Think positive, be kind to yourself and others, and make the best out of each day!
Thank you journalist and sister Roula Douglas for spreading positive thinking and kindness on Twitter. Planting the seeds of a positive mindset, for ourselves and for others, is part of daily life’s simple pleasures. Indeed, this can create a contagious sense of beauty and hopefully of personal, familial, and social well-being. Examples of the calendar shared by Roula include the following: “being grateful, writing a gratitude letter to thank someone, appreciating green spaces around you, doing something healthy that will make you feel good about yourself, and/or sharing a friendly smile with people you see…”.
May you all have a lovely month of June where we will officially welcome the summer season. During this month, some of us will celebrate our birthdays [remember to become wiser Rania and Michael :)!]. Some may go on vacation or have guests over. Others will be busy with work or with other life projects and hobbies. Of course, there will be stress and maybe sadly even distress for some. Of note, it is in chronic stress times that we need to be even kinder with ourselves while taking good care (e.g., more consciously eating healthy food, getting the sleep we need following a stressful encounter, listening to our body, respecting our limits, reaching out to a good supportive friend or family member if we need it, and remembering to include pleasure in our daily life, etc.).
To conclude this brief post, following Ms. Azar-Douglas’ public message on her social media, Bambi will leave you with an English kids’ song about being positive (sub-titled in English), hoping you will enjoy it as much as she did.
Today is June 1st. Bambi does not need a chronological date on a calendar to think of and honour her uncle. However, today, she would like to pause, reflect, send her virtual yet concrete love to Fatma (aunt) and Laila (cousin), and dedicate this brief post to her maternal uncle Nicolas… May his memory be eternal.
It is no secret to anyone that Bambi loves Germany and the German language. She has all the reasons of the world for that. Partly thanks to her dad, partly to her uncle (of course, without forgetting soccer). She grew up in Beirut with the “German dream“, which may have sustained her during the fifteen years of civil war. Her family and her used to travel after heavy rounds of shelling to visit her “German” uncle [or “Khallo”] who left his birth country at age 18. They would escape to a peaceful place in the old continent, spend a few weeks, and come back filled with energy and ready for the next rounds of violence.
Khallo Nicolas was an inspiring man filled with intelligence, work ethics, incredible skills and multi-talent, along with a big heart. He was a fantastic German teacher to Bambi too; her own dad was her first teacher in the shelter, motivating her to run to the Goethe Institute of Beirut immediately following the ceasefire to register herself in her first course. She was 15 years old at that time. To come back to her Khallo Nicolas, whenever she would ask about the meaning of a word. He used to ask: “Bambi, do you want a short or long answer?” Bambi would always reply” “both, please“. The short answer was helpful. The long answer made her understand the etymology and rich histories of those beautiful German words. Interesting stories about the context of each word. Is there a better way to learn and remember foreign words?
In addition to the above, there are so many ways to describe her uncle to you. An open-minded man who travelled the world and embraced different cultures, languages, and religions. He lived in different places like Beirut, München, Cairo, Bejing, etc. In addition to a solid career, he was (and is from wherever he may be) a WONDERFUL dad and a spouse (in addition to his uncle’s hat). Of course, he was also a great baker of rhubarb cakes. Up until now, every time Bambi eats this desert in Canada, she thinks of her uncle.
Bambi is aware that this post cannot pay justice to the richness of her uncle’s character, his legacy, and all what he represented to her over the years, along with his beloved adoptive country. It is just a little pause, a little wink, her way of showing his (and her) family and the world that he is vividly present in her mind and heart. Thanks to him for having opened his house and heart to Bambi’s family when escaping war, for the wonderful times visiting them in Montreal, and for the continuous inspiration to her as well as to the rest of his nephews/nieces. Even if life was cruel when he died, his talented and lovely daughter could not have a better father than him (in so many regards, she has a lot of him in her. Bless her brain and heart ❤️; bravo also to her devoted and talented mom ❤️). As for Bambi, she sometimes wonders what her uncle would have thought about the narrow mindedness of our collectively insane times (with the past saga of her blog), had he still been with us . Given his free spirit, critical thinking, and open-mindedness, he would have surely not been impressed.
