Bambi and her spouse usually celebrate many dates, from the first encounter through several other relationship milestones (skipping you the details ?).
Well, today is their “first date” anniversary # 18. This took place in Montreal after their unexpected encounter in Toronto a few months earlier (thanks to a lost hair clip… but that’s another story, her favourite one in life).
Funny memories of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and of being literally thrown out of a restaurant at 4 AM because this business needed to close (they told them no need to pay, the cashier closed. Can you imagine? If you want free food whilst in Montreal, try Le Marché around that time… ?). Well this did not prevent them from continuing their conversation on the side walk of McGill Street downtown.
To conclude this post, here is a little surprise from Bambi to her spouse. She will share it with all of you too (“Opa” to everyone, Katia you are on Bambi’s mind and you know why ?!).
By the way, she can assure you that this is not them dancing the Zorba, even if she adores Greece and its culture!
“4 August 2020 –> 4 September 2020. One month has passed and it still hurts, the loss of our nurses, patients and visitors, the total damage of the hospital. A documentary from our heart capturing what words cannot express. Our heartfelt gratitude to the director Zeina Farah ❤️
Bambi will spare you her blahablablah and just share the video at the end of this post. Anyhow, even if she wanted to express any word, she cannot as she is still speechless since August 4th, 2020, when the tragedy hit close to home.
Thankfully, Ms. Zeina Farah, our talented Director, put her heart and soul into this video to tell us, through people’s own words and tears, the story of what happened at that hospital on August 4, 2020.
Bambi is grateful because Zeina kindly shared her documentary, which is sub-titled in English. In it, you will see pictures and hear sounds that will move your heart.
You will listen to nurses, physicians, and health administrators sharing stories of life and death, of heroism and humanity, of devotion to medical care in the middle of a catastrophe that is beyond description, of efficacy and competence (evacuating the hospital in just a few minutes, even without mixing covid-19 patients with all the others injured patients and guests). Among all the moving stories, you may recognize that Canadian young father (who later will lose his 3-year-old daughter, Alexandra (or Lixou) :(. Bambi was moved to learn how he helped the nurse in calling her own parents to reassure them whilst they were in an ambulance rushing to take his own child to another hospital. Finally, you will hear colleagues honouring their 21 peers who lost their lives.
Following the video below, Bambi will remind you of an earlier post about this hospital immediately following the tragedy. To conclude this post, she will allow herself to borrow the words of Father Elias Farah (from the video), singing a Byzantine prayer in Arabic at the memorial for the victims who lost their lives at that hospital: “Fal Yakoun Zikrihoum Mou Abadan“. This means” “May their Memory be eternal…”.
May we all remember to love and take care of one another, at all times and perhaps especially in such absurd times of criminal negligence in a country that is fed up of corruption, violence, and of organized stupidity at the highest governance levels. Where is that investigation of five day only, that the Lebanese authorities promised? It has been “5 days” six times now…
Ideally, please start from the beginning of the video…
A picture taken from the platform of the Green Party of NB (September, 2020)
Bambi decided to take on an online tour, reading the platforms
of our political parties (ahead of our provincial elections on September 14,
2020).
With all due respect, and sometimes much admiration (for
Mr. David Coon, especially… and at times his whole team), she began reading the
platform of the party that she will be the least likely to vote for (unless she
falls on her head before election day): Our Green party of NB.
Well, she now definitely has a concrete reason not to
vote for this naively dangerous party. Here is why.
All the platform of this party looks well articulated,
nice, moderate, and clever… all except for that one picture meant to illustrate
an NB school student (http://greennbvert.ca/platform/).
It shows us a young girl (likely not having reached puberty) with a hijab on
her head. Is this the average NB kid?
This picture is a symptom of a society in Canada, with its obsession to be the most progressist possible, at all costs, even if sometimes we do not even question so-called progressist trends in the world (some political parties even include the term “progressive” in their official names, next to a word, that may sound contrary. Why? Likely because it sells well ?).
Does this beautiful yet veiled young girl look like
Ms. Megan Mitton’s daughter or Mr. Kevin Arsenault’s niece or neighbour? No and
mind you, Ms. Megan calls herself feminist. Is a girl as young as the one in
the picture able to provide an informed consent about her will to wear the hijab,
Ms. Mitton?
How could she? She is not even dressed like Bambi’s relatives and friends, those who are secular and those who are more religious. Not even like the own daughters of Bambi’s veiled friends in both NB and NS ?.
Perhaps the Green party is so taken by its noble and well-meaning
diversity concern, like the rest of North America, that it forgot the following:
Such an image, with a title of “Educating for the future” seems to represent
the dream come true of Islamists (radicals within the beautiful/moderate
religion of Islam. The one Bambi knows well and respects much).
They likely forgot or naively do not know that many young and older women like this cute veiled girl in the picture are prevented from getting an education or simply killed, if they do not wear a hijab. Yes, this happens daily in some countries of the Middle or Far East. Many boys and girls are literally thrown to their death (from a height) because they are gay in some countries. Islamism is not fun and flirting with it can backfire on everyone one day.
