Mr. Lavoie, Canada and the world of music are richer with talents like yours. Your song Ils s’aiment [They Love Each Other] moves Bambi’s heart each times she listens to it. It is a tribute to the simplicity and beauty of love in times of war, destruction, and hatred.

For those who do not know it, Mr. Lavoie, a songwriter from Manitoba, got inspired by a highly disturbing TV footage from 1983 of a teenage couple, walking hand in hand, in the destroyed streets of Beirut. This is how his famous Ils s’aiment song was created.

This teenage couple could have been one of Bambi’s sisters and their boyfriends (now husbands). It could have been Bambi or any one of her childhood friends. Such a teenage couple could have been walking, hand in hand, in troubled areas of Haiti, Somalia, Ukraine, Russia, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Iran, Irak, etc. They could have been living in Canada. It could have been you. It could be your children or one day your grandchildren, if any.

May only love, along with friendship and our shared humanity, have the final word in our war-torn world. May music keep making us dream of peace while singing for love.

Of note, Mr. Lavoie’s superb French-Canadian song became a big hit single, not just in North America, but also in Europe… and in Lebanon too. Impressively, in France, the song reached #2 fast, selling over two million copies (https://shorturl.at/epqN8). More recently, Mr. Daniel Lavoie Daniel was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (https://shorturl.at/abiD2). Bravo!

For your convenience, an English translation follows the YouTube video below (https://shorturl.at/lnEQV).

“They love each other

They love one another other like they did before

Before the threats and great torments

They love one another hesitatingly

Discovering love and discovering time

There’s someone who is mocking

I hear someone who is mocking

Mocking me, mocking whom?

They love one another like children

Love full of impatient hope

And in spite of the looks

Full of despair

In spite of the statistics

They love one another like children

Children of the bomb

Of catastrophes

Of the threat that’s brewing

Children of cynicism

Armed to the teeth

They love one another like children

Like before the threats and great torments

And if everything must be blown up

Collapse under our feet

Let them, let them, let them

Let them love one another

And if everything must be blown up

Collapse under our feet

Let them, let them, let them

Let them love one another

Children of the bomb

Of catastrophes

Of the threat that’s brewing

Children of cynicism

Armed to the teeth

They love one another other like they did before

Before the threats and great torments

They love one another other like they did before”.

Are you familiar with Mr. Émile Zola’s work? He is a French novelist, journalist, playwright who was born on April 2nd, 1840 (https://shorturl.at/nDER1).

Mr. Zola is famous for the following translated statement: “We are like books. Most people only see our cover, the minority read only the introduction, many people believe the critics. Few will know our content.”

If we are truly like books, Bambi is blessed because she knows the PRECIOUS content of four books all born on April 2nd, just like Mr. Zola. To the latter, she can add a fifth book, born on April 1st. Yes, it is Soha, her childhood friend in heaven. May her memory be eternal.

To come back to the four wonderful books of the day, are you curious about them? Well, two of them are males and two are females. Two are cousins and two are like brothers; one she met at age 13 in Lebanon and the other in her twenties in Canada. Yes, she will name: Laila in Germany, Carla in Beirut, Selim in Montreal, and Fred in Ottawa :). Happy Birthday to all of them!

Bambi adores these books :). May they shine and keep inspiring their loved ones and people touched by their humanity and multi-talent. May all the chapters of their respective books all be filled with peace of mind, health, love, successes, and prosperity. Thanks to all of them for being faithful readers of this blog, despite their busy lives. Bambi wishes each one of them a wonderful day (or night :)!

For her relatives, friends, and readers who happen to spiritually celebrate Easter, Bambi will happily shout in Arabic: “El Massih Kam”! The later means “Christ is risen”. Those who are familiar with this Arabic Easter greeting will reply Hakan kam, which means Truly risen!

To those of you who either celebrate Easter culturally or just respectfully, even if it does not mean anything to you personally, Bambi wishes you Happy Easter times!

This being said, now is the time to let music have the final word. The first song below is a brief joyful Byzantine prayer in Arabic, mixed with some Greek, by Ms. Christiane Najjar. If she may, Bambi will offer this piece to Adlette from Montreal for having kindly thought of Bambi’s mom in heaven and for having expressed the following deep thought: May Easter finally bring the resurrection of Lebanon. Well-said, thank you. The second melody is an Easter kids’ song in English. It is meant to remind us of the importance of having fun and of not taking ourselves too seriously :). Last but not least, the third masterpiece of Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach happens to be the favourite Good Friday/Easter musical pieces of Gabi from Halifax. Bambi would like to thank her dear friend for having kindly shared this performance with her yesterday. He made her day and she remains grateful. What a treat to the ears and to the soul!

Thank you Mr. Tart Vader, from Pangburn, for your outstanding questions, thoughtful insights, and active listening skills. Bambi enjoyed chatting with you a lot!

Bambi has never been to Florida yet. Through this post, and thanks to Joëlle’s generosity, Florida’s beauty is coming to her, and now to you.

Below, if you wish, you can take the time to appreciate Joëlle’s most beautiful pictures; some of them were taken in the morning and the rest in the evening.

Finally, this post will end with two songs. The first is a must. It is Mr. Armstrong’s What a Wonderful Word (sub-titled in English). The second melody is meant to celebrate Joëlle and Dave’s uplifting love story that made them call Florida home. It is Mr. Michel Fugain’s C’est une Belle Histoire [It is A Beautiful Story], which is performed by by Mr. Claude Capéo.This famous French song, is not sub-titled in English for your and for Dave’s convenience, but since when does the language of love need to be translated :)?

