Author: Bambi

Bambi fell in love with a song shared by one of her beloved friends. With his permission, she cannot help not to share with all of you. She hopes you will enjoy it too!

As reported by L’Orient Today yesterday, Mr. Naim Kassem (Head of the Hezbollah) has warned that, in order to face of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, “Lebanon needs resistance”… while reserving the right to decide on the relevant response “in terms of form, nature, and timing” (https://shorturl.at/KP32i).

Has Mr. Naim Kassem ever heard of a concept called “entitlement”? The latter literally means “the right to have, or maybe do, something“.

Of course, as an Islamist, Mr. Kassem is entitled to have his own opinion about any matter. However, as a citizen of Lebanon, not of Iran where he might be still hiding, he has a moral duty that he can no longer ignore: He can no longer impose his vision of the world on others. In other terms, it is about time to have his patriotic compass back to where it should have been in the first place: with the state of Lebanon and with his fellow Lebanese citizens. It would be also nice to have a thought for their relatives or friends abroad (wherever they are). Many, if not most, of them are like Bambi sick and tired of endless wars and of absurd, elevated mortality.

So, no Mr. Kassem, with all due respect to your own insights, Lebanon does not deserve a resistance that brought the occupation back. Lebanon deserves to be sovereign and to live in peace. Thank you.

Mr. Demis Roussos (born Artemios Ventouris-Roussos) came to the world on January 15 1946 in Alexandria into a Greek family. After having been raised in Egypt, his immense talent made him a worldwide star.

As a songwriter, musician, and singer, Mr. Roussos travelled the world, performing in several languages, including English, French, Greek, and German. He sadly died at age 69 on January 25, 2015 (https://shorturl.at/yCiUz).

Of note, in 1985, a horrible tragedy happened to Mr. Roussos. He found himself kidnapped, along with other 144 passengers and 8 crew members of the TWA Flight 847, headed from Athens (Greece) to Rome (Italy). The Lebanese hijackers, affiliated with Hezbollah (and later the Amal movement got involved), forced the plane to take a scary detour to… Beirut, devastated by a cruel civil-war. Bambi, 13 years old at the time, recalls this sad story, which she followed closely from out of Beirut.

Contrary to the other passengers, Mr. Roussos was among the lucky ones. First, he remained alive. Second, his ordeal ended after a few days only (https://shorturl.at/dupq7). Mr. Roussos rarely spoke about his saga in Beirut. However, with his notorious sense of humour, he once said on a French TV show, with Mr. Thierry Ardisson, that he may have been released faster “because Lebanese people love music“. Then, he gave the most likely reason: “he was neither Israeli, nor American” (https://shorturl.at/bsJC1).

Anyhow, Mr. Roussos who spread love and nurtured peace with his music, returned to Lebanon in 2013 where he gave a big concert. The “Country of the Cedars” was grateful.

May Mr. Demis Roussos’ memory be eternal. Long live his incredible musical legacy!

Thank you La Presse (https://tinyurl.com/2e54jhb6) for capturing the moving moments. These Israeli young women could have been our daughters or our students. Their parents our siblings or even ourselves. Same for the Palestinian “Madame Jarrar”. She could have been Bambi’s aunt or mom. Bravo for the happy family reunions.

An English translation of the French lyrics (https://shorturl.at/SqNhl) follows Mr. Nicola Ciccone’s beautiful song. Thanks to Mr. Google Translate for his assistance. Aunty Bambi offers this song to Michael and Stéphanie with love and fond regards across the miles ❤️!

“What if we had a child

what if we tried our luck

to perform the most beautiful miracle

giving life its full meaning

and if we closed our eyes

looking to be happy

what if we loved each other forever

what if we made love

what if we had a child

that from two we went to three

maybe even four or five

okay, let’s start at three

what if we helped him/her grow

in the best and in the worst

and if we gave ourselves to him/her

and if we loved him/her for life

what if we had a child

let us see him/her born very small

that we want to protect him/her from everything

let us watch over him/her day and night

so that one day he/she can tenderly

say mom, say dad

and he/she can stop time

filling our hearts with joy

what if we had a child

what if we united our lives

to see new life born

I know, it’s pure madness

but this is where life becomes beautiful

when we fill it with madness

kiss me without a future

and let’s do it all night

what if we had a child

and if we gave ourselves the right

to still believe in this world

and give him/her a voice

so he/she can sing loud and clear

long after we have passed away

so that he/she can bequeath our history

and say how much we loved each other

what if we had a child

another you, another me

that we were slowly teaching him/her

To live and make his/her own choices

so that one day he/she can in turn

find love in this world

and that he can dream like us (2x)

what if we had a child”.

Have you ever listened to the same musical piece in a repetitive way?

Today, Bambi’s working day progressed while listening to Ms. Abeer Nehme over and over again. On one hand, listening to the same song again and again may be soothing. On the other hand, it is uplifting to be immersed in the world of talent of this Lebanese singer.

The first musical piece, shared with you below, is a masterpiece, which Bambi found on YouTube this morning. The poem is entitled “Ghanni Kalilian Ya Asafeer“, which means “Sing A Little Bit, Oh Birds“. The lyrics are by Mr. Joseph Harb. She could not find them online and she wants to sleep soon. Maybe another time, she might transcribe them and try to translate them for you. Anyhow, the beautiful music is by Mr. Marcel Khalife. As for the musical direction of the orchestra, it is by the skilled Mr. Michalis Economou. Bravo to all the musicians. As for the performer, Ms. Nehme, her voice is a treat to the ears!

