Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

No word can describe the October 7 massacre.

No argument can justify it, not even one’s own suffering or history.

On the contrary, when we have suffered, we can refuse to harm innocent human beings.

Ironically, many of the 1200 victims were peace activists and supportive of Gazans. Not all were Jewish. A few were even Muslim.

As a reminder, some of the victims are seniors, youth who were dancing, children, and even infants (a baby, Bibas, is still in captivity. Can you imagine his family’s suffering?).

They were massacred, raped, kidnapped, and/or their dead bodies were disrespected. Some of the latter are fellow Canadian citizens. May their families have lots of courage on the first anniversary of their tragedy.

May the memory of the dead be eternal.

May all the injured heal, physically and mentally.

May the kidnapped be freed. May their families be finally relieved.

May inner peace prevail in the hearts of the survivors. Same wishes for the grieving families, as per the French-Canadian song shared below.

May the same G-D/Allah/God of love forgive the perpetrators of this carnage for their barbaric behaviours, especially if they were under any substance abuse. May he inspire them to re-connect with their critical thinking and sense of perspective. Only then, they can resist, whatever they want to resist, in more peaceful ways… and even with humanity.

Until then, may God have mercy on the Middle East, including Bambi’s beloved Lebanon.

It is both heart-breaking and worrisome to hopelessly see Beirut aching and burning.

It is also sad, beyond words, to see tiny Lebanon being destroyed once again.

Bambi sends her heart to the injured, displaced, lost, scared, tired, frustrated, and grieving citizens and/or residents of the land of cedars.

Last but not least, it is surreal to hear the STRONG Israeli shelling in the background of a voicemail with her sister in the middle of her sleepless night. May God protect her et al.

This being said, this post will now offer five songs to the Lebanese capital, which is Bambi’s beloved place of birth.

1. A first song for Beirut in Standard Arabic (with beautiful images):

2. A second and moving patriotic Lebanese-Arabic song with a ray of hope for Beirut:

3. A third, older, and powerful song for Beirut in Standard Arabic (with English sub-titles):

4. A fourth, old, and heart-warming French song from a lover of Beirut, Mr. Enrico Macias:

5. A fifth and lovely Lebanese-Arabic song dedicated to Beirut:

The Gazette informed us that a “Concordia student… spoke of the merits of martyrdom to the crowd at the vigil for Lebanon” (https://tinyurl.com/mr32zvcc; https://tinyurl.com/5dbu7hry).

This young activist is free to think and also say whatever he wishes, of course (same for different opinions or no opinion). Bambi defends his right to freedom of expression. However, she would like to reply to him in this post, if she may.

If there is one word that she dislikes, and cannot stand anymore, in the Arabic language, it is actually the overused term martyr (or shaheed). Here is why: Innocent people of the Middle East (in all its beautiful countries, including both Palestine and now Lebanon) do no want to be “Shouhada” (martyrs). They want to live rather. They are struggling to survive this absurd war. So, please stop and think before educating your fellow Canadians about the value of death through this concept.

As an alternative, how about telling them about the will to simply live (ideally in dignity), to be safe, to dream of solutions, peace, and prosperity for a change? To live and be able to go to school, to innovate, to earn a living, to spread compassion and love around them and to the world, by extension?

If some want to die as “martyrs”, it is their own choice. They must not impose it on others who do not want to be caught in the middle of the shelling between Israel and the other fighters (Hezbollah, Hamas, and their Islamist sister organizations). For those specifically, your explanation of martyrdom applies well, especially from their point of view: “Martyrdom, to be killed fighting for a cause greater than yourself, is the most honourable thing you can do, and this is in itself is a victory“.

To say things more bluntly, if anyone from Bambi’s circle of dad, family, and friends die in this conflict, she refuses to call them martyrs. She will call them victims like the innocent people of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Irak, Saudi Arabia, Gulf countries, and… by extension the entire world where there are wars, including but not limited to Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, etc. Enough of violence and stop to the culture of death, please.

