Author: Bambi

In the video below, the Premier of Manitoba, Mr. Pallister, criticized Québec for its bill 21 on secularism:

Mr. Pallister invited Canadians to express themselves, whether they are against or even for Bill 21, to use his own words.

Well, as a Canadian deer, Bambi listened. She would like to express herself again on this topic. She is for Bill 21. Of course, it would have been ideal if we did not have to resort to such bills in life. However, this is not the reality of our world.

Just to clarify, Bambi is not for this bill for the sake of being (blindly) for it. Once again, it took her time to digest and endorse all the facets of the bill (i.e., the part related to the public education sector).

Bill 21 is made by Québec for Québec. Why can’t people or politicians understand and respect this?

Clearly in her mind, Bambi is for Québec’s own sovereignty, as a Canadian province; not any one as it is one of the founders of our great and beloved Canada!

Québec had the courage of having a 10-year-old debate about “reasonable accommodations” (including unreasonable ones)”. Even it has been partly controversial in Montreal, Québeckers made the choice of secularism, as a society, and they elected the current government, with a majority of seats.

It is insulting not to respect the will of a nation, which is perhaps one of the rare contemporary ones to sill have a healthy national pride.

Why can’t some people understand that there are cultural differences in the conceptualization of secularism? Why do they understand, or at least pretend to understand, all the other cultural differences—but this particular one?

Mr. Pallister states that he is worried about the human rights of minorities? What about his own minority groups (French-speaking Manitobans, First nations, etc.)?

Well, last time Bambi checked, “nearly 5,500 homes on Manitoba First Nations houses either needed major renovations or needed to be replaced”, according to data provided by “Indigenous Services Canada” and reported by the CBC on February 6, 2019 (http://tiny.cc/d712hz). Maybe Mr. Pallister’s energy should be focused locally instead of minding Québec’s internal affairs?

Of note, if we go back in recent Canadian history, we learn that Québec has never consented to the 1982’s Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html), which has been invoked by Mr. Pallister and many opponents of Bill 21. Despite this, Ottawa imposed it on “La Belle Province” (French reference: https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/04/18/la-charte-oubliee) .  And now, ironically, the opponents of Bill 21 want to use it as a legal weapon against Québec.

Is this fair?

As a conclusion to this post, and as an indirect, more articulate reply to Mr. Pallister, Bambi would like to share a translation of an article by Mr. Mathieu Bock-Côté (Journal de Montréal; https://tinyurl.com/tpetkp8):

“2019, year of Québec pride

It is never easy to write the history of a nation in real time. What seems to be of critical importance to us today may be considered trivial tomorrow. Conversely, events that seem insignificant today may later be considered as being essential.

We are never fully aware of the historic moment we are experiencing.

However, sometimes, deep inside, we are convinced that something has just happened and that we have just taken a step further.

This is what happened in Quebec in 2019. After nearly 25 years of post-referendum lethargy, Québec nationalism has returned to the heart of our political life. Its recomposition had been visible for a long time, however.

Secularism

Since the crisis of reasonable accommodation, Québec has been engaged in a major reflection on the refoundation of its collective identity. The media were generally unfavorable. Those who did not repeat the song of the happy diversity, like parrots, were considered as having a mean, retrograde mindset.

Over the years, it is the idea of ​​secularism that has imposed itself. Through it, Québeckers expressed a fundamental value. They also found a way to finally extricate themselves from the Canadian multiculturalism by laying the foundations of their own integration model, remembering that one could not really integrate into Québec without integrating into the historic French-speaking majority.

For more than a decade, Québeckers have debated this issue, but have never been able to achieve anything politically. It must be said that the Liberal government [Mr. Bock-Côté is likely referring to the provincial Liberal party] turned against its own people, which it despised.

The government of François Legault’s Bill 21, brought by Simon Jolin-Barette, represents, from this point of view, more than a bill on secularism. It is a symbol of national affirmation. Québeckers said it once again: Masters in our own house!

