Author: Bambi

Have you heard of Mr. Austin Tice? He is an American freelance journalist who has been kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago. Can you imagine the extent of his ordeal and the endless pain of his family back home?

Bambi discovered Mr. Austin Tice’s sad story through a moving message of his mother translated into Arabic and delivered on a radio internet from out of Beirut. Her heart was deeply moved by his mom (et al. through her). In her message filled with love, she mentioned how much she is eager to hug her son in her arms. She begged those who know any piece of information about him to kindly share it with her.

Day after day, in a recorded message delivered just before the start of the Lebanese news on this station, Bambi listened to Ms. Tice’s heart-wrenching words. After googling the Tices (son and mother), she found a website called “The Family of Austin Tice” (https://shorturl.at/Devqp). She immediately extended her support to the Tices through a humble donation to support the cause of their beloved Austin’s return home. In solidarity, she wishes them to remain strong while praying for their inner peace despite the suffering.

During the past months and weeks, Bambi reconnected with the Lebanese local radio media as she was concerned about her family in Beirut. She took the time to listen to the news, at least twice per day and sometimes even more intensely. Her family there even teased her, wondering whether she was living with them to be that up-to-date.

Did Bambi use the term “up-to-date“? Sure she had been until shortly after the current ceasefire. Yet with enough geographical, along with both involuntarily and voluntarily emotional distance to preserve her sanity (facilitated by geography), she adds the following: it is easy for her to see the entire full picture of the ugliness of war in the doomed Middle East since Day 1. For her, Day 1 starts with the horrible massacre of October 7, 2023, and ALL what followed it, with more tragedies for innocent people on all sides and fronts, including both the destroyed Gaza and the devastated Lebanon. No matter how you look at matters, it is a human tragedy, surely not “a divine victory“, as some keep claiming. How could we talk about victories when innocent people are harmed (displaced, injured, or killed) and countries are destroyed?

This being said, she will go back in time now to the start of the Syrian war. Back then, a dear friend from this neighbouring (and occupying) country of Lebanon asked her: “With whom are you, Bambi”? Which side the regime (dictatorship of one party) or the rebellion (Islamist mainly, even if not only). Her answer was fast: “I am with the people“.

Indeed, since her childhood she remains with the (innocent) people caught in the middle of fire. Always choosing the side of humanity when it comes to all conflicts or wars comes to her naturally. This includes the latest war that hit close to home. She does not know about you, but she refuses to be blinded by fear, anger, or hate. Indeed, she can lucidly see ALL the innocent people on ALL sides of ALL borders. They all deserve dignity, safety, healing, peace… and hopefully love.

Thanks to courageous journalists like, Mr. Austin Tice, who risk their lives abroad to bring us the latest information about very troubled parts of our world. May he return home safely, as his mother seems to be hopeful today. May both (or any one of) Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump succeed in lightening Ms. Tice’s heavy heart. Bambi was happy to read in the L’Orient Le Jour that this inspiring mother is positive that her son is “doing well” (https://shorturl.at/V6ySx). May we hear the joyful news of his return back home ASAP!

This musical post is a treat for Bambi’s own ears on the evening of Saint Nicholas Day.

Of course, she will sing the song at least a couple of time before diving into a deep sleep.

It is her hope that you will enjoy this French Christmas carol, which remains her favourite song since early childhood. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that she is fond of Mr. Kendji Girac’s incredible talent!

This being said, it is not too early to wish Nicolas, Nicole, and Sarah-Nicole a Happy Name’s Day tomorrow :). This song is for them all!

These heartfelt wishes come with a friendly wink to the skies to her beloved “Khallo”(maternal uncle in Arabic) Nicolas and “Amo” (paternal uncle or a dear uncle) Nkoula, from both sides of her family. May the memory of each one of them be eternal.

Now if you find that there are many Nicolas” in Bambi’s extended family, wait until January 17, 2025 (Saint Anthony’s Day). Then, you realize that there are even more Tonys among her relatives, in addition to her beloved dad, Antoine or Tony (hi papy, if you happen to be reading this post 🙂 ❤️!).

Written during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), “Laylat El Milad” [On the Night of Christmas] is a beautiful Maronite hymn.

Sadly, the lyrics of this Arabic Christmas carol, which is about war, remain timely in the Land of the Cedars. This post ends with an English translation (https://shorturl.at/7Ndab).

Bravo to the unique voice of Ms. Hiba Tawaji, which conveys the spirit of Christmas, namely of love and peace.

May love and peace prevail in Lebanon and in the entire Middle East, not just on the night of Christmas, but throughout the coming days, weeks, and years.

