Bambi's Thoughts
https://globalnews.ca/news/8578702/nova-scotia-bans-highway-blockades-nb-border/
Older post on the railway:
Ms. Palki Sharma is so talented. Bambi is a fan.
Here is Ms. Sharma explaining the historic rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia that has split the Muslim world for decades, leading to “proxy wars” that have “turned West Asia into a battlefield“.
Bambi was particularly interested by two of this journalist’s comments. The first one was mentioned in the introduction and the other was used to conclude her excellent documentary.
First, Ms. Palki cited an Arab saying that goes like that “Choose your neighbour before the house“. Bambi could not help not to be sarcastic while thinking about her birth country’s neighbours or harsh neighbourhood… except of course the beautiful Mediterranean sea with the nearby Cyprus. Too bad Lebanon is not an island like the latter :)!
As for the last comment, it went like that: “Anything is better than war“. Although this statement is true, sadly unaddressed (cold or maybe dormant) conflicts are just apparently forgotten. When they are not addressed at their root, they can endlessly have the potential for recurrent violence, temporary strife, or maybe full-blown wars.
Thus, Bambi is convinced (today more than ever!) that Lebanon has to remain neutral and in good terms with all its neighbours, those geographically close and those further away. Indeed, it is the weakest link in the region. The smallest and bankrupt link has to be the smartest to survive. Thus, Lebanon must be diplomatically wise, that is at an equal distance from ALL neighbours and players (in the region and beyond).
Indeed, in one of her earlier posts, she wrote the following: “How about some inspiration from Austria whose status of permanent neutrality post-war protected it during the Cold War? Indeed for perhaps 65 years, this country made a wise use of its neutral status. It allowed it to turn into a much trusted meeting point for West and East during the Cold War. In addition, it built a world reputation of an impartial hub for international diplomacy. Why can’t tiny Lebanon learn a historical lesson of wisdom from Austria (https://www.iipvienna.com/new-blog/2020/10/13/austria-and-its-neutralitya-tradition-with-potential)?”
To conclude this post, Bambi will first share the Wion news short documentary. Second, she will share with you Fairouz’ song about her stunning neighbour, the moon (an English translation of the Arabic lyrics follow the song). If she may, she would like to offer it too ALL the “neighbours” of all vulnerable countries of the world, especially Lebanon. She hopes they will finally learn or maybe keep learning to be as elegant, reliable, and respectful (i.e., distant/non-intrusive) as Fairouz’ moon.
“We and the moon are neighbours
its house is behind our hills
it comes out from in front of us
and listens to the melodies
we and the moon are neighbours
it knows our times
and leaves on our roof bricks
the most beautiful colours
Many times we have stayed all night with it
in the nights of joy
with the moans
many times on its rising
we’ve explained the love
with songs and tales
We and the moon are neighbours
when it stepped by and visited us
on the bridges of our house
the corals were spread
Songs and reminders
Love.. and staying with us all night”.
Bambi thanks her friend Mary for sharing this picture from Achrafieh, which is a district of Beirut at about 50 meters above sea level.
Yes, you are seeing snow, covering cars… and this is Beirut!!
This means it is neither Canada nor Mount Lebanon, which is on average above 2,500 meters (or 8,200 feet) in elevation, with its highest peak at 3,088 meters (or 10,131 feet).
Mind you, the current storm is called Yasmine, which immediately followed Hiba. Bambi hopes everyone is as warm as possible in the freezing cold affecting Lebanon and the region. Her heart goes to ALL the people who can no longer afford to heat their places and to those Syrian refugees who literally live in tents.
To conclude this post, of course Adamo’s famous “Tombe la neige” (shown below) is the song that comes to Bambi’s mind now. If she may, she would like to end with the words of her own dad: “I am eager for February”! He would have never said that in Canada. However, in Beirut, you can dream about February because of the Lebanese saying that goes like that: “Even if February storms and blusters, it has the smell of summer in it”.
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!
Get up and Challenge (taken from https://lyricstranslate.com):
“Get up and challenge injustice; revolt,
Smash the silence within you!
O people who have been driven out in their own land,
You had enough of coercion and sorrow!
How could you stay silent
While tears and blood have flooded your life?
Your land is calling you: revolution!
Where are you? It is calling you!
Get up and carry the tears of your country
Stand at the gates of the rulers
Hand the announcement of your martyrdom
To the hands of peace
How could you stay silent
Your country has become the exile of all dreams?
Freedom and all your festivals have worn the black
If you don’t bring back the sun with your own hands
The darkness will definitely erase you.
Every night, I hear the voices of homeless children
They have become the fires of slavery in the nights of tyrants
Where is conscience of humanity?
Where is Justice?
Where is religion?
Stop singing freedom
While all the people are imprisoned!
Only revolution, O my country, will lead to freedom
Where are you? It is calling you!”
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?
Regardless, and to conclude this post, Bambi will offer Mr. Fred Pellerin’s beautiful French song to all our truck drivers. Many thanks to them at all times and especially now for their courage in being angry on our behalf, to use the VERY thoughtful words of Mr. Rex Murphy in the National Post (https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-truckers-are-the-proxy-protesters-for-a-lot-of-angry-canadians?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1643059233-1).
No comment is needed… The story speaks for itself (https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2022/01/23/lebanon-man-hailed-a-hero-for-robbing-his-own-money-from-a-bank/). It surely tells us about the level of desperation in the Lebanese population who was the victim of the world’s biggest bank fraud!
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.
Bearing the above thought in mind, Bambi would like to allow herself to thank Orient Today (the English edition of L’Orient Le Jour) for publishing (https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1288415/an-open-letter-to-the-managing-director-of-the-imf.html) the following open letter to the Managing Director of the International Monetory Fund or IMF (https://www.imf.org/en/Home):
“Dear Ms. Kristalina Georgieva,
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.”
Kulluna Irada is a Lebanese NGO.