Make no mistake: if the government is still on a honeymoon with Québeckers, it is less so for its management than because it has been able to fulfill a fundamental identity aspiration. By giving us our first great collective victory in 25 years, it has been able to revive the pride of a nation wounded by history. He should now let us know what will follow.

But this saga is not over. In some English-Canadian newspapers, columnists who openly cultivate a form of anti-Québec racism, if you allow me this expression, accuses us of ethnic supremacism. The judges are openly wondering how to bring down Bill 21. In English Canada, there is a defamation campaign against Québec.

Pride

Québeckers are rediscovering the following: it is sufficient for our people to assert themselves to be hated. Anti-Québec hatred is alive.

Sooner or later, it is necessary to know it, the Legault government will have to defend Bill 21. It will have to do it firmly, without false moderation. I am inclined to believe that it will be up to the task.

This will confirm that 2019 was not just a good year in our political life, but it was also the start of a national renaissance that could take us far.”

End of Mr. Bock-Côté’s article.

For Bambi’s earlier posts on Bill 21, you may wish to read:

http://bambisafkar.ca/index.php/2019/12/01/test-yourself-with-bill-21-multiple-choice-questions/

http://bambisafkar.ca/index.php/2019/11/05/naziland-qc-facals-article-is-food-for-thought-whether-you-agree-or-not/

http://bambisafkar.ca/index.php/2019/10/31/mr-richard-martineau-is-right-the-globe-mail-editorial-on-quebecs-bill-21-sucks/

Regardless of what the future will bring with regard to this bill, may 2020 be a beautiful year for Canada and ALL its provinces and territories, that is including both Manitoba and Québec!

As you can see below, only Beirut cats seem relaxed these days, enjoying a sunny day. They are the lucky ones as they do not have US money in banks that they cannot have access to.

Talking about US currency, Bambi cannot help not to wonder why has Lebanon’s economy been that dependent on US money? It seems rather odd, especially through the eyes of a “deer” visiting from abroad.

Below is an olive tree on a street in Beirut.

Above we can see the famous fist, symbol of the people’s revolt, that we have seen in all the media since October 17, 2019. It feels a bit strange to stand next to it in real life. Bambi now has a picture of herself next to this symbol, with her fist closed like it :).

Above we can see two Christmas trees at a hotel in central Beirut. Below is a picture of the Revolution Christmas tree.

The word “revolution” is written on the piece of stone above.

Beirut has been destroyed and re-built 7 times throughout 6000 years of history. We can see ancient ruins in the picture above.

In the picture below, we can see a new wall built to “protect” the Lebanese parliament. On it, we can read in Arabic: “May the wall of shame fall”.

Above is a mirror and we can read under it: “You are the leader of the revolution” (written with the feminine grammatical form in Arabic).

Above, we can read: “All of them means all of them” (= in reference to all the corrupt politicians). Interestingly, Bambi’s cousin showed her a picture of a French social demonstration of some sort where French protesters borrowed the Lebanese slogan, writing it on their sign in Arabic :).

Another funny story about this slogan is that, when the revolt started, Bambi (who sometimes seems to live on a different planet) thought that it meant “All of them for the nation means all of them” (like in the national anthem). It took her a couple of days to understand the whole story behind this clever slogan.

The above picture consists of two separate pieces of arts. In the one to the left, we can read: “Sectarianism is not your religion. Get rid of it. It has insulted both my religion and yours”. In the one to the right, we can read: “Express yourself. This is a group psychological therapy session for the first time after civil war”.

Above, the picture to the left is a beautiful painting by a Lebanese artist. The picture to the right is a graffiti that reads: “Beirut is for us”.

Below, we can see a sort of a wish tree.

Above, again, we see two separate pictures. The one to the left shows a feminist graffiti (i.e. women have played a significant role in the revolt) whereas the one to the right speaks for itself in English: Rights for the LGBTQ community.