Bambi cannot go to sleep without sharing Ciccone’s beautiful performance of Mr. Leonard Cohen’s masterpiece, Halleluia. She hopes you will all enjoy it while offering it specifically to Bernadette who loves this song. Bravo Mr. Nicola Ciccone for your talent. Please keep singing and uplifting us in French, English, and Italian!
Sing for your life and for your loved ones’ lives!
Bambi offered Mr. Michel Fugain’s joyful “Chante” song to Doudou, her brother-in-law for his birthday last April, as per the post shown further below. Today, she came across the same song on YouTube, but with English sub-titles. She would like to offer this same song first to Doudou’s entire family now. Yes to everyone (including Dino, the cutest kitten), but ESPECIALLY to his lovely and inspiring wife, Roula ❤️ :). Last but not least, she will also dedicate the song to each one of you, dear readers. She wishes you all a nice day (or evening?). May the latter be filled with simple pleasures and, of course, with hope for more beautiful days ahead!
On May 19, 2023, Bambi paid a tribute to Dr. Frédéric Basitien on her blog, as shown further below. In it, she promised him to keep his memory alive. Bearing the latter in mind, now is the time to honour her promise by translating a thoughtful article, recently published in La Presse, written by Ms. Murielle Chatelier (https://t.ly/Kpj0) .
Indeed, before even knowing the connection between Ms. Chatlier and Dr. Bastien, Bambi had in mind to translate her article for you, dear readers of this blog. Well, today, when she began preparing this post, Bambi discovered a beautiful link between Chatlier and Bastien called L’Association des Québécois unis contre le racialisme (AQUR) [Association of Québeckers United Against Racialism].
Indeed, Ms. Chatlier is the Founder and President of AQUR while the late Dr. Bastien was a Co-founder, along with Mr. Stephan Fogaing (Parti Québécois Co-Spokesperson for Diversity and Citizenship). The mission of the Association of Québeckers United Against Racialism (AQUR) is “to promote the vision of living together [Bambi will add: le “vivre ensemble” in French and to the readers who speak Arabic: “Alwaysh Al Moushtarak“] specific to the reality of Québec and based on universalism. This vision opposes racialism and is based on the pillars of the values of the Québec nation, which are French as a common language, the secularism of the State and equality between men and women” (https://t.ly/nFiF)
How moving to see your picture, Dr. Frédéric Bastien. May your memory be eternal… Bambi sends her heartfelt condolences to Ms. Murielle Chatelier and Mr. Stephan Fogaing. A picture taken from the AQUR website on May 29, 2023.
Before partnering with her faithful friend, Mr. Google Translate below to translate the article in question from French into English, Bambi will share one additional screenshot showing us Ms. Chatelier’s love for “her” Québec. Yes, she wrote: “I am a visible minority and I love my Québec“. Same for Bambi, she is an unvisible (or visible?) minority too and she loves both her Québec and Canada! Note how neither of them called herself “BIPOC” for “black, indigenous, and other people of colour” (what an odd acronym for both humans and deer).
OK, now that he introductions are over, time for Ms. Chatelier’s article in the remainder of this post, along with one comment by Bambi, when appropriate.
“You are a man ? Are you “White”? Are you a sports person? Do you have a typical weight? Are you a parent? Are you a Francophone or an Anglophone? So you have power and privileges. At least that’s what a graph from a training document on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) presented by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) tells us”.
