With her permission, Bambi does not want to go to bed without sharing with you a beautiful picture taken earlier today in Lebanon by her sister Roula while sitting on her apartment’s balcony facing the Mediterranean sea.
A picture taken by journalist, author, and professor Roula Douglas on her balcony in Beirut, Lebanon.
Bambi has already shared on her blog how much she appreciates sunsets (or after-sunset times) because they hold the promise of a new dawn.
A new dawn is a promise of a new hope. Is there anything more meaningful and powerful in life than the latter?
As one of Bambi’s friends in town once said, dawns or mornings are a blessing as we open our eyes grateful that we are (still) alive.
Yes, being alive, or rather feeling full of life, is highly rewarding. Indeed, every moment of our lives is usually worth living. Of course, this includes joyful, sad, or mixed moments of our lives, including grief journeys with their valuable lessons.
Without much philosophy, Bambi will stop here to share two songs about the sun. The first melody is by Dalida and it is called Soleil Soleil [Sun, Sun]. Believe it or not, Bambi still freshly recalls this TV moment, most likely in Germany, from 1984 (she was 12 years old back then).
As for the second song, it is originally by the late and great Sabah, a Lebanese diva. It is about hope in life. Precisely, the hope of the sunrise of the feast’s sunshine. Bambi had posted this song on her blog once. Here, it is interpreted by Mr. Marwan Khoury, a talented singer from her birth country whom she just discovered. To conclude this post, Bambi will leave you with an English translation of this lovely song, hoping you will enjoy it as much as she did!
The tragedy of Ms. Hanaa Khodr (21 years old) happened in Tripoli, North of Lebanon a few days ago. Bambi just learned about it while quickly reading the re-tweets of Beirut-based journalist Roula Douglas.
In a few hours, it will be midnight here in New Brunswick. Technically, we can start projecting ourselves into tomorrow– August 15, 2022. So, we can already say “Bon quinzou”, National Day/fête nationale of the Acadians :)!
Talking abou the Acadians, here is Mr. Michel Fugain’s famous 1975 song offered from Bambi to all of them with much love. It is nicely interpreted below by Ms. Natasha St Pier and it is entitled “Tous les acadiens et les acadiennes“! ❤️ ️
Bambi cannot complete this post without the following additional messages:
(1) Happy Birthday to her childhood friend Fadi! Bambi is making him slightly wiser (as older), a few hours ahead of August 15 🙂 ❤️
(2) Happy Name Day to all those called Maria, Mary, Maryam, Marie or composed names with Marie, including you Mabelle (as your birthday is on the 16 :)). Yes, Bambi is thinking of you and Nicolas ❤️❤️ :)!
&
(3) Last but not least , a Happy continuation of the “Feast of Assumption of the Virgin Mary” Long Weekend in Lebanon (as well as in Cyprus and parts of Europe)!! Yes, she is particularly thinking of he cousin Elham and her spouse, our dear “Abouna Elias”, along with their lovely Saint-Mary’s church in Beirut. In addition to church bells and Byzantine chants (with Father Elias’ fabulous voice), she can imagine the smell and taste of all the delicious Tamrieh being cooked, tonight and all day tomorrow, outside of the church. Mmm!
Well, thanks to her cousin Rana, Bambi and her family had the chance to indulge in this desert on July 20 [another feast in Lebanon, namely Saint Eliah’s Day :)] ❤️.
Tonight, Bambi’s dad reminded her of the famous “Hrisseh“, “a traditional Lebanese porridge consisting primarily of wheat and meat lamb”. It is especially cooked on the Assumption of Mary’s Day in the Bhamdoun village. Mmm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrisseh)! Well, Bambi cannot mention this charming place without thinking of her friends Mary and Mounir ❤️ ❤️. Seing them this summer was a pure joy and a blesssing. By the way, Happy Name Day, Mary :).
A picture courtesy of Rana received by Bambi when her cousin commented to this post. This is the Hrisseh, cooked yearly by her mom Amale (Bambi’s dear aunt!) to honour Mary, the mother of Jesus :). Blessings and much love to Amale et al.
