Bambi remains speechless about Lebanon and Beirut.
Speechless yet sadly not that surprised by the extent of the unfolding violence.
Before going to sleep, she pauses on her blog to send her love especially to the Lebanese people and to beloved Beirut, but also to ALL the other innocent people residing in the entire Middle East and, beyond it, in our troubled world.
May the memory of all those who have absurdly lost their lives be eternal. Lots of courage to their loved ones. Best wishes to all the injured, displaced, and scared innocent people.
Individually as well as collectively, may they and may we all keep protecting our sanity while cultivating our inner peace and humanity.
The so-called International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths “raises awareness about disaster deaths that never should occur”. The “focus” of this awareness “includes floods that overwhelm unprepared towns, heatwaves without early warnings, and road accidents on unsafe routes” (https://tinyurl.com/2z5pnuha).
Interesting, but what about avoidable deaths due to terrorism, armed conflicts, and wars? How can we raise awareness about how human-made disaster deaths kill innocent people, destroy lives as well as economies, and tear apart families and their countries?
How do we deal with destructive ideologies that seem incompatible with the will to live and to solve state and inter-state conflicts without radicalism? Is the harsh aggression, or aggressive unmeasured response, a viable and wise approach to get rid of this apparently unsolvable problem—which involves a suicidal, closed mindset. This is sadly the Lebanese tragedy again and again. None of the two fighting entities, Hezbollah and Israel, seem to want to stop the absurd insanity. Yes, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into a war it did not want or can afford. Yes, Israel seems determined to do what Lebanon would have ideally done itself to disarm this Iran-backed Lebanese militia. Clearly, Lebanon does not seem to be able to do it still, even with a weakened Hezbollah. So what is the solution to this existential problem? How will it end in the end… and would it?
So many questions that are beyond the scope of this post and the spirit of this blog, which is based on aspirations for peace, reason, and love.
Related to love, and since tomorrow is “National Day of Plant a Flower”, Bambi who is powerless like the innocent people of her birth country—as well as those residing in its neighbouring and more distant countries— can only symbolically keep planting flowers of peace, along with seeds of love, on her blog. These flowers are meant for each one of you, dear readers. May we remain grounded in those nerve-wracking times. May we remain connected to our humanity despite mixed feelings of despair, anger, sadness, hope for end of the nightmare, and dream of brighter days.
Once again, thank you Mr. Samrani for your insights and bravo to L’Orient Le Jour/Orient Today for its professionalism and high-quality journalism.
Below is a quick translation of this brief video for you, dear readers, with thanks to Mr. Google Translate for his assistance.
Bambi send lots of love to Lebanon. May peace prevail there (it is about time!), in its neighbourhood, region, and the entire world.
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“Is the war waged by Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon set to continue?
Even if the Iranian conflict were to end soon, it is possible that the Lebanese front would continue to rage, for at least two reasons.
The first point is that Israel has the time and space to act as it pleases on the Lebanese front. The stakes are not at all the same as in Iran.
There is no surge in hydrocarbon prices or involvement of Gulf countries and European countries directly related to this conflict.
The second is that Israeli objectives are very high and it seems unlikely that Tel Aviv will back down before at least further weakening Hezbollah by destroying its infrastructure, creating a buffer zone in South Lebanon and exerting strong pressure on the government to accelerate the disarmament of the militia, and ultimately, to be forced to sign a peace on Israeli terms.
In this context, Beirut’s call for direct negotiations with Tel Aviv appears insufficient to stop Israeli aggression.
Only a strong action by the Lebanese authorities against Hezbollah could perhaps change the situation”.
Today, Bambi’s day started with a picture that shook her to the core. It was the view of shelling in front of her sister Roula’s car as she was driving on a street in Beirut.
In addition to caring for and worrying about her aging dad, Roula finds herself worrying about the safety of her own children, and grandchild, in Dubai. Like her fellow citizens, Roula et al. are now going through a nightmare of another round of war, which is currently unfolding in Lebanon.
Bambi remains speechless about the entire regional insanity and war cruelty. Through this post, she sends her love to her two beloved sisters, Roula as well as Rania whose maternal heart is torn between the UAE and Lebanon. Same for many of her relatives and fellow citizens at large whose loved ones are spread across the Middle East. They escaped Lebanon for safety. They now find themselves living in risky places.
Anyhow, Roula, this post comes with two songs for you: (1) of course, a Happy Birthday personalized song found on YouTube with gratitude; and (2) a famous song from our childhood calling for peace in Lebanon and for “giving children their childhood back”. This song, performed by Ms. Rémi Bandali, was composed by her late dad in the context of the Lebanese civil war. Sadly, the Arabic-French-English lyrics of this song remain timely.