Bambi had an earlier post on “Air Passenger Rights (see further below). The latter “is an independent nonprofit organization of volunteers, spearheaded and coordinated by Gábor Lukács” (https://shorturl.at/lMST6).

The airlines and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) are challenging the validity of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) before the Supreme Court of Canada. They are argue that the APPR is contrary to Canada’s obligations under the Montreal Convention (https://shorturl.at/ryCQ5).

Guess what? Dr. Lukács was grant an “intervener” status in this important case. He submitted a 10-page factum to the Supreme Court of Canada, in addition to presenting 5-minute oral arguments, as shown below!

Of note, this Dr. Lukács’ second time in front of the Supreme Court of Canada and he won his first case. Wow!

For those who may be interested, the complete hearing’s webcast is available on the Supreme Court of Canada‘s website: https://shorturl.at/agkrK .

To thank Dr. Gábor Lukács for his time and try to making smile, Bambi will offer him a kids’ song by Little World related to airplanes (with Baby John in English and Bébé Louis in French, respectively). She urges him to keep up his great work that will benefit everyone!

—

“Air Passenger Rights: Thank you CTV’s W5, Dr. Gábor Lukács, and Mr. Robert McNabb

Bambi wishes her relatives, friends, and readers who may be perhaps of Christian faith and happen to celebrate today a peaceful Palm Sunday.

P.S: Dad et al., you still have time ahead, no worries, unlike Bambi who celebrates with the majority in Canada :).

Regardless of the chronological timing, hosana in the highest!

If kids are all the same, they ALL deserve to grow up in love, as per Mr. Francis Cabrel’s beautiful song. Bambi just came across a publicly shared YouTube video, or rather audio (with French sub-titles), of “Il faudra leur dire” [We Should Tell Them], as performed by Mr. Patrick White and his talented young trainees. An English translation of the lyrics follows (https://shorturl.at/bkrG2). What a lovely and always timely performance. Bravo!

“Il faudra leur dire” [We should tell them]

“If it’s true that there are people who love each other

If the children are all the same

Then we’ll have to tell them

It’s like perfumes you breathe

Just an easy look to make

A little more love than usual

Because we live in the same light

Even if there are colors they prefer

We would like to tell them..

It’s like perfumes you breathe

Just an easy look to make

A little more love than usual

Just a little more love still

For less tears

For less emptiness

For less winters

Since we live in the hollows of a dream

Before our tears touch our lips

We’d like to tell them

The words we receive

It’s like perfumes you breathe

We’ll have to tell them

Easy to do

A little more love than usual

If it’s true that there are people who love each other

If the children are all the same

Then we’ll have to tell them

The words we receive

It’s like perfumes you breathe

We’ll have to tell them

Easy to do”.

Before reading this shocking, yet not surprising, story of intimidation in her birth country, Bambi did not know anything about Assistant Professor Makram Rabah from the History and Archaeology Department at the American University of Beirut (https://shorturl.at/gjSZ4)

While reading media articles from Lebanon, in both English (https://shorturl.at/jozAQ ; https://shorturl.at/jrDY0) and French (https://tinyurl.com/xea3sxma), she discovered a highly courageous scholar who does not seem to be afraid of speaking his mind. She also learned that he is a close friend of the late Mr. Lokman Slim, a brilliant political analyst, notoriously anti-Hezbollah, who was cowardly assassinated in February 2021. Bambi has several posts honouring the memory Mr. Slim. Sadly, his murder remains unpunished.

To come back to Professor Rabah, it seems that he recently gave an interview in which he expressed his objection to Lebanon’s involvement in a potential war with Israel and in which he criticized the Hezbollah. He even joked by making a comparison of its drones with “those used at wedding celebrations” (https://shorturl.at/jozAQ).

Following the above interview, the Lebanese General Security (or judicial police) questioned him from 9 AM until “early afternoon” and took him into custody, imagine. He was finally released on bail. His so-called investigators wanted to confiscate his phone. He categorically refused to hand it to them, especially that he may have not had it on him at the time. Bravo to him him for his spine. What a courageous man, especially given the tragic loss of his friend a few years earlier. Good for him for the legal protection during this unpleasant encounter. Indeed, Professor Rabah arrived to his interrogation session with his lawyer Mr. Lou’ai Ghandour.

Related to the above, Bambi read in an article by journalist Claude Assaf, published first in French in L’Orient Le Jour (https://tinyurl.com/xea3sxma) and then in English in L’Orient Today (https://shorturl.at/jozAQ) the following statement by the lawyer in question: “Taking away a citizen’s phone is an infringement of private property,” his lawyer Lou’ai Ghandour told L’Orient-Le Jour. “Makram Rabah was questioned by the General Security for comments he had made in a political interview. The hearing therefore had no connection with his telephone.”

Like any other citizen, Professor Rabah has all the right to publicly express his opposition to war and to criticize the hegemony of any political or military group on his beloved country, including the Hezbollah or its allies.

Enough of intimidation and censorship, regardless of the topic, the messenger, the group in power, and/or the regional context. Lebanese authorities must re-learn to respect academic freedom and freedom of expression. This value must be collectively protected in times of peace as well as war or even fear of a potentially bigger war. Luckily for Professor Rabah, and especially for the hope for freedom, many citizens showed up to support him (https://shorturl.at/jozAQ).

To conclude this post, and as a reminder of the brighter days of Lebanon, Bambi will end with the famous words of the late Pope John Paul II, as reported in and older 961‘s article (https://shorturl.at/hjxSU), “Lebanon is more than a country; it is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West”.