The picture above comes from the Facebook page
of “Black Lives Matter, Fredericton”.
If you think that the first item of the survey is innocent
and that it is Bambi who is exaggerating, please take a look at this example of
nonsense BLM statement of the Department of Communication Studies of Concordia
University in Montreal (Québec):
Peaceful men, women (along with their pets) are demonstrating near the Presidential palace.
They are asking for justice for the victims
of the Beirut port explosions, as it has been 40 days since that surrealistic
tragedy.
Yes, over one month…Yet, no
international investigation.
Instead, more fire at the port… and
scary news about stored explosive material, here and there.
What was the response of the Lebanese
authorities today?
Bullets fired by the Lebanese army, along with beating by thug members of a Lebanese political party. It is the party established by the Lebanese president (called “Tayyar” movement). As a reminder, it is allied with the Hezbollah, which rules the country behind the scenes. It is too attached to power, like the rest of the sectarian groups. However, it has a military advantage over the others: It sleeps with a powerful militia-backed by Iran.
When will impunity stop in this
country?
Where is the international media now?
Where is justice for the Lebanese
population?
Can someone tell Bambi, please?
One sign reads: “We are the shield of the Hezbollah“. Another sign reads: “Mr. Berri and Mr. Aoun resign now” (a picture taken from An Nahar).
This picture (taken from An Nahar) says it all: All these portraits are the Lebanese sectarian leaders responsible from the fiasco since civil war… (Mr. Nasrallah is among them, mind you. So, is Mr. Aoun… because “all of them means ALL of them“). Check the mask of the lady in black (grief sign): Silence. The latter goes both ways: They are silent about their criminal negligence… and she is being silenced.
This lady and her cute pet both want Mr. Aoun to resign. Why? Because he also knew about the ammonium nitrate that exploded at the Beirut port, destroying a large part of the city. Just two weeks before the explosion, the President again received a warning notice about the dangerous material. What did he do? NOTHING. Note: He is a former Army General… what a shame.
A courageous Lebanese citizen…
Another courageous citizen… with an aggressive man. Look at how is holding her and what a “sweet” expression of love to his fellow citizen… Shame on him too.
Bambi will end this post with three short news documentary videos, one from the MTV (which, as reminder, was prevented from covering parliamentary consultations to elect the recent PM). Look at the beating (with sticks on cars of demonstrators. From the colour of the hats, you can guess the party). If you understand Arabic, you can hear the journalist talking about the bullets from the Army.
Why are we putting the country’s army in such a difficult situation :(? These young men and women may have also lost loved ones in the explosion or their own apartments. Here they are forced to fire on their own people. How sad.
Bambi does not care about the leader in question, the party in question, the supporters… She has never ever been a supporter of any party in her life. Her love is JUST for the country… As the clever slogan of the Revolt goes, “All of them means all of them” [“Kiloun Yiwne Kiloun“]. Today, it is about President Aoun, as he happens to be one of them. When will people stop following leaders and put their country first instead? WHEN?!
Here is a thoughtful article by Mr. Mario Dumont. Entitled “Clientelist drift” [La dérive clientéliste], it was published yesterday in the Journal de Montréal:
Below is a quick translation for you. This post will end with an earlier post by Bambi on the same topic.
“Justin Trudeau has just announced a support program for black entrepreneurs. I put aside my general impatience for the Prime Minister to hand out borrowed money wholeheartedly. We are now talking about a deficit for the year that could reach $500 billion. Stunning.
Instead, I
want to question the merits of an approach based on ethnic origin to dealing
with entrepreneurship. Starting a business in Canada is open to everyone.
Establishing a racial criterion to qualify or not an individual for financial
assistance brings us on a slippery slope [for Bambi, this slippery slope is
more dangerous than corruption… imagine when they collude one day, like in
Beirut ☹].
Let us not deny that discrimination exists. Mr. Trudeau said yesterday that people from black communities have more difficulty than others when obtaining a loan. This is a serious problem.
Real problem
I will strongly support a government that gets to the bottom of it to understand why a visible minority person would encounter such obstacles. A black person who presents a solid project should never be said no because of their colour. Unacceptable for applying for a loan in a bank, unacceptable for seeking aid in a state program.
