rules them in order to show their solidarity with Judge Bitar. Once again, the latter is the target of another milestone of a FEROCIOUS campaign to eliminate him. This attack on his character is a blatant attack against the Beirut Criminal Court that he heads. All this drama is meant to preserve the status quo of historical impunity in Lebanon.
Now, Ms. Copeland’s second tweet of this post is actually an older one (August 4, 2021) on the first anniversary of the Beirut blast:
To conclude this post on a musical note, if she may, Bambi would like to offer a song to Judge Bitar (and his team). Yes, it is Mr. Anthony’s Ojeil’s beautiful adaptation of Mr. Jacques Brel’s “Le plat pays“. The song in question is in French (featured on this blog a month after the surrealistic explosion). It is called “Wind of hope [“Vent d’espoir”].
When will the wind of hope blow again on Lebanon?!
To begin with, there is no secret in this post. Yes, it is already established from a long time ago that, like MANY other people, Bambi loves the famous, now old, Egyptian song called “3 dakat” (featured earlier on this blog, as shown further below). It is both light and deep. It is joyful with a hint of nostalgia. It celebrates love and the summer in addition to the beach. Its music is lovely and its lyrics sweet.
This being said, this post will focus on the melody of 3 dakat only, no words. First, Bambi would like to thank her cousin Paul who kindly attracted her attention to a video yesterday. Bambi tried to search for the name of the artist. She could not find it. She could rather not guess it as she cannot understand the language written although it looks like Arabic (is it Farsi?). Anyhow, whomever this artist is, she is TALENTED and seems friendly. Thanks to her and to all the musicians for this lovely moment!
Second, Bambi would like to share with you a public video of a famous Lebanese violinist she only discovered lately and was fascinated by his talent. She posted his work once on this blog, as you can see further below. Mr. Andre Soueid was born in 1992 in Lebanon and he is treasure for his tiny and now bankrupt country. You can listen to him playing 3 dakat.
While listening to him, please take a moment to look at his beautiful face lighting up with the melody. He is surely in another world while producing music, totally immersed in this artistic moment. As Bambi knows that her father-in-law is amused by the word “flow” or “flow state” (taken from the field of cognitive psychology), she is thinking of him now :). This term may describe the light we see on the face and in the eyes of these artists. Mind you, we do not have to be artists to experience the flow. Even non-artistic folks (i.e., regular people and even deer) can and do experience the flow. It happens when we love the task/activity we are doing and do a task or activity we love at a particular moment. When we allow our mind to be free of concerns and to just focus on the pleasurable moment of this activity/task (e.g., baking, having fun with a puzzle, dancing, watching the stars, creating something, etc.).
To conclude this post, Bambi wishes everyone to have enough peace of mind as well as a welcoming attitude for the flow. Yes, may we all experience this state of mind in which we become totally immersed in a pleasurable activity!
Bambi is too excited to wait for midnight for this post about January 17.
Plus, the family festivities (of course MUCH limited in the pandemic and circumstances) have just ended in Beirut :).
May Saint Anthony always protect Bambi’s dad who is her (and many others’) hero (further below, you can see an earlier post honouring him)!!
Without much words, Bambi will just say: I love you “Antonio” (love her mom too… OK and all our family too)). Bless you dad!
An now time for some music. First, here is a fun kid’s song for you with a simple yet powerful message (perhaps to which, we should add that, in addition to the languages mentioned in the song, your daughter has enjoyed all our games about the standard Arabic language). Of note, you were her first German teacher, in the shelter, when she was 15-16. Following this came the Goethe Institute (after that particularly long round of shelling ended). You kindly offered her your own first grammar book from Germany. She managed to bring to safety to Canada in 1990 with her. For this and for all, THANK you dad!
Second, of course we will conclude with a joyful song from Bambi, by Mr. Hicham el Hajj, recently highlighted on this blog (Yalla Nifrah or Let’s rejoice]. It is meant for you and for our dear relatives called variants of your name, with love. It is also meant for all the Tonys, Anthony, Antoine, and Antoinette of the world who will be perhaps reading this post one day [Nina, Bambi is thinking of Antoine now :)].
May everyone be safe, happy, and especially in touch with hope!
