A picture of Lebanon taken from the internet and posted on this blog earlier
Thank you Ms. Carla Chamoun for your beautiful message to all those who left Lebanon after the surrealistic Beirut port explosions, including many of your own friend.
You said in Arabic before singing that Dalida’s famous Helwa ya baladi [My country is beautiful] song that the latter is “like your wish/prayer to them them. OK, it may sound like a bribery too, but basically, with this song you are saying the following: Please remember that our country is beautiful only with its people. Without its people, what would it be? Please either do not leave massively or if you left already, after working and building your future wherever you went, please think of coming back“.
Your voice is a delight to Bambi’s ears. Your words resonate with her. Indeed, even after over three decades and roots abroad, Lebanon cannot be taken out of her heart and mind (even if at times, we have like a feeling of love/hate relationship with the entire Middle East and its endless issues).
Ms. Chamoun is right. The tiny Mediterranean Lebanon is indeed beautiful with its people. Bambi misses its people’s hospitality, joie de vivre (perhaps now more challenging), and kindness. She misses especially her loved ones there. She sends them her love through this post.
Bambi has supported Mr. Badawi and his family in many posts on this blog! She is so happy for them!! May they be reunited ASAP!!!
Here is the Mabrouk [Congrats] song for them… and, by extension, for all those who like them believe in freedom of expression in our world. Thank you to all those who have made this happy outcome possible!
Bambi loves this song that has been famous in Québec maybe for the entire past fifteen years? Indeed, its melody is a pure pleasure to the ears while inviting you to dance. Its title is clever. Its lyrics are food for thought in French as well as in its sub-titled English translation below (thanks to the person who did the translation).
Further below, you can see the Mes Aïeux [my ancestors] musical group formed in 1996 singing with Ms. Céline Dion. This group is talented in both music and in raising meaningful societal, environmental, or even political questions.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mes-aieux-my-ancestors), Mes Aïeux‘ “music, which they describe as folk-inspired pop, often evokes the traditional tales and legends of Quebec. The songs of Mes Aïeux, with their elaborate arrangements, have a very contemporary, theatrical feeling” .
“Merci pour cette belle chanson, Mes Aïeux”! Bambi wishes you [or us rather :)!] a beautiful continuation of your successes!
Happy Birthday (“Akbel el Mieh”) to Bambi’s sister!
Bambi is blessed in life. She has two wonderful sisters, not just one. She misses them both so much… beyond words.
One of Bambi’s sisters, the eldest, is celebrating her birthday today.
Happy birthday, “ma grande” et… “mon amie, pas juste ma soeur” :). May you have a wonderful day!
Roula, your birthday comes two days after International Women’s Day. This is a beautiful coincidence for a talented woman who has excelled in her advocacy for women’s rights not just in Lebanon, but also in the Arab world (via the UN and other international leadership agencies where you have mentored talented men and women (like you, trying to make our world a better place). Thank you for all that you do. Please keep up the inspiring work!
To conclude this post on a musical note, here are a few songs for you from Bambi… with love ❤️!
Thanks to the generous person who made this personalized birthday wishes public on YouTube 🙂
A moving French song about sisters (Duo: Grand corps malade & Véronique Sanson)
This is a song of the Lebanese diva Sabah. Bambi had fun posting its translation into English on her blog in an older post about Mr. Mike Massy
The joyful yet deep lyrics of the song about the feast’s sun, shown above, can be summarized as follows: “Be happy today, not tomorrow (as it is far away)”. Thanks to Ms. Elissa for her nice version!
“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”.
Mr. Julio Iglesias’ old and famous song meant for women
Mr. Hisham El Jajj’s “Yalla Nifrah” [Let’s rejoice] song is a must today :). May Roula have fun today!
Bambi does not know about you, but she is sick and tired of either fear- or guilt-inducing mainstream media articles on how bad it is to travel and how we should pay for it (perhaps mentally preparing us for increased taxes, etc.?).
Indeed, today in La Presse, Bambi read the following article title “how holiday flights are over” and then followed by this explanation: “now that the pandemic may be over, but not the climate crisis“:
If we try to apply the logic of the virtuous article above to our politicians, we immediately observe the irony of the double standards. Indeed, rules do not seem to apply to them. For instance, we saw such a phenomenon at the beginning of the pandemic with Mr. Trudeau himself and his car travels between Ontario and Québec (earlier post further below).