Above we can see two separate pictures that Bambi has merged for fun. The one to the left refers to the crying need of changing the very old law that prevents Lebanese women from passing their citizenship to their children. It also has a graffiti that reads: “Our October 17th revolution is neither Iranian nor American, it is rather civil”. The picture to the right does not need any translation :), at least linguistically speaking.

More tragically, the pictures below are again merged by Bambi. The one to the left shows Mr. Alaa Abu Fakher who was sadly killed (in front of one of his children’s eyes) during the peaceful revolution a few weeks ago. The picture to the right shows a graffiti reading as follows: “Those who are scared do not make revolutions”.

Indeed, life goes on in Beirut…

To illustrate this, above is a picture of the traffic in the downtown area. Below, we can see how they sometimes decorate coffee here. The picture in question is actually a beautiful souvenir from yesterday when Bambi met Hala, a classmate she has not seen for 30 years; these were their happy hearts connecting again! Together, they reached out to their beloved math highschool teacher (on WhatsApp of course :)). He kindly called them immediately. It was moving to chat with him and even see him online (video call). This teacher has been an inspiration to them and many other friends. Bless his heart.

Compared to the rest of Canada and the world, including Lebanon following two months of revolt, Québec knows how to acknowledge, investigate, and address corruption. From time to time, even politicians spend time in jail (e.g., the 27th Lieutenant of Québec, several municipal politicians, etc.).

Bearing this in mind, Mr. Fred Klein who is one of Bambi’s good friends, is very creative. Indeed, several years ago, he came up with the word “Kebekistan”. He also had the original idea of opening a restaurant and calling it “Le Canard corrompu” (The corrupt duck) where bills would be brown envelopes in which customers add cash money. He called the bill: “la facture salée” [hefty bill. In French, we literally say “salted” ?].

Here is a picture illustrating his concept:

In the same spirit, today, Fred K. shared with Bambi the following Montreal Gazette’s article by Mr. Brown Brownstein about a board game on the corruption in the construction industry. An interesting invention by Mr. David Loach:

https://tinyurl.com/rq26o6r

This being said, let’s put the topics of corruption and politics aside (hard when we are visiting Beirut these days). For a change, here are some nice pictures and video links, all taken in Lebanon:

Above is a picture of the beautiful Saint Dimitrios (“Mar Mitr”) Greek Orthodox Church in Beirut. This is the place where most of Bambi’s beloved relatives and/or ancestors are buried.

Above is the nativity scene at the ABC mall in Beirut. This mall seemed rather empty today, except for people meeting friends to eat or drink a coffee.

This elegant lady is Bambi’s childhood friend, Nayla Awad-Khoneisser. She surprised Bambi with unexpected Christmas gifts: two beautiful heart pillows, one for her and one for her mom even. How sweet ?. Bambi took this picture of Nayla as soon as she saw her. She was impressed by the elegance and beauty of her dear friend!

Lebanese people love their balconies, even in the winter. This is the balcony of one of Bambi’s sisters (Roula). Watch the heaters from “Azar Electric” (of course the best store in Beirut ?!). People use them here, even in the +17 degrees Celsius, a temperature described as being “cold”!

Red Mullet with fried pita bread. Mmm!

Bambi’s dad surprised her with “Surgel” ice cream today. Mmm-Thank you! Each piece is a bite made of dark chocolate containing a layer of a cookie and it a different flavour of ice cream.

Finally, to end on a beautiful note, first here is a video taken by Bambi’s sister (Rania Azar-Berbery) last year a few moments before landing in Lebanon:

Second, here is a very short video taken by Bambi today. A choir of singers wearing Santa’s hats came to the Public garden near her parents’ place to sing some Christmas carols in Arabic, French, and English:

Last but not least, to end this post about corruption on a musical/spiritual note, here is a video of Ms. Zeina Farah and a choir. She is Bambi’s cousin (=niece or, as we say, first cousin once removed). In this video, you can listen to her singing acapella a beautiful Christmas prayer in Arabic at a Greek Orthodox Church (video from December, 2018). What a talent! Bravo!

