Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

Today, Bambi listened to an interview Director Anthony Merchak gave to her internet Lebanese-American radio about his movie “Beirut after 40” on the surrealistic Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020.

Mr. Merchak is visiting Hollywood where his movie is currently being viewed. Bambi was happy and honoured to discover his humanity in addition to his talent!

She was also moved to listen to him share memories of the Beirut port blast of August 4, 2020. He happened to have been at 600 meters away from the port, perhaps exactly in the same place where Bambi’s niece (also injured) was.

He expressed his gratitude to the American audience. It seems that everyone watching his movie cried. Some told him that his movie made them remember the 911 tragedy. Of note, the survivors of the August 4, 2020’s explosion in Beirut happen to call their blast “our own 911“. Some flew from as far as Hawaii to watch his movie. This moved his heart.

Of course, the room where the movie was viewed was also filled with Lebanese-Americans. Some of them remembered the civil war or stories told to them by their parents (for younger ones).

Mr. Merchak chose to tell the story of the Beirut port in this documentary-movie from his own perspective, but without him being seen in the movie. He just ends with one meaningful Lebanese expression, it seems: “Tinzakar wala tinwad” [May it be remembered, but never repeated again].

As a survivor himself, this Director witnessed horrific scenes. Indeed, he shared many stories during the interview that were much more dramatic than what is featured in his movie. For instance, he told us about a man he will never ever forget until his death, to use his own words. Injured and under shock (like everyone else), Mr. Merchak could not help that man who was trapped in his apartment and screaming, begging him for help.

We also learn how he lost one whole hour (while bleeding) before reaching a hospital because rumours circulated on the streets about shelling. People (who lost their phones) ran to hide in a parking underground (he was among them). It took them time to realize that there was no shelling, just rumours in the middle of the confusion of the chaos. He then had to find his way to a hospital. Some saying walk from here. Others from there.

All Beirut healthcare centres were overwhelmed with the 6000+ injured residents. Dust (like in the movie) and blood everywhere, a scene Bambi heard about from her own sister. The latter rushed to search for her husband. She screened the faces and eyes of all the blooded people, one by one, in 3-5 different hospitals, until she found him (he almost lost an eye, but thank God, he completely healed, at least physically. Psychological scars take more time).

Sadly, other people were not as blessed as Bambi’s sister. Indeed, they lost their loved ones (some lost their young kids, others their parents or siblings). Yet others never found the bodies of their relatives in the crime scene at the port.

All this… and yet no accountability STILL.

All this and the authorities are thinking of destroying the final place of evidence.

All this and Maya, Bambi’s childhood friend is awaiting another of the MANY surgeries she is still having since that doomed August 4, 2020 (hi Maya, Bambi’s hero of patience ❤️, and hello to those in the same boat as her… ).

To come back to Mr. Merchak, Bambi would like to thank him for being the voice and the eyes of the families of the victims, of the injured, of the homeless, of the traumatized (those who are still in Lebanon and ALL those who escaped… Many of whom to Canada and around the world).

As for this Director’s latest movie, again called “Beirut after 40”, Bambi learned from 961 (shown below) the following:

“The film has won many awards [including one from Tunis, Bambi adds] and is among the most famous short films in the region.

It will be also screened in the upcoming release of the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market in France, from January 30 to February 4.

“Beirut After 40” is also nominated at the Golden State film festival 2022, which will be held between February 25 and March 3 at the TCL Chinese Theatre.“

“Beirut After 40” By Director Anthony Merchak Just Won Hollywood Gold Award

Bravo, Mr.Merchak! Please keep up. Thanks for making Lebanon proud of you!

In this post, you can hear Fairouz singing for the following: Her love/lover, grand-father’s mill in the middle of the magical nights, little house in Canada, beloved Lebanon (a song that could have easily been for Ukraine or… for any of your preferred places in the world), a beautiful girl from a certain era, faith in the coming spring bringing a new hope, and for a charming, devoted baker woman.

Bambi hopes you will enjoy them as much as she did while listening to them (and singing with her frog’s voice)!

The first song is indeed about a love larger than a vast ocean…

The following song is about the magical nights… and the mill:

Next is the moving song about Canada!