Again we are observing more contradictions now. For instance, our Prime Minister, and at least two Ministers, are/will be heading to Europe to deal with the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Again, travels.
Remember also how, not a long time ago, the world’s elite/VIPs travelled to the Davos conference on the climate crisis in their private jets, as per CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/business/private-jets-davos-climate/index.html). Yes, they did that while lecturing us on the urgency of the climate crisis.
Well said. MANY thanks to Mr. Trudeau and his team for their efforts to support democracy abroad. The only question that begs itself is the following now: What about democracy at home, Mr. Trudeau, Ms. Freeland et al.? Doesn’t it deserve your support too?
Freedom of expression has never been as limited in Canada as nowadays. Since when do Canadians’ bank accounts get frozen for having participated in any demonstration?
Imagine if the latter happened to Bambi and her spouse when they walked for peace in the Middle East (no to war in Lebanon) in the streets of Toronto in 2006.
Imagine if this happened to those who walked for BLM in our town, province, country, the USA, and the world. Would this have been acceptable then? Of course not (despite the violence observed in some of these demonstrations in the States).
So, why is it acceptable now?
Why can’t we all come together and say no to state authoritarianism?
Yes to freedom of expression for ALL.
In addition to the above, and for years now, we have been observing increased censorship cases related to plays, songs, and books. Talking about books, some were burnt in Ontario schools, as per an older post, shown further below.
We have heard of… or we personally know of artists, school teachers, university professors, and even Gelato Café owners as well as truckers and farmers who have been punished or silenced in one way or another.
Is this the Canada that our leaders have envisioned for their children when they will grow up?
Our federal government tells us there is no place for hate speech in a society. It even came up with Bill C-36 in the name of fighting this so-called hate speech. We wonder how the government would define this concept and who would decide what and where is hate. For Bambi, the definition of hate speech is becoming clearer with every passing day: It seems to be any speech that our government hates.
To conclude this post, one thing is sure in Bambi’s mind, this is not the Canada she immigrated to. This is surely not what she wishes for her species (of deer) and her fellow Canadian humans for the next few years. In the meantime, to end on a musical lighter note, here is Fairouz’ song on kites entitled “Tiré ya tiyra”.
To begin this post, Bambi would like to refresh your memory about her MANY posts on Armenia (i.e., the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict) and on Lebanon (under the total influence of Iran, mainly through the Hezbollah and its allies and with the complicity or cowardice of the world’s leaders). You can search this blog and find them yourself, if you wish.
She also has posted in the past about conflicts in other places like the Palestine (i.e., Hamas)-Israel and, most recently, the sad Ukrainian tragedy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
In all Bambi’s posts (some shown further below), there is a guiding line that can be musically summarized by a prayer-song for peace (e.g., Nicole’s German song in French on peace OR Remy Bandali’s song for peace in Arabic, French, and English).
More pragmatically, there is also the hope for neutrality for smaller countries, like Lebanon, to keep existing and to thrive.
There is also perhaps some lucidity, or less romance, with regard to world’s problems (e.g., Iran’s nuclear problem and its repercussions on Lebanon, etc.).
Most importantly, regardless of the place of conflict in the world, you can guess that Bambi is allergic to war-related suffering of innocent people whomever or wherever they are.
Of course, she has her own biases in life, namely toward Lebanon and also Armenia (to the point that her nickname with close ones is Bambineh or “I am Bambi” due to childhood-related memories with loved ones).
Perhaps all the above is easier for a non-expert deer of our world having fun writing and sharing personal thoughts on her blog?
Perhaps the choice of peace gets complicated when national (economic, strategic, cultural, etc.) interests of countries come into play?
Imagine when the personal, or even kin, interests of some world leaders collide with their countries’ national interests? We will get contradictions for sure.
Imagine when leaders lack the courage to stand up to lobbies or NGOs, including those with radical agendas. We get contradictions for sure.
Yes, double-standards seem to be increasingly common in our world, especially when we do NOT put people first. We can also see contrasts between domestic practices regarding cherished values (e.g., tolerance/democracy to all) and those expressed on the world’s stage, live or on social media, by world leaders…
To give a concrete example, in the Armenian-Azerbajian conflict, the Nagorno-Karabakh refugees did not have much chance of returning to their villages after the peace deal broken by Russia (https://www.politico.eu/article/nagorno-karabakh-refugees-see-little-chance-of-returning-home-after-peace-deal/). There were many refugees, but not as many as those fleeing Ukraine now OR those who fled Syria a few years ago (or Lebanon earlier or Palestine before, etc.) OR, sadly, those who will flee in the future.