But would it be more acceptable to give public money to a void project because of the colour of the promoter? I do not believe so.
The response of the Trudeau government is not to get to the root of the problem of discrimination. Rather, we prefer to get around the situation by creating a specific program for blacks. Without realizing it, the government comforts those who discriminate against blacks, who will think that they now have their own agenda anyway.
Obviously, we recognize in Justin Trudeau’s announcement a deep political patronage. When you target an action so clearly on a group, you hope that community members will remember the generosity of government [Bambi will allow herself to add the following: this is how exponential levels of clientelism must have first started in Lebanon… about 100 years ago. Do we want Canada to look like Lebanon in 100 years from now?]. But this patronage drawn from politics and then transplanted into government action does not bode well.
Criteria
I seriously wonder about the handling by state officers of this racial criterion. Who is black in 2020? More and more young people likely to become entrepreneurs are the children of couples where the two parents are not of the same origin. Many members of the Haitian community in Quebec do not marry a Haitian spouse.
With the randomness of genetics, their children can have a more or less black . More or less curly hair. What if the next generation gives us beautiful children with an Asian or Latino spouse, is the loan seeker still black enough? Does anyone really want to enter the ethnic eligibility tests? Ouf!
Once engaged in this approach based on ethnic belonging, what will be the response to Pakistanis, Arabs, Asians or indigenous Peruvians who will also claim to be victims of discrimination? An economic program for each ethnic group?
Here is a quick English translation of this beautiful French-Canadian song by Ms. Ginette Reno, followed by the song. May all the hearts heal with time, despite the pain and the absurdity of violence. May peace and love prevail…
As a reminder, Dr. Ngola went to Québec during the pandemic without self-isolating upon his return (and even sending his daughter to daycare). Just think of it, whether he was patient zero or patient 1000, he did not self-isolate and he is a healthcare provider. Is this wise? Wouldn’t you expect better from a physician had you been his patient?
Regardless of his own reasons (job interview, driving spouse to airport to travel to a funeral, etc.), his behavour was irresponsible. In all honesty, Bambi does not care about his country of birth, skin, or language. Had she been living in the small community where he was practising, she would have not been impressed by his behaviour.
As you see in one of Bambi’s earlier posts, one (and eventually two…) of the senior patients of the community in question died during this outbreak, whether caused by Dr. Ngola or not. He was unlucky because he got caught. As simple as that.
Today, the same publicly-funded CBC is informing
us that “lawyers of N.B. doctor
blamed for outbreak call for public and criminal inquiry of handling of case”:
For whom did little Sama lose her eye? For what? Her family escaped war in Syria, thinking they were safer in Lebanon, as you can see in the CBC documentary below.
What about the 192 victims who lost their lives and the 6500 injured citizens?
What about the 300, 000 homeless citizens? They are now relying on international and national food donation. What about those who are living in their heavily damaged houses, still unable to fix them? They are all, slowly but surely, smiling to a new dawn… but deep inside, their hearts are still shattered.
Many Lebanese citizens are leaving their country. Some are unable to do so. Remember, they still do not have access to their savings. They are like prisoners in their own country. Some are fortunate to be able to travel whilst some are trying illegal and risky ways. Yet others are dreaming to see their kids living in more stable countries abroad (despite the pandemic in the world).
Anyhow, here is the CBC piece for the National mentioned above:
A couple of days ago, Beirut lost a lady, Ms. Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane. She died in her beautiful yet damaged palace at age 98 of Beirut port explosion injuries. May her memory be eternal and thanks to her for all what she did to defend heritage!