The second piece is really short, when we do not play it endlessly :). It is an extract of the “butterfly” [“Frashe” in Arabic] song, composed by the late yet great Mr. Zaki Nassif. Once again, thank you Ms. Abeer Nehme for your great talent.

Please sing, not just for birds or butterflies, but also for deer who are big fans of you!

Bambi wishes you all a good one, hoping your week will be enjoyable. If she may, she now offers you “Le temps des fleurs” [even if it may be a time of snow, instead of flowers, for many of you :)]. This song is especially meant for you, if you are a fan of Dalida and/or you like her lovely song, like Bambi does, regardless of its language version. Yes, this includes you, beloved Roula from Montreal and dearest Jane from Sackville :)!

For this post, Bambi does not have words.

She only had tears in her eyes when she saw pictures and watched videos from abroad.

May the first hours of this ceasefire turn into full days, weeks, and years.

Life is too short to waste it on absurd yet cruel armed conflicts.

Instead, may healing, forgiveness, humanity, peace, love, and prosperity prevail.

If there is one thing that Bambi learned from growing up during civil war, it is to read all media of all sides to build her own opinions. This is what she keeps doing, in our collectively insane times, whether in peace or in war. For instance, and to keep learning, she reads those whom she may not necessarily agree with on a topic, even before those she may share their opinion on this or that topic.

Bearing the above in mind, and in the spirit of continuous open-mindedness (or to gather evidence at the source), this is what she she did from day 1 of the tragic October 7th 2023, for ALL the innocent people of the Middle East, including her own birth country (since a doomed October 8 when the Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into this destructive war). Thus, her sources of information are diverse, ranging from L’Orient Le Jour [or Orient Today], to all the other Lebanese media, to the Times of Israel (as well as other Israeli media in English), to the Tehran times (and if in English, other Iranian sources) to Arabic media, including a Palestinian newsletter, etc.

Today, she wants to focus on an article she read in the Tehran Times entitled “Iranian students ask Hezbollah chief to hold Nasrallah’s funeral in Iran” (https://shorturl.at/AcguE).

As an example, even if clumsy, imagine that like in today’s Iran (at least as per the article cited above), five student unions of the UK or France, or even the States, would have asked to have the 1937 funeral of Brother (or Saint André too, since he was canonized by the Catholic Church) held in the respective countries. Would this have made any sense to French-Canadians or Québécois, especially those from Montreal or Mont Saint-Grégoire where he was born?

Of course, we cannot compare apples and oranges, even if deep inside they are both fruits and they taste good to those who enjoy their taste. Bambi is trying to say here that the late Brother André and the late Said Hassan Nassrallah are both men of faith and conviction. The first keeps dragging tourists to the Saint Joseph Oratory (https://shorturl.at/oAcvY) while the other kept dragging his country into wars.

Whether you are a fan or not, does it make sense to you that Iranian student unions, or the Iranian government in their name, is asking Hezbollah (which it founded and funded) to hold Mr. Nasrallah’s funeral in Iran?

There have been hopeful news coming out of Bambi’s birth country recently, going in the direction of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Today, there is an additional piece of promising news, related to the investigation concerning the Beirut port surreal explosion: Judge Tarek Bitar resumed work after two years (https://shorturl.at/v0lvQ; https://shorturl.at/x7f1H).

In several posts, over the past 4-5 years, Bambi paid tribute to the courageous Judge Tarek Bitar. As a reminder, she even argued that he deserves a Peace Noble Prize for having resisted both impunity and corruption.

Indeed, despite threats to his personal safety, along with legal obstacles to prevent his work, he kept his inspiring courage as an impartial judge. Today, he resumed his investigation. Thanks to him and bravo!

May justice be finally served in Beirut so the families of the victims can grieve in peace. They deserve to be able to believe in truth and justice.

Bambi sends her continuous full solidarity and gratitude to Judge Bitar. She sends her heart again and again to all the victims, along with love to Beirut, which deserves brighter days filled with hope, healing, and justice… for a change.

To conclude this post on a musical note as usual, Mr. Ghassan Saliba’s lyrics remain timely, today more than ever… once again, here is a quick English translation by Bambi for your convenience, if you are interested:

“Is it possible to go back in time and forget what happened

In the city inhabited by sadness and destruction?

Is it possible, one of these days, to extinguish the fire

In the hearts they have burned and made them collapse?

Is it possible, one of these days, to resume writing poems

about the beautiful city we fell in love with and keep waiting and waiting for?

Is it possible, one of these days, to be able to erase what happened to this sad city

So the journey can begin?

The bewildered population of this country when it has no decision-making

It begs for justice from any place and any forum of decision-making

Is it possible, one of these days, to do something for the many who have survived

Reach the end of the story and put an end to the defeat?

Is it possible, one of these days, that the generations that do not chose their destiny

will get rid of this injustice and change the course of history?

One day will come when all the secrets will be uncovered

And this stubborn land will be crowned with glory…“