What a moving song. How powerful. How true. Thank you Ms. Majida El Roumy (who, by the way, has been Bambi’s preferred singer when she was growing up in Lebanon).
This song seems to be old (yes, older than the 2019’s revolt as it was posted on YouTube in 2014). Despite this, it is the second time in a couple of two following days that Bambi is hearing it on the internet radio. What a beautiful discovery.
Below, you can find the song in Arabic followed by the lyrics in English.
Bambi sends her heart to the people of her birth country!
Bambi has been listening to this Remix song, called El Ghazala El Rayaa, for a couple of days now, on her Lebanese-American internet radio station.
This fun (+ funny/cute) song, by a talented young singer (Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz ft. Mohamed Osama), is an invitation for joyful dancing and laughter. Not surprising that it is a hit in Lebanon where people need to laugh, and forget about their problems, now more than ever.
Well, this evening, Youtube featured El Ghazala El Rayaa for Bambi. Isn’t this a golden opportunity to share it with you now? Mind you, from the radio station mentioned above, Bambi learned that the original of the song comes from Russia. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, she could not find the lovely original Russian version for you.
To conclude this short musical post, Bambi hopes you will enjoy El Ghazala El Rayaa that she wants to dedicate, with much love, to her sister Rania [she knows why :)]!
Bambi is curious to hear from you. Please share your opinion.
As far as she is concerned, her first thoughts are the following: This measure is ONLY meant to be punitive. It does not seem to be concerned with infection. It is actually putting at least one employee of the store at risk by closely walking with and monitoring the “unvaccinated” customer. Plus, why are we turning store employees into cops?
Of course, it is not easy to manage a country or a province or a territory at any time, and especially during a pandemic.
However, when we keep taking decision about measures that do not work and/or clearly irritate Canadian workers, it would be humble and clever to stop, question, assess, and re-consider those policies.
Instead of showing political evaluation and flexibility in decision-making, some world governments are becoming increasingly authoritarian. Add to the latter our notorious bureaucracy and related public inefficiency, the end result risks being what is reflected in the pictures shared below.
Bambi is saying so and she has almost always had trust in governments (minus the exceptional Lebanon of the recent decades). She is also saying so and she is double vaccinated and will consider at least the next forthcoming booster (+ assess for the next ones, depending on her bodily response and/or other factors like getting exposed to the virus, etc.).
Anyhow, here are some pictures taken by a resident of Sackville, New Brunswick last week who kindly shared them with Bambi and you. Were all those empty shelves all due to the supply chain problem created by the unwise policies of our governments (hello, Mr. Trudeau!)? Or did the cold wave play a role too?
A picture taken by a resident of Sackville, NB, Canada
A picture taken by a resident of Sackville, NB, Canada
A picture taken by a resident of Sackville, NB, Canada
As shared on this blog more than once, Bambi is a fan of Mr. Mike Massy, an international Lebanese singer full of talent. Today, she searched his repertoire for fun. She discovered that in 2014 he sang a “Muwashshah“ called “Lamma Bada Yatathana” that she adores!
First, what is a Muwashshah? In classical Arabic, this term is the singular of Muwashahat and it means girdled. It refers to an Arabic poetry (or poetic form) and secular musical genre. Precisely, it is made of a multi-lined strophic verse poem written in classical or standard Arabic, usually “in five stanzas, alternating with a refrain with a running rhyme” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muwashshah).
Now, Lamma Bada Yatathanna is one of the most famous Arabic poems of its era. It is unclear who is the author of the piece (disputed). According to Wikipedia, “it is thought to be either Mr. Lisan al-Din al-Khatib (1313 – 1374 AD), which is the most plausible, or Mr. Muhammad Abdulrahim Al-Maslub [ar] (1793 – 1928 AD)” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamma_Bada_Yatathanna).
If you are interested in a quick English translation, here is a site for you: https://lyricmusicarabic.blogspot.com/2010/06/lyric-lama-bada-yatathana-lena.html. This being said, Bambi is not sure if the beauty of this Arabic verse poem translates well into other languages. This being said, she is happy to be able to find a public translation for you.
To conclude this post, regardless of who wrote this love poem or its precise era, it clearly stood the test of time. As for you, Mr. Mike Massy, Bambi visits heaven when you sing. Thank you for your voice and talent!
First, here is Hiba and how its snow/cold is affecting the Lebanese population, especially in the context of their country’s economic fiasco:
Second, Hiba means a gift in Arabic.
The best gift the world can give to the Lebanese population is to support financial accountability while helping them put an end to impunity of criminality in their country.
The Lebanese are suffering from a socio-economic catastrophe of nearly
unprecedented global magnitude and gravity. We hold the ruling class — a coalition
of sectarian leaders backed by a militia, with a complicit financial sector
leadership — responsible.