Bambi cannot recall having observed much media attention to the suffering of those Armenian residents, as much as we are now hearing about concerning the current tragedy in Ukraine.
Same for Lebanon (of course, minus the Beirut port blast when it took place). No one seems to care about the fate of the people in this tiny and now bankrupt country (to a great extent related to Iran’s nuclear issue)… at least not in the official Canada.
In Bambi’s mind, the sad recurrent realities of armed conflicts, with their resulting refugee crises, are bound to occur repeatedly when we do not solve, or help other nations, solve their problems in their own home, that is where they take place.
These conflicts may also get worsened when we sell or send weapons to fuel one conflict, in the name of justice of course. Make no mistake please: Bambi is not saying that there is no genuine justice aspirations in fighting or helping others fight their injustice.
Think of it, though, the same countries sending weapons now (us or Israel in the Armenian-Azerbajian conflict, as shown below) will be the same ones sitting at the negotiation table and helping to broker peace deals. Didn’t this happen in the 15-year-long Lebanese civil war too?
To conclude this post, Bambi will raise the following questions: Double-standards again and again… or could they be avoided? Are we observing more double-standards, especially in a world obsessed with political correctness? By the latter, Bambi means our collectively insane times where words do not necessarily match actions or they sound like empty, yet apparently powerful, slogans? Who knows? Perhaps double-standards seem more frequent to Bambi because our world’s political leaders are rather mediocre… in other terms, they are far from being statesmen, despite their grip on power?
Like a fawn, the middle-aged Bambi is too excited to know how to wait until tomorrow morning, which is the actual birthday of Ms. Mona Korban Smeira!
In her mind, she is cheating now, pretending to be in Lebanon, the country of origin of her friend Mona. Yes, there, it is already past midnight :)!
There lives one of Mona’s children with his family! Mona and the rest of her beloved family live in Québec, Canada. Whether there, miles away, or here at home [also miles away from Bambi :)], all the relatives, friends, generations of former students of history and geography, everyone loves Mona and wishes her a Happy Birthday today!
Indeed, for those who do not know her, Bambi will simply say that she is a great woman, a devoted mother/spouse/grand-mother, a retired school teacher, a family friend, and… Bambi’s friend!
As a high school teacher, Ms. Mona Korban Smeira taught Bambi how to create a model of the maps of Africa and Turkey, using wood pulp. Bambi’s peers and herself exposed their work at an exhibition, open to the general public, at their school in Beirut. Ms. Smeira also taught Bambi all what she knows about the history of Islam and about the history of the world (again with much creativity in addition to the usual learning process)!
As a family friend and a neighbour, Bambi can maybe write a whole book on our beautiful as well as war-related dramatic memories!
Bambi is blessed to have you in her life, Mona. She is inspired by your faith, inner strength, dignity, love of life, and devotion to your loved ones. Even busy with life challenges and grief, you recently found the time to surprise Bambi with a sweet message of care… Plus, every year, you kindly remember Bambi’s birthday. Wow!
Bambi is eager to see you again (luckily she did so just before the pandemic). She loves you so much, beyond words, you and your wonderful family. Thank you for our wonderful memories together in both Beirut and Montreal!
To conclude this brief post meant as a surprise, here are three songs for you today :). The first is, of course, your birthday song. The second is a celebration of friendship in French as well! The third is meant to make you smile :). It is Ms. Nancy Ajram’s Lebanese-Arabic song entitled “shater shater” [for young school kids :)] and sub-titled in English! It means “clever, clever” [or “good kid, good kid“].
Exactly like today, specifically on March third 1847, one the GREATEST inventors of the world (i.e., late 19th century) was born: Thank you Mr. (Alexander) Graham Bell for having invented the telephone!
Indeed, a scientist and and engineer (1847-1922), Mr. Bell invented and obtained a patent for the first “practical” telephone. Clearly, his invention has revolutionized our world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell)!
This being said, Bambi would like to express her gratitude to Mr. Bell (and to his partners and the inventors who followed him). His invention has allowed her to: (1) communicate with her loved ones, across Canada and around the world; and (2) enjoy so many productive work-related phone meetings.
To honour Mr. Bell’s memory, Bambi would like to share a few songs, which have a phone as an underlying theme. Some of these songs are happily romantic. Others are less joyful yet beautiful.