To conclude this post, back to its start: Happy National Acadian Day again to all, including you Gina et al. :). ❤️
To your love and to the memory of your (and our) sweetest Kayla…
Gladson and Roula, you did not need ten years with your sweetest dog to learn from her something about love. Indeed, your family was already filled with love. Imagine how it became with Kayla to whom you offered a wonderful life of love and discipline? Kayla as well as your own generous hearts spread love around you. We are all grateful, including Bambi.
Today is your first family’s Sunday without your Kayla. This is why, and with much love, Bambi thought of offering you your teenage years’ love song. Yes, you guessed well: It is Ms. Bonnie Taylor’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” :). She hopes this melody will bring lovely memories back to your minds and put a smile on your faces.
Thank you for having had Kayla and for having allowed us all to enjoy her and be transformed by her love. A big thanks to you, Michael, as well as you Nicolas. Trust that your Kayla recently taught Bambi a beautiful lesson about love and care (you know how/when). Most importantly, always remember that Bambi is deeply grateful for life because we are family… without or with pets ❤️.
May God help, Mr. Salman Rushdie and much love to his family. Tragically, and as per his physician as reported by the Lebanese media, he will likely lose an eye, his arm nerves were cut and he was stabbed in his liver. He is now placed on an artificial respirator. All the latter because some do not know how to be tolerant in life. How to ignore a book (or any other text) they do not like. How to accept that not everyone thinks the same about any topic in life, including religion.
Always according to L’Orient Le Jour, one of the main ultra-religious Iranian media wrote: “Let us kiss the hand of the one who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife”. After reading the latter, does anyone still think that Islamism is good for Islam and for humanity? Whether Sunni or Shia, whichever its origins, fanaticism is incompatible with both (moderate) Islam and with humanity.
To conclude this post, one song comes to Bambi’s mind…. Yes it is Ms. Nana Mouskouri’s liberty song. She is singing it now and will follow it with a prayer in her heart for Mr. Rushdie.
Bambi returned from Beirut with a heavy heart. The collective trauma of the surrealistic Beirut port double explosion is still VERY vivid in everyone’s spirit two years after the doomed August 4, 2020.
Indeed, all Bambi’s loved ones talked about the explosion and shared with her what happened to them then. Not only family members and childhood friends, but also store owners and neighbours of her parents and individuals from other neighbourhoods. Sometimes, there was no need for words, just the deeply sad look in people’s eyes, despite their kind smiles, was enough for Bambi to understand the extent of the collective trauma.
Bambi was particularly moved by the story of how her parents survived, even if their apartment was BADLY hit. Same for her dad’s store and even a warehouse located deep under a building. She was moved by a senior man who shared how his neighbour lost her life in front of his eyes. What also “killed” her (meaning moved her soul) was a beautiful, giant picture of a young mother who died in her car while her young kids survived.
In addition, what can Bambi say about her childhood friend, or sister she feels like saying, Maya (who will likely read this post)? She still has vivid memories of her friend’s ordeal stories. They seemed straight out of a horror movie. Yes, stories of survival and fight for life. Also stories of heroism and human generosity. This being said, Bambi cannot help not to also remember those pictures she saw of her friend’s injury on her phone, from surgery to surgery. If the injury she saw was THAT serious, you can imagine how the earlier pictures looked. Highly disturbing.
Maya also shared the story of many other citizens who are still in the coma. Indeed, her BIG heart keeps praying for them. One of these citizens is a mother who woke up loosing her sight. Can you imagine? As a reminder, many kids and adults lost an eye. Some almost did (Bambi’s brother-in-law).
Listening to these stories while sitting on the balcony facing Beirut port (on fire back then) felt surreal. At one point Bambi and her friend saw odd lights in the dark sky of the Lebanese capital (no it was not Mr. Elon Musk’s satellite/rocket that scared Beirutis a few days later, https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1306584/une-fusee-et-des-satellites-de-spacex-apercus-dans-le-ciel-du-liban.html). The spontaneous reaction at the time was to close the curtains and then to smile, and even laugh, to the gesture :). Seriously, if this reaction was not trauma-related, what was it then?
Anyhow, Bambi returned home to her parents’ place on that night with a heavy AND angry heart, yet a grateful one (she loves you Maya!). Although usually polite, Bambi expressed her anger in a couple of bad words toward those responsible for this criminal negligence (or crime?) against all these innocent people. Of note, she returned home walking in the complete darkness because of the destroyed power infrastructure in Lebanon. Yes years of mismanagement (and likely corruption) that culminated with the blast after-effects. Today, we are talking about power coming from the government sometimes for just less than 30 minutes to one hour per day. Can you imagine?