The crisis is the result of decades of ill-designed policies, poor
governance, nepotism, corruption, and state-capture by the same elite that remain
in power today.
The balance of payments, currency, sovereign debt and financial crises
has been compounded by deliberate inaction on behalf of the political and
financial actors who sought to exclusively protect their interests.
Rather than accept losses, restructure the banking system and rebuild
Lebanon’s economy, the ruling elite is enforcing the most violent and
inequitable “adjustment” possible. Current policy combines an extreme
currency devaluation, a huge inflation tax, unregulated capital controls, an
unprecedented contraction of the economy, and an implicit incentive to
emigrate.
The result is mass unemployment, poverty, and brain drain. The pillars of
long-term growth are being systematically destroyed and many residents must now
rely on humanitarian assistance and informal support networks.
Two and a half years have been wasted since the default of both the state
and the banking sector, marking the bankruptcy of the post-war rent-based
economic model. It is only now that authorities seem ready to negotiate the
terms of a stabilization program with the Fund, long after having protected
their interests.
The current adjustment clearly indicates that their objective is to
stabilize the economy at a very low level, with weak-value-added activities,
mainly based on informal trade, regardless of the extent of poverty and
inequality.
The IMF’s responsibility is not to condone this crime.
In this context, we call upon the IMF to consider the grave concerns
outlined in this letter in its negotiations with the Government of Lebanon.
While we welcome the involvement of the Fund, which can be a historical
inflection point for the country, we are wary of, and shall vehemently reject,
any agreement that compromises the principles set below thereby jeopardizing
the equitability and effectiveness of any potential program.
Holistic and sustainable framework underpinned by an adequate governance structure: The authorities’ approach towards the crisis has relied on short-term piecemeal measures that have proven inefficient and unjust. Any financing plan engaging Lebanese taxpayers over several years must rest on a holistic, comprehensive macro-fiscal-banking/financial-monetary program. It should also aim at rebuilding a sovereign, effective and sustainable state with a regulatory environment conducive to private investment in competitive sectors, and one that guarantees to its citizens their fundamental social rights.
Coherent exchange rate regime and new leadership at Banque du Liban: The unification of multiple exchange rates is key for the restoration of sound monetary policy away from the pegged exchange rate regime, and a foundation of economic sovereignty. The central bank restructuring process must be assigned to a new management, committed to good governance and transparency and capable of re-instilling the confidence and credibility at the apex of the banking system.
Debt restructuring: The restructuring of public debt and that of the banking system and Central Bank are essential for long-term stabilization and recovery. A significant reduction in the stock of sovereign debt is necessary to create the fiscal space needed for growth-inducing and strategic spending on social programs and infrastructure. Closing the huge gap at the central bank is key for sound monetary policy.
Wholesale banking sector reform and an independent task force: A new banking resolution framework needs to lay the foundations of a new model for the Lebanese banking sector. This includes the abolition of banking secrecy, the right sizing of the sector, and the provision of incentives for banks to support long-term growth. The restructuring process should be entrusted to an independent authority.
Bank shareholder losses: The fair distribution of financial losses is a priority. We reject the current strategy of socialization of losses. Any bail-out scheme is unacceptable, and the distribution of financial losses must follow a “loss waterfall distribution” starting with shareholders’ equity, in line with best practices.
Strategic use of remaining state assets: State-owned enterprises, real estate and gold reserves are strategic resources that should be used to ensure social protection and economic recovery. They cannot be used to offset the financial losses of depositors who constitute less than half of the population, notwithstanding the extreme concentration of deposits (13 percent of the accounts hold 90 percent of deposits). That being said, gold assets, technically on the balance sheet of the central bank, could be partially allocated to protect the savings of certain categories of small depositors in the context of a comprehensive plan.
Protection of small depositors and pension funds: The allocation of losses should be gradual to protect smaller depositors. Deposits corresponding to pension funds (unions, professional orders and NSSF, etc.) must be protected and treated as first-class creditors.
Audit of financial sector activities: A forensic audit must be conducted on the accounts of all shareholders, members of boards of directors, members of the general management of the financial institutions and the central bank, as well as those who have exercised or are exercising political functions, and those who obtained major contracts with the government, to determine if any undue or excessive profits have been taken, or if transfers abroad occurred after October 2019. This audit fulfills the need to put an end to the culture of impunity that has prevailed since the amnesty in the aftermath of the 1975-90 Civil War. It is also aligned with Lebanon’s international commitments in the fight against money laundering, tax evasion, and embezzlement.
• Fiscal policy that prioritizes growth and social
protection: A fiscal overhaul, anchored in a medium-term planning framework,
should ensure a complete detour from the state’s current mismanagement and
redirect spending towards social services and growth enablers namely:
• A social protection system based on universal access to
healthcare and education.