Mind you, her place is near Bambi’s cousin, Dearest Joumana. Thank God the latter just left her apartment before the blast. This neighbourhood is not far from Bambi’s own parents. Her palace (a museum) means so much to Beirut citizens, to Lebanese people, and to tourists… Perhaps more so to Bambi’s mom who grew up nearby. Let’s hope this museum will be rebuilt soon. Thanks to the Louvre Museum in Paris who expressed solidarity with Beirut Sursock Museum. The latter has been renovated after civil war. Indeed, it took 20 years to fix it, as you can see in the pictures below:
Yesterday, another sad story came out of Beirut: an injured man in the blast, called Mr. Tanios Antoun, lost his life. He was an inpatient at the Saint George Hospital. He had to be rushed to the American University of Beirut Healthcare Centre. Despite the best medical efforts, he lost his battle against his injuries. Mr. Antoun comes from a beautiful village called Sghar. Bambi could not find an online picture of this man to honour him. To do so, she will show you two pictures of his village.
This will be followed by a song she would like to dedicate to his memory as well as to Ms. Sursock-Cochrane’s memory, if she may. It is the famous Li Beirut song of Feiruz, acapella performance by a talented artist that Bambi just discovered. Her name is Ms. Abir Nehme.
Sghar village in Lebanon. A picture taken from the internet.
Sghar village in Lebanon… Pehaps this lady is mourning Mr. Antoun now? A picture taken from the internet.
What a moving performance that took place on August 7, 2020 (three days after Beirut surrealistic blast)
To conclude this post on a lighter note, Bambi will share pictures of two beautiful guests in Beirut. One gave citizens hope of finding life under the rubble, even after a month. Flash, a clever and cute dog, came with her rescue team from Chile. Sadly, the heart beating she discovered and they sensed stopped. Thanks to them and to their Lebanese peers for searching the destroyed site for three days. At least, they can tell themselves that they did their utmost. Well, Flash became a star in Beirut in both real life and social media. Thank you Ms. Roula Douglas for sharing her picture!
Following Flash’s picture, you will see a few pictures, taken as screenshots from Roula’s’ Twitter account. Bambi tried to find ways to share the original video but was unsuccessful. Anyhow, you can still see an adorable pelican who made friends in Beirut with a café owner and fishermen. The video comes from a Bloomberg Beirut-based journalist, Ms. Lin Noueihed who wrote the following: “So I was having a bite with a couple of friends by the corniche when this fella wonders in. Apparently, he’s been visiting for the past month, looked after by the cafe owner and fishermen. And for a few minutes, the world was beautiful again. #Beirut“.
Gracias Flash!!
Cute!
As a conclusion to this post, Bambi is happy to virtually meet you, beautiful pelican. She hopes you are having a good time in Beirut. Who knows? Perhaps you brought to citizens a message of hope about any international investigation as well as more prosperous and healthy days to the Lebanese people. Until then, long live your friendship with the Beirut café owner and the fishermen!
Plus, why are our authorities dividing us based on our skin colours?
Well, what if we get tanned over the summer (like many deer of Lebanese origins or Canadians, darker than the average)? Would we qualify ??
Seriously, Bambi does not know if she should smile or cry. Indeed, the “duo” Trudeau/Freeland et al. may think they are being highly noble and fair. However, in Bambi’s mind, they are being unwise rather. She is saying this from her non-expert citizen perspective and with all due respect.
Bambi does not know how you would personally feel about all this or if you care to think about it. As far as she is concerned and had she been black, she would have found it insulting to have a funding program meant only for entrepreneurs (i.e., just because they are black business owners). In the same way, she would find it insulting to have a research funding program meant only for Arabs or so-called “White” people or just deer, etc. They will get that loan or this grant, not because of anything else, usually based on merit. No, it is just based on their so-called race.
What if you are a Canadian of Palestinian origins who happened to be black? What if you are like this school mate of hers who was black like an African and yet Lebanese. What if a business is made of several people of different shapes and shades?
Despite the good intentions, such a program gives the following message: In Canada, so-called black entrepreneurs should be treated differently because they would have not been able to make it otherwise. So, we take them by the hand, like little infants.
What happened to the concept of merit? Is this what entrepreneurs truly want? Isn’t this contrary to the spirit of entrepreneurship even, that is to attempt to make profits, by initiative and risk and by competition with all others?
When people immigrate, they dream of finding a
different place, on average better than their birth countries.
Of course, a host country must be prepared to welcome
them. However, they do have the responsibility to adjust to their new environment,
instead of changing the environment to suit them.