So, in sum, the choice of such a picture is not just unwise.
Despite the good intentions, it is somehow insulting to both girls from the so-called
ethnic or Muslim minorities in NB and girls from of the vast majority of the
745,000 citizens, who do not recognize themselves in it.
If the Green party, along with other parties, want to
be truly inclusive, perhaps it would be a good idea not to exclude the silent
majority when wanting to embrace diversity.
To conclude this post, here are earlier posts by Bambi on related topics, one with one of our federal banks (the CIBC) and the other with politicians from the provincial NDP in Alberta and the federal Liberal parties.
With all due respect to Dr. Tam (likely the most competent
in her Ministry), why is she infiltrating our bedrooms ??
The irony is the contrast between her statement now and her/our federal government’s attitude at the start of the pandemic when they should have exerted more control on our borders to prevent the entry of the coronavirus. Instead, she/they chose to lecture us on stigma and racism then.
Today, the political strategy is to sound more controlling. Sex is just a mean to do so.
Even if Dr. Tam is stating the obvious about masks, why is she getting into that much details? And as France 24 wrote, how many will be listening?
Now, Dr. Tam is right, the safest sex partner in pandemics remains oneself.
A rescue team from Chile, along with their dog, may have sensed a living pulse under the rubble, a month after the Beirut explosion. At first, rumours talked about possibly two persons alive. One of them may be alive… He/she may be a child.
“Eddy Bitar of Live Love Beirut said there was a small person curled in the foetal position in the debris of a collapsed building. Rescuers are working to access the person’s location on the second floor of the building near fallen water tanks.”
Potential rescue efforts would most likely take several hours to bring this survivor out of the rubble. Fingers crossed!!
Thank you/GRACIAS to the rescue team, to the equipment used, and of course to their cleverly trained dog!
Kinda El Khatib, a young Lebanese activist thrown in jail (picture taken from an article in the l’Orient Le Jour)
Her name is Kinda El Khatib. She is young. She is passionate. She is vocal.
She is in jail now. Her crime? Well, what a surprise! She has been accused of «collaboration with *the Israeli enemy* and violation of the bill on boycotting Israel».
Bambi has always joked by telling herself the following: There is an old Lebanese saying that tells us that we learn about adults’ secrets from their kids’ mouths (because children are spontaneous and tell the truth when adults try to hide it). Well, Bambi has changed this saying in her mind, thinking that we learn the full truth from the readers’ comments and from the media of opponents or “enemies”. This is what she has always done since her childhood and teenage years, reading all sort of media of all the Lebanese fractions that fought each other for over 15 years (no boycott of knowledge). She particularly enjoys reading the readers’ comments and tweets of politicians or public figures, those she does not agree with as much as those she agrees with. Of course, she may sometimes agree with those she does not usually share the same vision or have the same approach, despite the shared vision. She may even find those she usually agrees with off about this or that topic, etc. There is nothing set in stone in life, not even opinions. However, some values do not change (regardless of countries or times) like the freedom of thoughts and of expression (of others and of oneself), like respect (self- and for others), and humanity, etc.
This being said, well, here is what one reader commented to the article in question:
He wrote “she is known for being hostile to the Hezbollah and to the President of Lebanon” [verbatim, taken from the article in question]. This is her real crime. All the rest is literature”.
Well said, even if we do not need a PhD in political science or in law to understand that Kinda has been sadly and unfairly thrown in jail!
Bambi was even more curious about this Kinda. She went to search for her twitter, if any. She has re-tweeted the following on June 17, 2020:
After reading the above, Bambi went and googled two Israeli media. Both of them did not mention this story. However, in June, they reported that this young woman was accused of the same accusation (like now), along with her brother. The Lebanese authorities claim that they visited Israel through Jordan.
To come back to Kinda’s re-tweet above, the MTV original tweet is in Arabic. It is about Mr. Nasrallah’s statement that “his weapons protect his country and no one will put him between the two choices of the weapons versus famine“. He is likely referring to the Cesar Act, which is an American bill meant to put financial pressure on Syria’s Mr. Assad et al. and on his organization. Of note, the MTV is the Lebanese channel that was recently prevented from covering the parliamentary consultations to nominate the recent Lebanese MP at the Presidential palace.
Kinda’s story is far from being unique. Indeed, MANY other young and older people have been wrongly accused of the same, that is collaborating with the enemy ☹. This trend has been increasing at a scary speed lately.