The text below is a translation of a French article by Mr. Mario Dumont. Food for thought:

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/12/18/quelle-place-pour-les-problemes-des-hommes

“We will remember that 2019 was an exceptional year for feminism. The feminist discourse occupied a large space in the public eye. Feminist rhetoric has imposed itself in rereading history and in understanding the present.

There is a solid reason: for years, women did not have their place and young women did not have the same opportunities. The rise of a new feminist discourse among young people has been well felt in recent years. It also comes with some radicalization.

Young women cannot be blamed for wanting to push the last limits of a search for equality. They also cannot be blamed for wanting to put an end to the distressing and revolting episodes of violence against women. Several women were killed again this year, in unspeakable circumstances.

I still allow myself to see the consequence of the rise of a more radical feminist approach. It becomes forbidden, or even insidious, to speak of men’s problems. The insinuation of the feminist outcry is that men are fine. Power, money, happiness, the white man of America is doing particularly well. The young man sees a life full of promise ahead of him.

However.

Troubling figures

In Québec, slightly more than three-quarters of suicides were committed by men.

According to data from recent years, three-quarters of the homeless people are men.

Boys are 13% less likely than girls to graduate from high school after the mandatory five years of schooling. If you add two more years to complete high school, the gap decreases, but remains 10%.

One in four young men will leave school without a high school diploma. What does the job market hold for them in this knowledge economy?

The unequal university

Men now represent only 42% of university students. They are a minority in 9 of the 10 major fields of studies, including pure sciences.

Only in the applied sciences, men remain the majority. This is seen as a major problem to the point that the government is funding a program called “Hats off to you (or Chapeau les filles)”.

Does anyone worry about the very small number of men, who do not even represent a third of graduates in more than half of the major fields of studies? Nothing seen.

In a report in which we see the dominance of women at universities, the Council on the Status of Women (Conseil du statut de la femme) questions the wage gap that persists for a diploma said to be equivalent. This is indeed a valid questioning. But who wonders about the under-representation of men at universities? And what about their quasi-disappearance from a large sector such as health? No one.

The real question is the following: is it acceptable to speak about men’s problems? Am I committing a social outrage by signing this text?

I remain optimistic. Perhaps we are approaching the day when we will elect as Prime Minister [in Québec, this means the Premier] a woman, mother of boys, who will dare to name their issues for their future.”

Bambi is happy to visit Beirut, despite the tragic times.

Beirut is in limbo, both economically and politically.

Politicians are totally disconnected from their population.

After two peaceful months of “revolution”, things changed dramatically over this past weekend. Indeed, violent clashes took place in downtown Beirut on Saturday and Sunday nights.

According to caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan and many demonstrators who spoke to the media, “infiltrators” may have been responsible for the violence.

It seems that some of those “infiltrators” even started beating some demonstrators.

Others started breaking store windows, beautiful decorations, and even plants.

Lebanese police forces used tear gas and water bombs. Indeed, one of Bambi’s sisters and her spouse had to jump as fast as deer to escape a tear gas bomb. Bambi thinks they are crazy… but the world sometimes needs crazy, courageous folks to get populations out of limbo.  

Anyhow, over 40 citizens and 76 police officers were injured (some with stones, it seems).  

Political consultations to name a Prime Minister were delayed until Thursday (what a surprise).

Throughout all this, the outcry of citizens against hunger and for a dignified life is simply heartbreaking.

Many people lost their jobs. Others had a pay cut. Yet others are concerned about the future.

People stand in line to withdraw a limit of $300 per week. Some banks imposed a limit of $100 even. No one can transfer any US$ abroad or pay a credit card with US currency.  

The future of the country is unknown for sure.

Regardless of the revolution’s outcome, Lebanese people’s courage, creativity, humour in the adversity, determination, and apparent solidarity (at least for now?) are inspiring to say the least.