“Refrain
On the night of Christmas, hatred will vanish
On the night of Christmas, the earth blooms
On the night of Christmas, war is buried
On the night of Christmas, love is born

1. When we offer a glass of water to a thirsty person, we are in Christmas
When we clothe a naked person with a gown of love, we are in Christmas
When we wipe the tears from weeping eyes, we are in Christmas
When we cushion a hopeless heart with love, we are in Christmas

2. When I kiss a friend without hypocrisy, I am in Christmas
When the spirit of revenge dies in me, I am in Christmas
When hardness is gone from my heart, I am in Christmas
When my soul melts in the being of God, I am in Christmas”

It is hard for Bambi to find words to express her deep sorrow about Ove Samuelsen to her spouse (and vice versa). So how can she publicly honour their friend on her blog if she remains speechless?

She may be speechless indeed. Yet she is grateful for having had the chance to spend precious moments with Ove not just in July but also shortly before he left our world.

Beyond these brief yet highly precious moments, she is forever thankful and HONOURED to have had her life touched by Ove in so many meaningful and sweet ways.

For instance, she will always recall how Louis and her met him, first in a business setting. Then, a beautiful friendship developed over the years with him and his beloved wife Pat.

Like all their friends (many have been like family to them for several decades), Bambi and Louis are fond of Ove’s (and Pat’s) beautiful and talented family (children and grand-children!). Bambi’s heart goes to each one of them now, whether she met them or not.

Many readers, including Bente and Bambi’s own dad, will be sad by this post (William too if he is reading). However, Ove’s inspiring life story, shared by his family in a moving obituary (https://shorturl.at/I157Y) will uplift them in many ways. Indeed, like Bambi, they will recognize Ove as:

(1) the brilliant/clever yet humble, truthful, diplomatic, and supportive lawyer. Indeed, “Ove practiced law in Sackville for over 50 years and was a member of the New Brunswick Law Society and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. Over his long career he practiced mostly family, collaborative and real estate law. It was a long-running joke between family, friends and colleagues all wondering if Ove would, indeed, ever retire” (https://shorturl.at/I157Y)

(2) the man filled with humanity and with a pure heart. He was a spouse, father, host father (for over two decades!), and a caring (+ cute) friend. He was highly respected and loved in our town. He loved everyone, humans and dogs. They all loved him back, dogs as well as humans. He was a GREAT man who was MUCH talented in nurturing and keeping his inner child alive.

(3) the guy who loved his family beyond words and who cherished life. How can his life dare to come to its end then? Yes, sadly he died (like all of us one day, God knows when). However, he will forever remain alive in our hearts!

This being said, if there is anything that Bambi is happy about, it is to have introduced Ove to her parents during one of their four visits to Sackville. Ove and Antoine chatted about technology. Like two excited teenagers, they spent time enjoying their phone and iPad devices.

Of note, Bambi will forever honour her Friday memories with Ove and Pat. (et al.!) at the real and even virtual Ducky’s [bar in town] during pandemic times.

Of course, there are other lovely moments of friendship with Ove of both depth as well as lightness and laughter. A recent example of a deep moment of care was Ove’s heart-warming expressed concern about Bambi’s family in Beirut.

In sum, many thanks to our beloved Ove Samuelsen for having existed. He surely made our world and town a much better place. May his memory be eternal.

With much love, Bambi sends her positive vibes to her friend “Pat (Patricia Mott Samuelsen), to her (and Ove’s) children, “Eric Samuelsen, Christian Samuelsen (Michele Chappaz) and Anna Samuelsen (Rob Kleinmeyer)”, to their “grandchildren, Devin Samuelsen, Freia Samuelsen, Samuel Kleinmeyer and Ava Kleinmeyer, to Ove’s brother, Jan L. Samuelsen, to “his niece, Janna Ellsmere, and to his “nephew, Kendall Samuelsen” (https://shorturl.at/I157Y).

In addition to Ove’s family and relatives, lots of courage to all his friends (Bambi is thinking of each one of them without naming them all). Same wishes and love to his staff/team who loved him dearly, namely Sandra and Kyle.

To conclude this tribute, may God know how to comfort Ove’s family members, especially Pat. May Ove Samuelsen’s beautiful values and outlook in life guide them in their grief journey while inspiring them to live life to the fullest.

Which victory are the Huthis talking about when they hail the (damaged) Hezbollah, which dragged Lebanon into a cruel war on October 8, 2023 (https://shorturl.at/6u7gZ)?

Which victory are Hezbollah fans (some kids) celebrating with two fingers or expressing with photography, flags, firework, or gunshots?