Adjustment to a new country is a learning process. It takes
time and effort.
Life is a give and take. You give up some ways of doing
things. You learn new ways. You learn possibly a new language, etc.
All the latest fashionable publications, mainly in the
mainstream media and even academia, exclude this responsibility. Instead, they
are all about showing us how oppressive we are as a society to the “victimized”
so-called people of colour or darker people (i.e., black), etc.
Bambi feels like saying: Enough is enough. Can we please
have more refined thought again?
To illustrate her point, Bambi would like to share
with you the following articles, just an example.
Some articles tell us that we must de-colonize our bookshelf,
to be anti-racist:
Others tells us that we
must de-colonize our practices as therapists. Look at this funny article
entitled “The Budding Field of Climate-Aware Therapy Must Be Decolonized To
Serve BIPOC Communities” (by the way, can someone tell Bambi what the
latter means. She only knows that BIPOC is supposed to include a deer
like her, since it stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. Well,
Bambi loves freedom. How can she see herself reduced to this fancy acronym
then? She refuses it ?):
Bambi is sparing you all the other articles she regularly comes across. She will just share the ones below on de-colonizing our school curriculum or businesses. Imagine, we learned today that even a mosque is calling for support for BLM:
To conclude this post, what a terribly racist country
we are… So terrible that MANY people throughout the world still dream of
immigrating to Canada!
Our current federal government is into this fashionable
ideology, at least in the discourse or symbolism (our PM even took the knee, as
they say). Yet, the Government of Canada seems attached to its policy of massive
immigration (perhaps our open borders are now more limited by the pandemic?),
even if most Canadians prefer lower numbers:
Thus, the question that comes to Bambi’s mind at the end of this post is the following: If we are that bad as a country, why are we still welcoming that many newcomers? Shouldn’t we do some internal clean-up first? Just asking ?.
Even if Bambi loves the summer (in which she was born), she adores the fall season, especially in our part of North America with its magical colours.
Even if she can “tease” the fall by telling it that its only problem is that it announces winter, she remains under the charm of our Canadian winter even after 30 years!
Of course, when something ends we may feel homesick or sad. The beauty of life is that the cycle repeats itself. There is comfort in this repetitive reality of life.
There will be another summer, hopefully minus the coronavirus. Without being too philosophical, Bambi does not want to end this Labour day without highlighting the new beginning ahead, that is the incredibly beautiful autumn season.
She hopes that the season ahead will bring a new hope to everyone here and abroad, especially to her loved ones in Beirut.
For many, the forthcoming season will be a continuation of projects, along with a new chapter of life lessons. Some lessons will be fun or challenging in a good way. Others may feel brutal or cruel (i.e., losses, destruction, or grief). However, even tough life lessons will end. Yes, they will become history, even in doomed countries like Lebanon. There is a sunshine hidden between the pages of the book of life.
To conclude this post, Bambi would like to offer you a French song celebrating the beautiful fall season, with its forthcoming “Indian summer” (like a mini second summer). Thank you Mr. Joe Dassin/Merci Monsieur Dassin for “having existed”, even if you did not live long enough to sing for more fall seasons at our end. At least, you left us your immortal song about our country (with its French and English versions)!
Bambi and her spouse usually celebrate many dates, from the first encounter through several other relationship milestones (skipping you the details ?).
Well, today is their “first date” anniversary # 18. This took place in Montreal after their unexpected encounter in Toronto a few months earlier (thanks to a lost hair clip… but that’s another story, her favourite one in life).
Funny memories of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and of being literally thrown out of a restaurant at 4 AM because this business needed to close (they told them no need to pay, the cashier closed. Can you imagine? If you want free food whilst in Montreal, try Le Marché around that time… ?). Well this did not prevent them from continuing their conversation on the side walk of McGill Street downtown.
To conclude this post, here is a little surprise from Bambi to her spouse. She will share it with all of you too (“Opa” to everyone, Katia you are on Bambi’s mind and you know why ?!).
By the way, she can assure you that this is not them dancing the Zorba, even if she adores Greece and its culture!