People’s qualities are their assets, which can allow them to keep rising above conflicts for the sake of their country. Will the current or caretaker Lebanese political politicians also know how to do so?  

Feiruz is a Lebanese diva.

Below are Christmas songs in Arabic. I hope you will enjoy :).

Peace, love, and… prosperity to both Lebanon and Canada as well as to the whole world.

When I was a child, every Christmas, I used to sing a Feiruz’ song called “Leilat el Milad toukaf el Harbou” [= The war stops on Christmas eve]. Anyhow, for the first 17 years of my life, I nurtured the hope that this beautiful season’s magic would erase hatred, at least for a single night.

Today, at my older age, I dream that Christmas will bring hope to the hearts of all those suffering from the deep financial crisis and concerning political instability.

It is also my hope that the Christmas season will bring common sense to all the decision makers, not only in Lebanon but also around the world.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. Happy 2020 to everyone!

First, here is Mr. Bock-Côté’s original article (French content):

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/12/12/le-retour-de-greta-thunberg

Second, here is an English translation of his article (food for thought):

“In a short time, the young Swede Greta Thunberg has become an international environmental star, incarnating the fight against climate change for the younger generation. She wanted to be the prophetess of a new children’s crusade—at least, her allies have marketed her like this, making her a powerful catalyst for collective energy.

There was a story that was told to please the media: a young woman stands up against the adult world, accusing adults of ruining her future. Her accusing tone was presented as a sign of admirable authenticity, which was meant to move us. Those who had concerns about her were accused of having contempt for youth and of not taking the issue of climate change seriously.

Time

For the last few days, Greta Thunberg has been in the media again. Indeed, she has just been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year”. However, it is for another reason that she first came back in the news.

As part of the COP 25 in Madrid, she signed a letter with two other climate activists where she reveals the dark side of a certain ecologism. There is a preposterous statement.

Thus, according to the Swedish saint, “colonial, racist, and patriarchal oppression systems have created and fueled” the climate crisis.

It is enough to translate this jargon, proper to the extreme academic left, into the ordinary language in order to find a simple idea: it is again the fault of the West! And more precisely, it’s the fault of the big bad white man! It is always our fault!

Let’s admit it though, this is not surprising. This is neither new nor recent. For some time now, the environmental cause has been diverted by those who exploit it to promote an ideology having nothing to do with it. This is how we move from a necessary fight against the climate crisis to the trial of civilization, caricatured in the most stupid way.

It is necessary to dissociate the environmental cause from those who poison it with toxic ideological passions like that, which contribute to discredit ecologists. The fight against climate change is one of the great challenges of our time. However, in order to be well conducted, this fight must be detached from this enraged hatred against our civilization and the apocalyptic psychology of Greta Thunberg and her disciples. It must also free itself from the regressive fantasy of a return to a bucolic conception of nature.

Science

One can certainly criticize the excesses of a capitalism pushing us to overconsumption. We must, of course, put on trial those who pollute the planet without constraint or embarrassment as well those who treat it like a dump. We must question a system that uproots people and populations. In other words, one must know how to criticize the excesses and drifts of our civilization, without cursing it.

Nevertheless, we will not forget that it is precisely our scientific genius and our technological inventiveness that will also allow us to win the battle of climate changes.”

Today, Bambi spent time chatting with her good friend Aline A. about Lebanon and the Middle East.

This post reflects Ms. Aline A.’s deep insights that sadly have much truth in them, despite the Lebanese people’s revolt and aspirations for better days.

Thank you for this food for thought Aline and for your generosity in accepting to share your thoughts on this blog:

“All political parties have started with a certain goal or a mission. However, not even half-way through (sometimes just ¼ of the way), they all forgot about their goal and they started working for their own interests, instead of the national interests.

Even during civil war, forces on the war front lines would agree on the fighting rules: Now, your turn to attack. Now my turn to shell. They all robbed the population here and there. All were involved in brainwashing young people, stealing their future and maybe contributing to their drug addictions. They used incentives to reward them; money may be appealing when our family lives in poverty. Young people died in the combats. Warlords (now political leaders) increased their wealth.