• Key infrastructure to support economic growth:
electricity, telecommunications, and public transport. State intervention
should be limited to areas where the multiplier effect is immediate on private
investment, which should be the engine of growth.
• A transformed civil service, made efficient and
transparent by investing in technology and government digitization. This
assumes the backing of a retirement fund and a training fund.
• Security forces capable of national defense.
• Tax reform: Even though Lebanon has been savagely
impoverished, it still possesses important resources that can be used to the
country’s socio-economic recovery if managed in a fair, efficient and
transparent manner. Reforming income tax rates and schedules is needed to
reduce inequality and informality and raise fiscal revenues.
As the ruling elite faces a destabilizing crisis, its top priority is to
perpetuate itself, buy time ahead of key electoral milestones, evade
accountability, and avoid assuming losses. These same priorities are guiding
its negotiations, and a possible commitment, with the Fund. Instead, priorities
should be set to reverse the severe social hemorrhage, ensure equitable loss
distribution, and guarantee sustainable economic recovery.
As such, the upcoming discussions will place great responsibility on the
IMF, whose intervention in the Lebanese crisis will enter the annals of
history, and should not, by any means, contribute to the further build-up of
odious debt and the perpetuation of an illegitimate regime, particularly ahead
of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2022.”
Surprise: Bambi would like to dedicate this post to you Mary as well as to her own dad. Both have an impressive collection of Fairouz songs. They must surely have the following two pieces.
Bambi is now also thinking of her friend Firas in heaven (yesterday was his birthday actually). He was also passionate about Fairouz.
To come back to the post now, it will introduce two songs. The first one is entitled “We used to meet” and it is from a famous musical of the Rahbanis. Bambi woke up this morning singing it. No clue why. She must have heard it on her internet radio this week. It kept coming to her mind several times during her busy day.
Below you can find the lyrics followed by the song:
“We used to meet at night
Sitting on the old bridge
And the fog used to come down the
Valley
Erasing the horizon along with
the road
No body then knew where we were
Except the sky and the autumn
leaves
And then you said I love, I do
love you
And the sad cloud took us and ran
away
Oh, my old years that passed,
please come back
Just for one time come back
And leave me on the door steps of
my childhood
If you do, I will run under the
sun of roads
Oh, my old years that passed,
please come back
Just for one time come back
Give me back my smiles which have
gone
Far away to the corners of yards
You remember what they said about
me
when I waited and you just forgot
to show up
And then winter came
And summer came too but you didn’t”.
The second song, Kifak Inta?” [How are you doing, you?], was written/composed by Fairouz’ son, Mr. Ziad Rahbani. It is sub-titled in English in the video shown below.
To conclude, Fairouz is surely the asset of tiny and now bankrupt Lebanon. Not only culturally/artistically, but also as a unifying voice: Yes, one Lebanon, one love, one singing voice. Thank you Fairouz (now 87) for your inspiring career that you began in your teen years in the late 1940s!
Ms. Nawal Ghosn (Moncton, NB, Canada) left us on January 19, 2022 A picture kindly shared by Ms. Nalida Timani and relayed by caring friends
Bambi is still speechless since yesterday evening, like ALL the “Lebanese diaspora” as she calls her wonderful friends in Moncton (NB) as well as in Sackville (NB), Amherst (NS), and many other nearby villages in both New Brunswick as well as Nova Scotia.
We all (Bambi included!) love Nawal. We are all mourning her now.
We are all in solidarity with her immediate family (spouse, children, grand-children) siblings, sister-in-laws (or rather sisters!), friends like family, etc. Bambi is thinking of each one of you, especially the Ghosns and the Timanis. She is also thinking of Nawal’s good friends in both Moncton and Sackville.
Perhaps her special thoughts are with Nawal’s grand-children now. Those with us on earth as well as of Abeer in heaven (as per the earlier post below).
Who knows? Perhaps you are hanging out with Abeer right now, Nawal? If so, this is a comforting thought for us in those sad times.
Ms. Nawal Ghosn and her adorable grand-daughter Abeer. A picture kindly shared by Ms. Nalida Timani
The last memory Bambi has of Ms. Nawal Ghosn was at the funeral of Abeer. In the past weeks or last month, she thought of Ms. Ghosn and sent a hello to her and to Abeer’s family through her relatives in Moncton. Too bad there was not enough time to see you more often, Nawal (at our wonderful dancing Lebanese parties pre-pandemic era or other friendly get-togethers in Sackville or Moncton).
You have touched so many hearts and lives. You have inspired so many of us with your big heart. Thank you for having existed. Thank you for hanging out with Abeer now… and watching over your beloved family from heaven.
May you rest in peace.
May your memory be eternal.
To conclude this post, and if she may, Bambi would like to offer you a song-prayer by Mr. Kendji Girac entitled “Les yeux de la mama” [They eyes of the mama].