Followed by a song to those who care about honouring their country, whichever it is:

Then, Bint El Shalabia that Bambi wants to dedicate to her dear friend Alexis because he likes it :):

Then a song about faith in humanity, in life, in a creator, in love or simply in the capacity to keep hoping… As you can see in the older post shown at the end of this one, this song was offered by Bambi on Thanksgiving to ALL her supporters to thank them for their kindness.

Last but not least, this is the baker woman’s song with its joyful melody about how she wakes up VERY early to start baking.

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Thanksgiving/Action de Grâce: Bambi thanks you all! Merci de Bambi!

Bambi is blessed to have you in her life, Brittany! Below, she will repeat what she wrote in an earlier post meant to share a few beautiful winter pictures you took:

“Talking about beauty, Bambi cannot help not to think of the beauty of the talented photographer, her friend Brittany, who took the fabulous pictures in question. She is beautiful at all levels, from her soul to her mind, from her heart through her external look too. Bambi loves you and will forever be grateful for our friendship (to the extent of kinship!). She will always cherish what you did for her during her saga (a true sister!). “

To conclude this brief post, two songs for you today. Yes, you can guess that the first is to wish you a Happy Birthday. As for the second, it simply meant to try to put a smile on your face :). Enjoy the rest of your day!

Long live Canada’s charming winter!

Bambi is lucky to have lived near the water almost all her life.

Yes from Beirut, by the unique Mediterranean sea, to Montreal an island in the charming Saint Lawrence River, to Toronto and the stunning Lake Ontario, and now in Sackville, NB, close to the Bay of Fundy in the incredibly beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Behind that ocean, there is Europe… and Lebanon is not too far from it.

To celebrate all the waters of all the world, especially salty ones, here is a post fully dedicated to the seas and oceans. Bambi hopes you will enjoy it :).

Why don’t we start from the Lebanese coast with a beautiful sea medley [or “Mazeej- El Baher“] in Arabic that Bambi discovered earlier this morning. Thank you Mr. Lucas Sakr et al.!

This will be followed by a famous French kids’ song that Bambi once offered to her mom on this blog, as per the post further below :):

And now here is beautiful English sea lullaby for you!

And what to say about Mr. Enrico Macias’ great song to the sea, entitled “Toi la mer immense” and subtitled in English and French?!

Following the above, Bambi cannot help not to to think of Mr. Sacha Distel’s song that she sang a lot during her childhood years in Lebanon!

Following this, here is of course Bambi’s favourite Egyptian song for the summer, beach, and love entitled 3 daqat [three beats], subtitled in English, also shared on this blog, as per the two posts below.

And now the very moving and deep Lebanese song of the late Ms. Salwa el Katrib, sub-titled in English and entitled “Shou fi khalf el Baher Khabirayat”? [OR “What stories lurk behind the sea“?]

Finally, to conclude this post dedicated to the oceans and seas of the world, Bambi will end with a joyful Acadian song that she adores. This French song about the Magdalen Islands was posted on this blog in the post!

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From Bambi to her “dear” mom: Happy Mother’s Day!

Good-bye grande dame “Maman Dion” and… long live the Magdalen Islands!

The “3 dakat” song, instrumental: Talented artists’ faces light up when playing this beautiful music

Three daqat [3 heartbeats]

Bambi posted this beautiful song-prayer for peace on May 22, 2021 (as shown below, including a public link with an English translation). May God protect all the innocent people caught in the middle of this bloody war…

In 1982, Germany won the Eurovision song contest with Nicole’s “La paix sur terre, c’est ma prière” [“Peace is my prayer or “Ein bißchen Frieden”]… This song by Messrs. Cara, Siegel, and Delanoë remains timely!

In solidarity with Ms. Tammy Giuliani, owner of Stella Luna Gelato Café filled… with humanity!