Now, to link the stories above, to the title of this post, EVERY single person Bambi spoke with in Beirut mentioned airplanes before the explosion. Not tourist airplanes, of course. Military ones, they meant. They all heard them. They all thought of Israeli raids. Many also suspected an earthquake. In addition, and of note, everyone knows who was in charge of the port part that exploded. Who usually knows about every detail happening there? Yes, Bambi will name the Hezbollah. Given all this, her hypothesis about the blast now looks more like this: Both Israel and the Hezbollah may have a role in this tragedy (of course, there are also the disgusting Lebanese politicians who knew about the ammonium nitrate without doing anything to protect citizens). Bambi has written in an earlier post from 2020 that it is strange how neither the Hezbollah nor Israel blamed each other. The former usually does not miss any opportunity to tell us that everything in life is the fault of the “Zionist entity”. Why has it been silent for two years now? In turn, Israel usually also publicly endorse its military acts or present facts about enemies. Why are they silent now?
Please make no mistake, Bambi is NOT saying that the Hezbollah enjoyed the suffering of Beirutis. She is not saying this. Perhaps they were much taken by the games of hidden wars that they lost track of the reality of humanity? Perhaps it was a strategy saying no one will dare touching this highly dangerous material? Perhaps they forgot about it during the pandemic, who knows? Or maybe it was thought like a protective layer for own interests, real weapons or other products? Could it be?
As far as Israel is concerned, it is also very likely that its army also did not realize what was stored at the port or the extent of damage from it. Had they known it would cause a human and city disaster like that, they may have not touched the port in any way if they actually did so. So, once again, make no mistake as just like for the Hezbollah, Bambi is NOT saying that Israel enjoyed the suffering of innocent people. At first, two years ago, Bambi has once written that i is possible that the Israeli presence in the Lebanese skies at the time of the blast may have been a coincidence. After all, Israel always invites itself into it, to spy on the Hezbollah or on its way to military strike missions in Syria. But why is Israel silent too? Isn’t this apparent code of silence protective of its overlapping interest with the Hezbollah? Does hiding the truth serve both interests or is Bambi’s hypothesis wrong?
And what about the European and international leaders? Why have they ALL been silent? As one friend reminded Bambi lately, only one politician said something back then. It was Mr. Trump who mentioned a possible attack only to fast retract himself after or the American or international media not endorsing what he said (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast-trump-idUSKCN2502YG).
Of course, Mr Macron rushed to Beirut to support citizens before/instead of their own politicians. Yes, Bambi expressed her gratitude and she will keep saying bravo for his humanity. However, why is he silent as well? Does he and do they all share the same interest of hiding the truth? Is this related to Iran? Or to Israel or both? Or just their own countries’ interests?
Last but not least, since yesterday morning, Bambi’s cousin and sister both shared the following petition, started by families of the victims of the Beirut blast. It is asking for an international investigation She will share it below in case you want to sign it. However, without wanting to become cynical, Bambi will do so, even if she does not believe in international investigations anymore, whether by the UN or by any other agency. If you do not believe her, you may wish to read her earlier posts about this topic and the ridiculously shy and not applicable outcome of the UN investigation concerning Mr. Hariri’s assassination, along with innocent Beirutis. Everyone knows who is behind this crime. No one was held accountable. No one has ever been for other assassinations of intellectuals. Perhaps the latest one being the inspiring Mr. Lokman Slim.
To conclude this post, only one melody comes to Bambi’s mind now. It is Mr. Ghassan Rahbani’s MOVING song after the Beirut blast (posted for the second time on this blog). It is subtitled in English. Healing, justice, love, safety, and peace to Beirut!
How SAD and how NOT surprising. Indeed, Bambi saw with her own eyes the distress of the Lebanese people during a recent trip to the Middle East :(. There is NO word to describe the current Lebanese human disaster, which began on October 17, 2019 when the banking sector collapsed. At that time, the people of Lebanon and the world realized that this country’s economy was based on a GIANT Ponzi scheme!
Since October 17, 2017, people have been (illegally) prevented from accessing their life savings. The Lebanese pound lost its value (with hyperinflation of almost 200%).