When Bambi was about 8 year-old, growing up in the middle of civil war in the so-called former “East Beirut“, the shelling hit a nearby school. Her dear cousin was badly injured among many other young friends. Thank Goodness he survived. His only peer who died happened to be Muslim, ironically…. with a bomb coming from the former “West side of Beirut“, predominantly (but not only) Muslim. Do you see the irony?

The tragic story shared above is not surprising given that bombs (or violence) do not differentiate between people’s characteristics such as ethnolinguistic background, age, sex/gender, religion, sexual orientation, height, weight, political affiliation, etc. The latter was one of Bambi’s lessons from the school of life, especially in times of armed conflicts.

However, the Mollahs of Iran, blinded by hate or excited by their nuclear adventure, do not seem to see the irony of their escalating action of yesterday (about 200 ballistic missiles targeting Israel), which resulted in the death of a Palestinian man. May his memory be eternal (https://tinyurl.com/3kaa72vy).

In the same vein, the second irony is Hamas that “praises ‘heroic’ missile attacks launched by Iran” (https://tinyurl.com/ycaswhba) and who cares about the poor Gazan who lost his life?

When will the bloody nightmare of revenge and hate end in the Middle East? When will we will find a solution to this absurd conflict that is burning Lebanon, so peace can finally prevail there and across all the nations? And what about compassion, especially in “spiritual men”?

This morning, Bambi started the day with news of shelling in Beirut, perhaps five-seven minutes away from her dad’s place. She rushed to the phone to call and check on him.

Now, at the end of the same day, she is hearing yet other worrisome escalating news from the Middle East. This time about missiles from Iran toward Israel. Who pays the price of any conflict? As usual, innocent people on all sides. Make no mistake about it.

May God/G-d/Allah of love have mercy on everyone. May God know how to protect the aching and apparently sinking boat of Lebanon with ALL its innocent people, along with those who have played with the fire.

Even if her mind, soul, and heart are with the people of her birth country as well as with her family and friends there, Bambi’s heart has enough room to also feel for all those suffering from this insanity. This includes the innocent people of both Israel as well as Palestine, the people of Syria as well as those in Iran (minus their unwise and illuminated Mollahs), those of the entire Middle East, and the whole world.

Enough of cruelty toward innocent people. Enough of playing with their lives and sanity.

When Lebanon is not under the occupation or hegemony of Syria, it is an Iranian colony (through its alliance with Hezbollah). When it is not under the influence of Iran, it is under the occupation or at the HARSH mercy of Israel.

When will Lebanon become sovereign again, from within, and then regionally or internationally?

When will the government of Lebanon finally courageously take the leadership (of decisions of wars and peace) from the Hezbollah?

“Everywhere I go

I only see ruins

Bloody walls

Deaths and victims

Everywhere I go

There is misfortune

There are separated families

There are children crying

But deep in their eyes

There is still hope

That one day the Good GOD

Will end the nightmare

Come back Lebanon

As you were before

Come back Lebanon

Gather your children

Come back Lebanon

Middle Eastern Switzerland

Come back Lebanon

Much more beautiful than before

Come back Lebanon

And we your children

We will carry your name

Yes but come back Lebanon

What did they do to you

With all your glory

Although I see it

I find it hard to believe it

Why the tears

In the eyes of children?

Why the weapons

Do they draw blood?

There are so many whys

There is so much hope

In my country there

Which remain unanswered

Come back Lebanon

As you were before

Come back Lebanon

Gather your children

Come back Lebanon

Middle Eastern Switzerland

Come back Lebanon

Much more beautiful than before

Reviens Liban

Et nous tes enfants

Nous porterons ton nom

Oui mais reviens Liban”.

Thankfully, there is music in life.

May J. Fla’s song bring moments of inner peace to your hearts, dear readers.

May music know how to heal the pain of all the innocent civilians who are surviving armed conflicts around the world, especially the people of Lebanon. Bambi is thinking of each of the 1 million displaced persons across her birth country. This includes MANY Beiruti families who are sleeping on the streets or in their cars right now.

Healing wishes and love to all the injured, grieving survivors, scared or traumatized folks.

May peace prevail in Lebanon, in the Middle East neighbourhood, and in the entire world.