To conclude this brief post, thank you Mr. Trudeau for thinking of authoritarianism abroad. Please also self-reflect on Canada’s domestic authoritarianism too. This being said, a big thanks to our Senate and consequently to you, Mr. Trudeau, for having recently lifted the Emergencies Acts (bravo). Finally, a piece of good news about political common sense and democracy. There is still hope for the latter in our world, thank Goodness…

Bambi is like a dinosaur sometimes, not just a deer. Yes, she is often lagging far behind when it comes to knowledge about new (or even older!) movies, songs, actors, brands, etc. However, thanks to her favourite internet radio, she just discovered a talented artist from Lebanon. If she may, she would like to introduce her to you.

Her name is Ms. Cynthia Karam. She is a Lebanese actress and a singer (https://elcinema.com/en/person/1101611/). It seems that she sang in French and English, before Arabic even.

Ms. Cynthia Karam is very interesting to listen to. She impressed Bambi with her wisdom, depth, and… even her talent in love (i.e., caretaker of her grandmother) and appreciation of it. Indeed, here are her beautiful translated concluding words at the end of the radio interview: “Love. Love. Love each other. Love like a mother (mothers know how to love maybe the best…). When we love, we tolerate. When we love, we accept the other. When we love, we forgive. When we love, no need for wars”.

To conclude this post, here are four select songs for you, by Ms. Cynthia Karam, in French and English (+ some Arabic in the last one). She is performing with other talented Lebanese artists. Bambi hopes you will enjoy them, especially you Jacinthe (with your appreciative ears… not just your own beautiful voice)!

Many thanks Ora (Itkins) for our heart-to-heart “caffeinated conversation of two middle eastern emigrants“.

Bambi was BOTH honoured and delighted to be your guest for the second time. She had much fun at our Coffeehouse “Yallah” :). Thank you!

Please keep on being who you are as a human being and as an educator! In Bambi’s mind, one thing is clear: Your students are blessed to have a real or genuine professsor like you! Actually, she would be honoured to interview you herself one day to learn from you and share the lessons learned with the readers of this blog.

THANK you for your your inspiring “Openspace with Ora” on Youtube!

From out of Beirut, a friend shared this Fox news video with Bambi with the following meaningful words:

“Can’t believe this is really happening in Canada :(! This is a crazy come on… RIP free Canada“.

Bambi’s friend is her hero of humanity. She could not not stand silent. She sent an email of support to Ms. Giuliani… Yes from out of Beirut where freedom of expression is known to be under threat (https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1291471/lebanon-classified-as-authoritarian-regime-for-first-time-in-economic-intelligence-units-annual-democracy-index.html).

Just watch this heart-breaking interview… All the best to Ms Giuliani, her family, and staff. May love, peace, common sense… and FREEDOM prevail again in Canada.

Until then, take good care everyone.

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An earlier post on the mourning heart of Bambi…

Mourning the Canada Bambi immigrated to 32 years ago…

There is no word to describe the disappointment of Bambi today (https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/mps-to-vote-tonight-on-whether-emergencies-act-for-blockades-still-needed).

When we come from a birth country torn by sectarianism and now struggling to exist, the last thing we want in life is to see our adoptive country turn into an authoritarian banana republic in front of our own eyes…

We are now officially in a police state… yes, a red line has been crossed.

Mr. Trudeau et al. are still telling us empty words about “healing” and about “how we cannot allow anger to divide us”. We are supposed to believe them and applaud to them, as they do in countries like former Soviet union or Syria under Mr. Assad-father, etc.

It is not anger that is dividing us, Mr. Trudeau. It is rather your style of governance. How sad to see our policy makers, NDP and Liberals, voting for your Emergencies Act. Some even gave their trust to you (in our name!).

Our Dear Mr. Jack Layton must be turning in his grave…

Ms. Elizabeth May, the decent politician from the Green Party, why?

The two Liberal MPs who changed their minds after their earlier courageous positions, why?

The other competent/decent Liberal MPs, why?

As for the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives, thank you for having tried to block this absurdity.

The Bloc Québécois proved that is is a true left-wing party (for the workers, contrary to the current NDP under its current leadership). Bravo, it is refreshing to read the historic tweets of Mr. Blanchet questioning the Emergency Acts. This being said, it may be somehow ironic to see the sovereignist BQ trying to save Canada… from itself.

Bambi will stop here…. she will let Dalida and Mr. Alain Delon reply to Mr. Trudeau, as they do from time to time on this blog.