Without any surprise, the corrupt powerful folks at the top of the banking and governmental sectors got their money out (abroad). Not the average Lebanese who is getting poorer day after day. Not the citizens of Lebanon who have worked by the sweat of their brow all their lives, raising their families and contributing to society. No. Not them. Not those seniors who are supposed to enjoy the final stage(s) of their lives. Instead, their quality of life took an unacceptable hit: little or no power with an unbearable summer humidity along the coasts (and in the winter with much cold, especially in the snowy mountains), no access to medication. All this while going from a gas crisis to a bread crisis to ammonium nitrates exploding their places and work places AND killing them. All this without any accountability, any justice, any governmental reform effort. Nothing! Instead those in power are busy dividing the cake of power… of course according to sectarian, or identity-based, lines because this is what matters the most in life (Canada, please take note of where sectarianism could, at least theoretically yet very possibly, lead us in the future, may God forbid).
If Bambi sounds angry writing all the above, it is because she is indeed VERY angry and sad for the Lebanese people. Bearing the described context above in mind, she will add the following: The Lebanese government is bankrupt. There is no more public coverage of healthcare, at least in the private or semi-private hospitals. If you do not have an insurance, you literally die. If you do not have access to your OWN funds to pay your insurance, you also die. Now this being said, she will argue below how this man, his dad, the bank staff/clients and the ENTIRE Lebanese population are ALL victims of systemic corruption and decay.
Indeed, this still unfolding story seems to be going like this: If the fact is true, this man grabbed a weapon from the bank itself. This could be the case as Bambi did not recognize bank branches in Beirut. They are hidden behind metal walls– no windows, no light, nothing. How do employees manage to work without seeing the sunshine she wondered? At least, they are safe from people’s understandable and legitimate anger. Bambi also feels for those employees. They are victims too, as mentioned above. She has loved ones among them. Not at this particular bank, thank God.
Anyhow, the man in question is desperate because he is going to lose his dad (can you imagine?). He has money at the bank (maybe $200K or $230K, it seems), but no access to it. He needs $50K so his dad can have access to urgent care. His bank is not giving it to him and to the other depositors. This “illegal” (criminal?) banking practice has been going on since October 17, 2019. We are in 2022, almost in 2023. Can you imagine?
So, to conclude this post, may God help this man, his dad, the bank staff and two clients taken hostage. May those negotiating with him succeed in making the story end with humanity, justice, and.. without blood. If anyone knows if and how we can help this man and his dad, please let Bambi know to share. As for you Lebanon, Bambi has no more words about you. Just a prayer, if she may…
First of all, Bambi will start by saluting the courage and scientific integrity of Biologist and Professor Rod Cumberland. New Brunswick (NB), Canada, and the entire world need more people like him!
You may wish to listen to this former government wildlife biologist and instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology (Fredericton, NB) directly in the video below where he presented to the Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship on June 24, 2021. The latter day was part of weeklong meetings devoted to the examination of glyphosate use in NB forests. As a reminder, our province is 85% forested. The hot issue of glyphosate use is critical, regardless of the point of view about glyphosate use or abuse.
As you can see, biologist Rod Cumberland spoke about the effect herbicide spraying has on the health of deer and moose in the province. Bambi thanks him for caring for her and all her fellow deer (and indirectly of NB citizens, including those who are trying hard to silence him). In addition, he also spoke about the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s failure to protect the public from harmful herbicides and pesticides. Bambi also thanks him for caring for his fellow NB human beings.
This being said, Bambi would like to thank Cumberland’s former boss at the Maritime College of Forest Technology, retired Executive-Director Gerry Redmond, for creating a fundraiser campaign to support his legal fees. She is honoured to have just contributed to it. She did so both as a peer and as a grateful deer/citizen. Now, if like her, you care about academic freedom/freedom of expression in our dear province, and can afford to support Mr. Cumberland in any way you can, here is the link to this campaign: https://www.givesendgo.com/G3MXE?sharemsg=display.
As for us in NB, and by extension in Canada, we should be ashamed of ourselves for not being wise enough to know how to listen to and respect all opinions on any given topic and regardless of whether we agree with it or not.
Stated differently, everyone has the right to freely express his or her opinion, whether the latter is scientific, medical, political, religious, etc. Powerful pressure groups, governments, and individuals must urgently re-commit to this basic principle of common sense in communication and in human rights, if we want to still keep calling ourselves a democracy.