Aiming to “create inclusive research environments”, this document further teaches us that racialized people, people of immigrant origin and women would by definition be “deprived” of power and privilege and unable to show racism. According to this simplistic and arbitrary segmentation of our society, Dominique Anglade, a multimillionaire woman who led the Liberal Party of Québec and who gravitates in the upper echelons of society, would be an oppressed person. And an American actress like Whoopi Goldberg couldn’t make anti-Semitic remarks because she has black skin – remember here that she was once suspended from her ABC show for saying that the Holocaust “wasn’t not a matter of race”.
On the other hand, any “white” man who checks off several of the characteristics of this graph would necessarily have power and privileges, especially if he plays sports!
Whether he is recovering from cancer, was a victim of sexual abuse or grew up in a disadvantaged environment would not have much weight in the equation. In terms of power and privileges, her skin colour would be more decisive than the many advantages enjoyed by a “racialized” woman like Dominique Anglade. Moreover, as the document indicates in black and white that “Power + privilege = racism”, we understand that we should put this gentleman on trial before doing that of a woman like Whoopi Goldberg whose remarks have been decried several times [Bambi did not follow Goldberg’s comments/story. Thus, she has no clue what all this controversy was about at the time of preparing this post. Regardless, Bambi denounces cancelling anyone for any comment, including Ms. Goldberg].
Training questioned
In recent years, EDI consulting firms have flourished in the country, providing training on diversity in our governmental institutions, in our schools and in our private companies. However, these trainings are the subject of many criticisms. In a review of the literature, researchers Frank Dobbin (Harvard University) and Alexandra Kalev (Tel-Aviv University), co-authors of a study based on data collected from 829 American companies over three decades, argue that such training , the effects of which may wear off within a few days, do not reduce bias or change behaviour.
In addition to being ineffective and very costly, this training aimed mainly at so-called “dominant” groups would even be counterproductive.
Thus, it has been found that by arousing a feeling of guilt among “whites”, these trainings can reinforce prejudices or lead to more hostility towards minority groups.
They also lead many participants to believe that they have to walk on eggshells when in contact with members of minority groups, whom they come to see as fragile and easily offended. Consequently, members of the dominant group become less inclined to try to form relationships or collaborate with people from these minority groups. None of this promotes social integration and living together.
By seeking more to generate a new understanding of race relations than to solve the specific problems of organizations, the contemporary EDI approach misses the mark while undermining relations between fellow citizens. Who will look into these training courses which are multiplying and are given by pseudo-experts without their effectiveness being demonstrated? Who will question the long-term effects of these “white” man rehabilitation workshops? Who will worry about the stigmatization of minority groups through ideological concepts that have no scientific basis?
Finally, who will have the courage to denounce this business that anti-racism has become? Because our shared humanity is already paying the price”.
Every day is meant to celebrate love and take care of one another. However, today is not like any other day for Antoine [or Antonio :)] and Robine [or Robinette :)] How could it be when they are celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary?!
To the above noble statistic, we can add seven additional years of romance since their youth (before getting married). The end result of all these years together is a cocktail of passion, tenderness, and commitment to one another. Related to this beautiful cocktail, Bambi was very moved last July to learn about her parents’ love letters, numbered and mailed daily, back and forth between Beirut and München, for an entire year when they lived in different continents. Many decades later, a brutal and bloody-civil war, with its resulting family migration to Canada toward its very end, separated them again for a few years. Once again, it is their love for their children that made them make and assume tough family decisions.
To conclude this musical post, Bambi will say the following to her parents: Mama (or Mommy) and Baba (or Pappy), today is your time and space to celebrate your love, along with your children and grand-children’s love. You have given the latter, including Bambi, SO MUCH across the years. Indeed, she would have not been where she is in Canada, in her career and in personal life, without your continuous support and blessing. Today, she is grateful more than ever. She loves you both deeply ?? and wishes you a fun day. May God always bless your inspiring love!
When listening to the talented Kids United, Bambi could not help not to think of both Lebanon and Canada (as well as France, like the song, or any other country). What would you do, dear readers, had you been the President of Lebanon (keeping in mind that this county is still without a President) or the Prime Minister of Canada? Please free to share your comments, for fun or for the sake of hope.
