After a busy day, Bambi is ready to go to sleep. Yet she refuses to do so without this post.
First, Happy Orthodox Easter dear readers, if you happen to have highlighted this great day. Same for Bambi’s family on earth AND in heaven as well as for some of her relatives and friends. To you all: Christ is risen [El Massih Kam].
Second, with the time difference, it is already April 13 in Lebanon.
April 13, 1975 is the SAD anniversary of the Lebanese civil war (1975 to 1990).
April 13, 2026 is 51 years since this bloody civil war.
Over five decades later, Lebanon is still in war.
Of note, Bambi is 53 years old (turning 54 in July). She was 2 years and 9 months when war broke out in Beirut. She went through it all until 3-4 months before its end when she migrated to Canada in 1990.
Indeed, closer to age 54, war is still raging in Bambi’s birth country.
Will Lebanon ever be free of violence? Will it embrace peace?
Lebanon deserves better than violence. Enough of unnecessary grief.
Indeed, life is too short to spend it in fear and suffering.
Both older and younger Lebanese generations deserve peace.
Bearing the above in mind, and despite the collective sad anniversary, April 13 remains a beautiful day. How could it not be when it is the birthday of Rita, Bambi’s childhood friend? With much love, here is a birthday melody for her. Happy Birthday [Akbel el Mieh].
As for you dear Lebanon, Bambi offers you Nicole (Eurovision1982)’s great peace song.
Several countries of the world, including Canada, are calling to include Lebanon in the so-called fragile ceasefire agreement between Iran and the USA. Do they realize that they are echoing the Iranian regime, which has controlled Lebanon for decades and dragged it into this latest war (via Hezbollah)? Maybe to relieve the pressure on itself… or maybe it was yet another bad strategic decision by the Hezbollah?
However, in life, since when do we discuss anyone’s interests or future without his/her presence? Why are they doing this to you, dear Lebanon? Truly out of compassion? To protect their economic or political interests? OR to please the Iranian regime (and its allies)? OR out of ignorance of the reality of the Middle East, especially under fire?
According to Bambi’s non-expert citizen opinion, the international community is once again enabling the hegemony of Iran over tiny Lebanon AND putting it at increased risk of CRUEL aggression by its Israeli neighbour. Mind you, it is also putting Israel in more danger, which again re-puts Lebanon in greater danger. And how would this vicious cycle of violence stop? When… if ever?
In its so-called military strategy of protecting its citizens in the North at all costs (from Hezbollah’s missiles), Israel has lost complete touch with the devastating reality of collateral damage or of an unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Lebanon. It is re-occupying Lebanon and it calls it a buffer zone. History truly repeats itself, tragically.
Thankfully, Canada did well by denouncing both Israel and Hezbollah, asking them to stop the fighting and to protect the civilians. Thank you. However, there is political naivety in asking Hezbollah “to disarm itself” (https://tinyurl.com/bpa6py9f). How would this happen concretely? By magic or with a miracle?
The problem with an Islamist mindset (Mollah, Hezbollah, ISIS, etc.) is that it is suicidal by definition. Instead of learning to change, as needed, it is willing to commit both individual and collective suicide to serve the mindset at all costs.
Similarly, the problem with a warrior mindset (Hezbollah AND Israel; chicken and/or egg) is that, without wanting to, it becomes the other side of the same coin. Stated differently, CRUEL war actions by one entity provide the other entity with more reasons to justify its suicidal victim-warrior mindset.
Who are the bigger losers here? Of course, the people of Lebanon who are sick and tired of being war traumatized again and again. Same for the Israeli innocent civilians who also must be sick and tired of wars, including Hezbollah’s threat.
So, how do we solve this? The official Lebanon can dare to try a new approach. Something bold, creative, and independent. Both domestically and externally. Putting the countries’ best interests above anything else. Negotiating with Israel directly with a vision of peace, not just a temporary ceasefire and another war in a few years. Same with Syria. Iran, the USA. France, and all the countries of the world. Without being shy about it. Beirut and Lebanon deserve to be put FIRST before any other foreign country or ideology.
To conclude this post, despite its DEEP sadness for Lebanon, Bambi remains a firm believer in peace and in the power of this vital force called love. In her heart, all the children and adults of the Middle East deserve to live in safety and peace, including and not limited to Lebanon and its two immediate neighbours, both Israel and Syria. By extension all the other countries as well, including Iran and the USA. For now, just hands off Lebanon, please. It has an official government. Let it decide its fate please… for once.
Bambi thanks her cousin for having shared this moving short video a few days ago. Thank you Mr. Enrico Macias!
For decades, tiny Lebanon has been held hostage of regional power struggles.
Today, more than ever, it is the bloody battleground for Iran (via Hezbollah), Israel, and the USA. All these powerful entities have been fighting each other fiercely, from war to war, until this current insane round.
Yesterday, upon a so-called regional ceasefire, Israel launched 100 air strikes in ten minutes across Beirut and the rest of Lebanon. This resulted in more destruction and pressure on the healthcare system with about 837 injured people and 112 victims (https://tinyurl.com/yk282fju).