Thank you for existing, for being who you are, and for all what you do for our dad (same for you, Rania). Bambi who loves you so much prays God to keep protecting you. Happy Birthday “ma grande” : ) ❤️!
Once again, Iran-backed Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into war. Indeed, this militia, with a suicidal mentality, chose to protect the interests of the Iranian regime over the interests of Lebanon.
Tragically, we all know the cruelty of the unmeasured Israeli-response to the proxies of Iran. Hopelessly, we are witnessing again and again the suffering of the innocent Lebanese people. They are sick and tired of paying the price of wars of others on their own land. Today, their government seems to be considering legal action against Mr. Naim Qassem (https://tinyurl.com/4kffhbaw).
Bambi does not understand what this would concretely mean, but she salutes the courage of the Lebanese government, especially the Minister of Justice. For the first time, it seems to be standing up against this militia.
May the ban of military actions and the legal measures to hold the head of this group responsible be implemented as soon as possible.
She does not know about your own opinion, dear readers, but it is Bambi’s hope to see the Iranian regime falling down… and good luck to Iran following such historical event.
Enough of terror and wars in the Middle East. All its innocent people deserve to live in peace.
As reported by L’Orient Today, and “according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), so far over 300,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon” (https://tinyurl.com/yc25kmrh). Indeed, in heavily bombed Beirut, several families, with young children, are sleeping on the streets and on beaches. Bambi’s broken heart goes to each one of them.
This being said, the short video by L’Orient Le Jour, shared below, features a young shepherd who was forced to leave his land in South Lebanon, walking with his beloved animals all the way to the Western Bekaa. As he said in Arabic, they have been walking for two days. May they arrive safely to their destination.
May this unwanted war end as soon as possible. Enough of suffering!
Due to a fatal technical issue affecting her server, Bambi regrets having permanently lost her latest post entitled: “Mr. Enrico Macias: your song remains timely. May all the children of the Middle East, and the world, hold out their bruised hands, sow love, and then give life“. Sadly, this post did not have the time to go through the daily night back-up; she apologizes for any inconvenience. Indeed, some of you may have read it. Others may have already noticed that the link is broken.
Of note, her lost post meant the world to Bambi for the following reasons: (1) It was a message of hope for love addressed to ALL the children of the Middle East (in all the affected countries); (2) a message of support to her family and friends in Lebanon and beyond it in which she prayed that each one of them will find creative ways to protect his or her personal sanity in the middle of the regional insanity; and (3) a message of appreciation for the government of Lebanon for its historic decision to ban Hezbollah’s military actions.
While Lebanon is sinking deeper into chaos, Hezbollah keeps on boldly serving the interests of the agonizing Iranian regime while being blinded by its Islamist ideology. Despite her appreciation for the historic Lebanese turning point, Bambi wondered in her lost post if the military ban can be realistically implemented by the government: Does the latter have the military power to do so? Will Israel give it time to implement it it? Or will it keep moving forward with its cruel aggression, and re-occupation, of the Land of Cedars?
May God protect the innocent children and adult people of all the Middle East, including Lebanon. Enough of senseless déjà vu of absurd violence brought upon Lebanon, onceagain, by Hezbollah’s reckless actions. Just think of it, in addition to putting the Lebanese people in danger by sending useless missiles toward Israel, Hezbollah had the nerves to attack Cyprus (i.e., its British base). Yes Cyprus, the most peaceful place of the doomed neighbourhood. Is Hezbollah satisfied now after it gave the green light to Israel to attack Lebanon? When this war ends, will it again tell the Lebanese people that it was a “divine” decision?
By firing a missile toward Israel tonight, Hezbollah appears to prefer the Islamist ideology (+ funding) of the apparently agonizing Iranian regime over the love of Lebanon’s sovereignty, unity, stability, and peace. How sad. How irresponsible.
Bravo to the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam for condemning the rocket that was launched from southern Lebanon. He did well by calling it for what it is: “an irresponsible and suspicious act“, which “endangers the country’s security and integrity and gives Israel pretexts to continue its attacks” (https://tinyurl.com/2ru9bb3y).
May God protect Lebanon and all its innocent people wherever they are. They are fed up of violence. They cannot take it anymore. Enough of playing with people’s lives. Enough of absurdity and criminality. Nothing justifies this act, not even grief.
“In light of the dangerous developments unfolding in the region, I reiterate my appeal to all Lebanese to exercise wisdom and patriotism, placing the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese people above all else. And I repeat that we will not accept that anyone might drag the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity”.