Have you ever been to or heard of Clair? Well, it is a charming small village in upper Madawaska in New Brunswick (https://rb.gy/k5npg).
Bambi has an older post on this region and on the fascinating culture of the Brayon.
Now back to Clair, more specifically, it is located on the Saint John River opposite to the Maine, USA (Fort Kent). If the information on Wikipedia (https://rb.gy/c8kgk) is accurate, it seems that the name of this village is in honour of the County Clare in Ireland while being related to the location of a railroad station near Mr. Jame T. Clair’s General store. Cute, isn’t it?
Bearing the above in mind, here is a spectacular picture taken by Gina from her balcony. Check the colours of the sky, the trees, the mountains, and those houses with their breathtaking view. Bambi is now hoping she can find a puzzle with such a peaceful scene. Who knows? Maybe it exists. She will keep her eyes open in stores :).
To end this brief post with a matching music, here is Fairouz’ Arabic song entitled by “My Little House in Canada” [“Bayti El Zghir Bi Kanada” in Lebanese-Arabic]!
A picture taken by Gina in Clair, New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada.
Good-bye Ms. Tina Turner: thank you and may your memory be eternal.
Bambi had a virtual meeting, at the end of the day. While waiting for all the others to arrive and instead of chatting about the weather (as we usually do in Canada), someone informed her of the SAD news of the death of Ms. Tina Turner!
Yes, Tina Turner, this GREAT LADY who is loved by so many humans, and even deer, died today. She does not know about you, but Bambi finds it hard to imagine her dead after having “electrified” us for “decades“, to use the words of Agence France-Presse via France 24 (https://t.ly/sV8aK). However, with or without offering us electrical emotions, Rock legends do die too… like the rest of us. It is called life and we are all heading to that same place called death, which is part of it. Today, it was Ms. Turner’s time to leave our world at age 83. May she rest in peace and may her memory be eternal.
As per Tina Turner’s famous song “What’s Love Got to Do with It“, “who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”. Today, the hearts of Ms. Turner’s fans around the world are broken. Thankfully, her uniquely powerful music is her love legacy to all of them. And love transcends death… at least, it is Bambi’s personal conviction in life. And even if love is not that powerful, Ms. Turner’s highly energetic love legacy will surely contribute to heal the wounds of not just broken hearts, but of also aching minds. This being said, and if she may, Bambi would like to end this tribute by sending her heart to Ms. Turner’s children and the rest of her family. May God know how to comfort their aching and broken hearts throughout their grief journey.
Bambi woke up to Mr. Joe Dassin’s song “Et si tu n’existait pas” [And if you didn’t exist] playing on the radio both yesterday and this morning (sung by different singers). This motivated her to quickly search for Dassin’s songs on YouTube for fun.
This is how she came across Mr. Julien Dassin singing the late Joe Dassin. Yes, his own dad. How moving if we stop and think about it. Below, Bambi will share some of these songs, hoping you will also enjoy them, even if you do not understand French. Obviously, the singing talent runs in the Dassin’s family.
Talking about family, Bambi will always remember the shocking moment when her own family and herself (as a child) learned about the sudden death of Mr. Joe Dassin on August 20, 1980.
Forty-three years later, Dassin is more alive than ever, thanks to all the great artists who have honoured his memory and spoiled our ears. Mr. Julien Dassin is one of these talented artists. Of course, he is not any one of them. He is the beloved son who is paying a tribute to his late dad, sadly gone too soon. He is keeping the latter’s legacy fully vivid decades after his loss.
Bravo, Mr. Julien Dassin, for allowing us to enjoy an incredible present musical moment while time travelling to our childhood. Your loss has been the world’s loss too. Thankfully, your tribute to your dad is also our own indirect tribute to his eternal memory.