Since when are trauma, massive destruction of a country, displacement, injuries, and mortality signs of victory?

History repeats itself in the Land of the Cedars and, sadly, no lesson seems to have been learned. In 2006, there was a post-war slogan of “divine victory“. in 2024, this exact type of delusion remains pervasive, at least in some.

To come back to the odd Huthis, the focus of this post, did you know that the slogan on their flags is shamelessly: Allah (= God) is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam“ (https://shorturl.at/Lc9Fk)?

This lovely slogan was the topic of an old post shown below. Back then, the USA removed this group from the list of terrorists. That was clearly a mistake, in Bambi’s humble non-expert citizen opinion. Look where we are now. At least now, Mr. Biden re-put them on this so-called terrorist list. At least now, there is a ceasefire, which is surely wiser than fire. Thanks for the efforts to stop the madness, even if a ceasefire is always delicate, risky, and even scary, to say the least.

Hopefully one day we will observe neutrality of Lebanon toward all, including but not limited to Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran, USA, Europe,etc. Lebanon should be put first by all, including the Hezbollah. Without the latter, no ceasefire can work since the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. As far as Bambi is concerned, she has an impossible dream for her birth country and it is called peace (after healing), not just ceasefire: Live and let live on each side of all borders, including the South one with Israel.

This being said, a question about the Huthis that begs itself now: How can we trust a group with such a low level of spirituality, civility, and humanity when they pretend to support the people of Lebanon and their so-called “Victory”? It is clear that they are blinded by their Islamist mindset, which has been fully weaponized by Iran for its own strategic and nuclear interests. This mindset is SAD news for the beautiful religion of Islam, to begin with. Imagine how sad it would be to the rest of the world then, not just the Middle East.

To end this note on a more beautiful note, Bambi will leave you with: (1) a picture of the Lebanese army ready to be deployed in the South of the country. All the best to each of these soldiers who sadly paid a heavy price in a war they did not even participate in. Too bad we did not see such picture in 2006 following war. Over the years, even UNIFL did not, or could not, prevent this tragic war. Indeed, back then, sadly, Iran, through Hezbollah and its allies or enablers (domestically and internationally), decided to act differently; and (2) warm wishes to her relatives, friends, readers, and neighbours for their American Thanksgiving (Huthis, you can relax and ignore this, despite your slogan of death wishes)! May everyone be safe and merry ❤️!

—-

Older post from 2021:

The Houthis no longer on the US terrorist list: Did Mr. Biden lose his mind?

Yesterday before sleep, as a break from the news of senseless violence abroad, Bambi listened partly to Christmas melodies and partly to Mr. Patrick Norman’s beautiful songs. Bambi likes them all and her favourite is “Quand on est en amour” [When We Are in Love].

This French-Canadian song is apparently about romantic love. Indeed, it describes how the heart becomes lighter when we are in love (despite a history of love disappointments). Yet, love is love. So, the song would also apply to love of others, fellow humans or pets, in the simplest, broadest, and most unconditional sense of the term.

To conclude this musical post, this song will be offered to a friend in Ontario whose second name is “habibi” and he knows why, to dearest Jacinthe on her birthday ❤️, and to this blog’s dear readers, especially to those who have the courage, civility, and at times humility, to open their hearts to others’ humanity… well, this brings back to love :)!

“Alors, vive l’amour sous toutes ses formes et… merci cher Monsieur Norman”!

The Abraham Accords (2022) were a piece of good news that preceded the current round of DARK times of the Middle East. Think of it, these historic accords resulted in the United Arab Emirates and Israel building economic ties. This key step toward peace and development, instead of continuous hatred and destruction, was the clever work of the former administration of Mr. Trump (i.e., Mr. Jared Kushner, a young American businessman-investor). Why is Bambi saying so? Because she is fed up of wars and she strongly believes in the following: reason to solve conflicts (not ghosting or boycotting), business mindset, development, openness, collaborations, peace (live and let live), and even eventually love among both individuals and nations.

Bearing the above in mind, it is with much sadness that Bambi learned about the assassination of Mr. Zvi Kogan, a young ultra-orthodox rabbi who operated Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery in Dubai (https://tinyurl.com/mrxetvhh). May his soul rest in peace and memory be eternal. May the same G-D/God/Allah support his family. May love, not just peace, prevail in the Middle East and in the entire world.

When words completely escape us…

From self-hostage by financially, morally, and military corrupt warlords.

To a hostage of a decaying sectarian system, despite its inspiring aspirations for democracy and fairness.

To a harsh battleground for the world’s powerful states and for destructive ideologies.

When will tiny yet resilient Lebanon finally become a sovereign state?