Let’s start with Ms. Isabelle Boulay singing Mr. Claude François’ famous international French song “Le Téléphone pleure” (subtitled in English and Spanish).
Second, how about listening to Mr. Claude François (himself!) singing the same song in the language of Shakespeare?
Third, how about a romantic phone-related Arabic song now? This joyful Lebanese melody reminds Bambi of her childhood. It is about two lovers enjoying their phone chat (i.e., actor Abdel Majid Majzoub and actress Hind Abi Lamaa)!
Readers of this post who may be of Bambi’s generation (+ or -) while coming from the same place of birth may be smiling now :). Yes, they will likely guess that this song is from an old TV show (or soap opera). Thanks to Mr. Elias Rahbani and Mr. Ghassan Salem for allowing us to remember “Allo Hayati” and smile to the beauty of love ❤️.
To conclude this post, Bambi cannot help not to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the wonderful Ms. Whitney Houston who sadly left our world too soon. Here is her eternal voice singing “Call you tonight” and… may her memory be eternal!
Thanks Mr. Bell for having invented the telephone!
Today, Bambi listened to an interview Director Anthony Merchak gave to her internet Lebanese-American radio about his movie “Beirut after 40” on the surrealistic Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020.
Mr. Merchak is visiting Hollywood where his movie is currently being viewed. Bambi was happy and honoured to discover his humanity in addition to his talent!
She was also moved to listen to him share memories of the Beirut port blast of August 4, 2020. He happened to have been at 600 meters away from the port, perhaps exactly in the same place where Bambi’s niece (also injured) was.
He expressed his gratitude to the American audience. It seems that everyone watching his movie cried. Some told him that his movie made them remember the 911 tragedy. Of note, the survivors of the August 4, 2020’s explosion in Beirut happen to call their blast “our own 911“. Some flew from as far as Hawaii to watch his movie. This moved his heart.
Of course, the room where the movie was viewed was also filled with Lebanese-Americans. Some of them remembered the civil war or stories told to them by their parents (for younger ones).
Mr. Merchak chose to tell the story of the Beirut port in this documentary-movie from his own perspective, but without him being seen in the movie. He just ends with one meaningful Lebanese expression, it seems: “Tinzakar wala tinwad” [May it be remembered, but never repeated again].
As a survivor himself, this Director witnessed horrific scenes. Indeed, he shared many stories during the interview that were much more dramatic than what is featured in his movie. For instance, he told us about a man he will never ever forget until his death, to use his own words. Injured and under shock (like everyone else), Mr. Merchak could not help that man who was trapped in his apartment and screaming, begging him for help.
We also learn how he lost one whole hour (while bleeding) before reaching a hospital because rumours circulated on the streets about shelling. People (who lost their phones) ran to hide in a parking underground (he was among them). It took them time to realize that there was no shelling, just rumours in the middle of the confusion of the chaos. He then had to find his way to a hospital. Some saying walk from here. Others from there.
All Beirut healthcare centres were overwhelmed with the 6000+ injured residents. Dust (like in the movie) and blood everywhere, a scene Bambi heard about from her own sister. The latter rushed to search for her husband. She screened the faces and eyes of all the blooded people, one by one, in 3-5 different hospitals, until she found him (he almost lost an eye, but thank God, he completely healed, at least physically. Psychological scars take more time).
Sadly, other people were not as blessed as Bambi’s sister. Indeed, they lost their loved ones (some lost their young kids, others their parents or siblings). Yet others never found the bodies of their relatives in the crime scene at the port.
All this… and yet no accountability STILL.
All this and the authorities are thinking of destroying the final place of evidence.
All this and Maya, Bambi’s childhood friend is awaiting another of the MANY surgeries she is still having since that doomed August 4, 2020 (hi Maya, Bambi’s hero of patience ❤️, and hello to those in the same boat as her… ).
To come back to Mr. Merchak, Bambi would like to thank him for being the voice and the eyes of the families of the victims, of the injured, of the homeless, of the traumatized (those who are still in Lebanon and ALL those who escaped… Many of whom to Canada and around the world).
As for this Director’s latest movie, again called “Beirut after 40”, Bambi learned from 961 (shown below) the following:
“The film has won many awards [including one from Tunis, Bambi adds] and is among the most famous short films in the region.
It will be also screened in the upcoming release of the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market in France, from January 30 to February 4.
“Beirut After 40” is also nominated at the Golden State film festival 2022, which will be held between February 25 and March 3 at the TCL Chinese Theatre.“