Sectarianism has been in our blood, so to speak. Even those who say that we are against sectarianism, if you insult their spiritual beliefs, Jesus or Prophet Mohammed, they would lose their mind.

Add to this, how we as Lebanese, are sometimes like double agents, serving the interests of foreign countries more than our own. Perhaps some were tempted by this or that reward from this or that external force. They even changed their policies accordingly. This politician works for Iran. The other for Saudi Arabia. Yet another for the United States. Some even work for this and that at the same time.

The above is the sad reality of Lebanon. It is a tiny country at the mercy of foreign countries. How would you get out of this? Every time, we try to get out of this, we fail because of our weaknesses.

Money kills us. Appearances too. Some are even willing to sell everything just for money in their pocket. They may even sell their souls, even loved ones, or whole country.

Innocent people have always been the silent majority.

According to me, with all due respect to those who think they can lead Lebanon, we need another civilized country to govern us so we can: (1) live in peace and (2) know that, whatever would happen in the regional politics surrounding us, we must remain neutral. In other terms, this must not become our problem. It is our only logical solution if we want to see a prosperous Lebanon again. If not, we will keep going through war every 30 years.

It is as simple as that really. At least this is my opinion right now. We have sadly demonstrated our inability to preserve our country. A small country that we could have preserved. Why not? Whomever came to us, from the Palestinians to the Syrians, etc. We welcomed them in and did not know how to show them the way out. Our politicians used the Palestinians for their own business interests. We did the same with the Syrians. Some started following the lead of the Syrians and the Syrians started to govern us. The same story seems to be moving on.

We do not deserve our country [by we, Ms. A. means the politicians]. Politicians forget their principles for the sake of money. Those who may be decent go unnoticed among the corrupt ones.

Seniors, from my parents’ generation, would say the same as I am saying now: This is sadly the story of Lebanon but had the French mandate [or colonization that ended in 1943] been still ongoing, we would have been living in peace and prosperity. Our children would have likely had a future ahead of them. This would have been true, even if of course France would be benefitting. At least, as they say in Lebanon: “Give your dough to the baker even if he will eat half of your bread”.

Lebanese people are proud people. They love the idea that the alphabet started there [with the Phoenicians as their ancestors], civilization, culture, and medicine too [during the Arab renaissance times]. Did we know how to continue all this renaissance? No. We have reached a stage where we have stopped progressing. Maybe we sold our consciousness? Maybe we started being too corrupt to remain creative? Maybe money blinded us, in the whole Arab region. Maybe that is why the West knew how to take advantage of our weaknesses and governed us. Everyone wants a piece of the regional cake.

This is the sad truth.

We say the alphabet went to the world, out of our shores, but we are now in a state of descent into darkness.

Even to get a decent graduate education, youth travel abroad. We could have been stronger in pharmacy, with its beginnings in our area and all those herbs. We now import medication and do not produce drugs and medical supplies. Corruption has prevented discovery and moving forward in pharmaceutical sciences.

The whole world has moved forward and surpassed us. In contrast, we stopped moving forward.

Of course, we still have some good things like our hospitality and our culture, etc. But what a loss of potential!

Yes, we have improved in some areas but mainly superficially. We lost the deep matters, sadly”.

The following link to a Euronews article includes a video showing how Lebanese protesters are using arts to express their views and anger/frustration (e.g., dance on streets, music, wall paintings, etc.).

Here is the video:

https://www.euronews.com/embed/941498

Here is the full Euronews article:

https://www.euronews.com/2019/11/28/how-are-lebanese-protesters-using-art-to-express-their-views?jwsource=cl

And here is another documentary that Bambi just came across accidentally. It is produced by a certain Mr. Drew Binsky, a travel blogger and vlogger (December 3, 2019). Interesting to watch, perhaps especially ahead of a trip to Lebanon :).