As a result, the Lebanese government declared today a national day of mourning.
May those trapped under the rubble be found alive. May all the injured heal. May the memory of the deceased be eternal.
Enough of violence in the Land of Cedars… for God/G-d/Allah/No God’s sake.
If she may, with much love, Bambi dedicates this hopeful Byzantine Orthodox prayer about resurrection in Arabic and Greek to the memory of her dad (and of her mom) .
With lots of love, she also offers it to the memory of your beloved late mom Jessy and of your cousin gone too soon, Diana. You and your heartbroken families remain in her heart. Hang on both of you 💜. Although our Easter is supposed to be next week, Bambi always goes with the majority. Thus, for her, it is Easter and she is thinking of the two of you.
Christ is risen, whether we highlight Easter this week or next Sunday and anytime. Christ is risen, even and perhaps especially if our hearts are grieving.
This being said, Happy Easter dear readers if you happen to be celebrating today. You might perhaps care about the deep spiritual meaning of the day. Alternatively, you may only enjoy tasty chocolate and/or good times with loved ones. Who knows, perhaps you are totally indifferent. Regardless, may you all have a good Sunday.
Last but not least, if today happens to be Palm Sunday for you, please enjoy it while awaiting your Easter and… tasty chocolate again.
Bambi has been silent lately, very busy with work while digesting life.
Despite this, she does not want you to think that she forgot about you, dear readers. Only a few weeks after Eid for some of you, Passover started for a few of you. Today, some of you are highlighting Good Friday (+ forthcoming Easter). May everyone be safe, blessed, and cherish precious moments with loved ones.
This being said, some of us, including Bambi, are grieving loved ones in their hearts. May everyone’s memory be eternal, especially Antoine’s ❤️. Bambi is grieving yet she insists on celebrating her faith in life, love, and in shared humanity.
As for war-related grief, there is no word to describe the sorrow for tiny Lebanon, for Beirut as Bambi is writing, for the Middle East, and for our deeply troubled world. May peace prevail after hell. May love have the final word.
Those of us who are highlighting Good Friday at a spiritual level (Bambi is one of them), may we all feel comforted and with inner peace. May faith be renewed while remaining grounded throughout life stages and adversity.
Especially in war times, may we remember the need for critical thinking and the value of love, despite all other coping-related feelings of sadness, fear, or anger. May we know how to keep loving one another…
If there is any lesson that Bambi will consciously remember from her dad’s life, it is precisely the love lesson. Not just for his family, but also toward everyone. Despite her deep sorrow, Bambi is relieved that her dad is in heaven because there are no wars there. May his memory be eternal.
Bearing the above in mind, and if she may, Bambi will end by sharing a personal story she recalled while driving to her town the other day. This story is war-related and it happened in a country she loves dearly, Germany. The story explains the title of this post.
Of note, she learned about this story 24 years ago when her now deceased German aunt (former spouse of her late uncle) visited Bambi in Montreal for three days on her way to visit her niece in Vancouver. May the memory of both of them be eternal.
When Bambi was four-year-old, growing up in war-torn Beirut, she hurt herself with broken glass (she did not listen to her sister Rania who wanted to protect her). She still has the skin scars of this injury on her right hand. To ease parental stress on her mom, her dad took their little daughter (Bambi) with him on a business trip to München, Germany. Her mom and her sisters remained in Lebanon.
While there, Canada opened its doors wide open to the people of Lebanon for immigration due to civil war. Her dad jumped on the opportunity to apply for immigration (thank you dad!). Thus, he had to leave her in München with her maternal uncle Nicolas and aunt Ingrid whom she had just met for the first time of her life. Antoine took the train to Stuttgart to the Canadian embassy. If she is not mistaken, and she will eventually consult documentation to confirm it (her dad was a highly organized man: He kept records of all his trips with whom, where, and for how long, wow!), he flew out to Canada from Stuttgart. He returned back to München to pick her up. All what she remembers vividly is that she went to daycare for a few days and this beautiful experience has marked her forever. Perhaps her memory is fading a bit with age, but somehow the number 18 remains on her mind (or was it just 8 days, but for a child, it feels more?). Anyhow, she recalls having counted the days away from her dad on her fingers.
Now, you may wonder why the “Bye train” in this post’s title? Well, Ingrid drove Antoine and Bambi to the train station. Her dad embarked on the train. Bambi stood up watching it moving far away in the horizon (with Antoine in it). When she could not see it anymore, she waved good-bye in the air while saying: “Bye train“! She then calmly gave her hand to Ingrid, without any shed tears, and she was ready to walk back to the the car. According to Ingrid, Bambi was very stoic in this moment.
With this childhood story, Bambi will now end by saying that the train of life goes on, regardless of our separations or losses. May the train of violence end soon in Lebanon and beyond. Enough, ouf. May the train of love knows how to take everyone onboard, not just her dad!