Last but not least, in the fundraiser link above, you can find more media coverage on the story. Below are a few additional ones:
To conclude this post, Bambi wants to thank Mr. Cumberland again for his inspiring courage. Best wishes to him in “his” long battle, which is “ours” too. Indeed, if one of us is silenced, we are all censored. This is why Bambi is standing up for academic freedom/free speech, that is in full solidarity with this courageous scientist/citizen!
Bambi’s heart has been heavy since this morning. How could it not be following the loss of her beloved Kayla, as per the earlier post below?
To cheer herself up before sleep, she looked for new versions of her favourite Arabic summertime love melody on YouTube. Of course, she means the “Three Daqat” song.
If she may, she would like to dedicate the “Three Daqat” [3 Heartbeats] song to the sweetest Kayla. Yes, all our hearts are beating for you today in unity to say good-bye. Much love again to those grieving this wonderful dog, especially the Douglas family in Lebanon and Dubai ?.
As for you dear readers of this blog, it is Bambi’s hope that you will enjoy this brief musical post. May the rest of your summer be light and merry. May love, with a big and/or a small L, always fill your hearts and inspire your life!
An instrumental version by Mr. Maan Hamadeh et al.:
An English translated version by Ms. Banah, a singer/songwriter who resides in Bahrain after growing up in the Middle East and Canada:
A wonderful interpretation by B.I.G and Soya in Arabic (Bravo!):
A creative version by a Jordanian talented sibling duo, namely a brother and a sister called Ms. Lama and Mr. Costandi Zakharia (Wow!):
Bambi’s heart is sad today. She lost a dear family member. Her grieving heart goes to Kayla’s immediate family, the Douglas one by one (Michael abroad, Roula/Gladson, and Nicolas). She is also thinking of Mabelle and Stéphanie as well as all her extended relatives in Lebanon. They all loved Kayla. Even Bambi’s family and friends abroad are fond of her. Bambi’s heart also goes to her family members, beyond the Douglas, one by one. Everyone is sad today…. Mom and dad, Bambi is sorry for your loss.
Kayla was a famous dog. She had great relatives and friends in Canada and Europe. One of those wonderful friends medically and generously cared for her from far away. She is thinking of you Gina. What a devoted and competent vet you are! Bambi is also thinking of Kayla’s own vet in Lebanon and other caregivers. They will all miss her.
To come back to you Gina, a BIG thank you , from everyone in Beirut, Dubai, and even Sackville for your humanity and wonderful words to them today. You are right: They did give this wonderful dog a great life. As you wrote so nicely this morning, Kayla is on her way to the “Rainbow Bridge” (poem shown below).
This being said, Bambi’s German cousins also fell in love with Kayla six years ago and had the chance to see her lately. Bambi is thinking of you Laila. She is sorry to share the sad news on her blog (unless you heard it already?). When you left Beirut four days after Bambi, no one saw this coming. Bambi is happy we all got to see Kayla, especially you Michael even for a short time!
As far as she is concerned, Bambi will always remember how Kayla opened her room’s door twice to check on her, in the middle of the night, upon her arrival from Canada (Bambi started her journey at her sister’s place before moving to their parent’s apartment). Sadly, Bambi did not have the chance to return the care to you Kayla. She just sent you her love with her sister and prayed for you to leave our world in peace and without pain.
Last but not least, Bambi cannot end this dog obituary without having a tender thought for all the kind humans and pets Kayla loved in her building and neighbourhood. Of note, she was a good friend to a caring human being, Ahmed. Bambi is thinking of him now. In addition, she was in love with one particular cute dog. Will he miss her too?
Now it is the time to conclude this post. Bambi will do so by paying tribute to Kayla in three ways. First, she will share with you a beautiful picture of our dear Kayla taken in Beirut years ago, courtesy of Roula. Second, as mentioned above, she will share Gina’s Rainbow Bridge poem. Last but not least, if she may, she would like to offer Roula, Gladson, Michael, and Nicholas a song inspired by Gina’s poem… with muchlove ❤️. Bon courage tout le monde!
A picture of Kayla taken by Roula in Beirut a few years ago.
Thank you again Gina for sharing this beautiful poem with Bambi’s family.