Indeed, about two years ago, an indecent military bureaucrat (a police officer?) invented a story about a famous theatrical producer/comedian (Mr. Ziad Itani, his name). Bambi recalls that story very well— she heard about it before and during a trip to Beirut. She immediately told herself, this seems to be fabricated. Many months later, the truth went out. Indeed, the whole saga was found to be invented. The lady in question went to jail whilst the innocent man found his freedom again. For a long time, his reputation was destroyed… Perhaps he is still suffering now? This false accusation is worse than an accusation of racism or sexual harassment here in Canada. It can literally bring your death, not just in the form of cancellation or end of a career. Some may be tortured over such accusation, who knows? Thank Goodness, there are decent and courageous Lebanese lawyers who fight for freedom and justice. They help citizens who cannot afford to pay legal fees. The policewoman in question (along with the IT guy who helped her) fabricated emails even, pretending that Mr. Itani is leaking information to an Israeli spy (a beautiful woman—double agent or something). She ended up going to jail (perhaps the IT guy too but Bambi did not follow the story in detail). After some time in prison, she was treated like a hero upon her discharge.
Can you imagine? this lady was honoured for trying to destroy an innocent’s man. How could people like her or like judges who follow orders (or who may be threatened? Who knows?) go to sleep at night knowing that they falsely condemned innocent people?
To conclude this post, Bambi’s heart goes to Kinda. She does not know her in person. This is the first time she reads her story and sees her beautiful face. She sends her a prayer and a rainbow of hope for a better future to her and to her fellow young citizens. Enough of wars, of scary weapons, of lies, and of hate. It is about time to live in dignity, security, prosperity, and hopefully one day peace not just in the Middle East but also across the world.
Bambi’s heart goes to all the Lebanese youth aspiring to build a new Lebanon…
By its essence and across its articles (the latest is about a story from NB that happened during the pandemic), this section seems to want us to believe that: All black Canadians are the same. It does not matter
whether they are locals from a rural community in Nova Scotia, immigrants in
Toronto from Jamaica, or Québeckers whose ancestors came from Haiti many
decades ago.
It also wants us to think that all people with a
darker skin, across all cultures and sub-cultures, think the same. How could
this be possible ??
For instance, what does a second or third generation child whose ancestors came
from the Ivory Coast have to do with a refugee from Palestine who happens to be
black?
Should we laugh or cry to our increasingly stupid
times?
This has nothing to do with a genuine concern for respect and justice to each Canadian.
This looks like a societal movement that insists on
dividing our young country into tribes. Today, it is in the name of a global
justice movement of so-called Blacks. Tomorrow about what and whom? Arabs?
Muslims? Other?
How about Canadians who are short or left-handed? Will we ever see this ?? Even if left-handed people like Bambi are often disadvantaged, Bambi would find such divisive lines silly.
More seriously, this movement, if pushed too far, could resemble a certain form of identity socialism. Not any identity politics. It is about one tiny or superficial aspect of someone’s characteristic. We are calling it diversity and we appear to be glorifying it (of course, as long as the person put in this category endorses the movement. If not, we would not care about that individual).
Such movements seem to insist on reducing the person to just a single characteristic. It pretends to speak in its name and in the name of all the persons who may look like this characteristic. For Bambi, this is a form of both neo-colonialism and neo-racism.
Bambi may be wrong but in her non-expert citizen
opinion, the irony is that all this is disguised into a noble anti-racism.
A possible antidote to such movement may be a simple individual
characteristic: our critical sense. This will protect us (and others) from blindly
endorsing movements, political or religious or whatever else. It may be challenging
to critically think (not just repeat clichés) when a whole society, from the
top of its pyramid all the way down seems to be obsessed with the new narrative
(of course, some may be true believers. Others may pretend it, just to be left
alone or to advance in a career, political or other, etc.).
Luckily both young and older members of this or that
group do have a critical sense. They refuse to blindly embark in movements or to
allow others to speak in their name. You would be surprised to see how
unpopular these movements are among immigrants. Not surprising for Bambi
though. Indeed, many of the latter (including herself) left their birth
countries, precisely because of such limited visions of a society. Their
nightmare would be when Canada becomes like their birth countries, instead of
the opposite.
Well, when Bambi visited her birth country in December (story of an older post), she met with a school friend she had not seen for 30 years. The latter recalled when Bambi (delegate of their class) stoop up to militiamen who came to take school kids to applaud to a certain politician in another school (this was during civil war). Bambi told those guys: “We are not sheep and we are not going with you”. Well, the youth of all the schools had to attend in the end. This was not negotiable. Bambi did the following then: She went to hide in the washroom in order not to be forced to go with the crowd, against her will.
Of course, that was an extreme case in extreme times. However, make no mistake, our own times may become increasingly extreme with time (we are already seeing examples of vandalism or censorship here and there). Indeed, no country is immune, especially younger ones and perhaps more easily when people stop believing in their civilization or culture, feel too guilty of injustice in the world, or are too harsh with themselves. Instead of learning from their past, some may literally want to erase history. Instead of feeling proud/patriotic, the latter healthy feelings become unpopular or perceived as being racist, etc. They forget that, in order to respect others, we need to have self-respect.
As promised, Mr. Macron returned to Lebanon 23-24 days after his last visit on August 6, 2020 (which took place just 2 days post-explosion).
Everyone was glued to his/her TV to watch him. Some people hugged him on the street. He is definitely the most famous politician in Beirut :).
Mr. Macron will be coming back to Lebanon in December. Until then, he is putting more pressure on the Lebanese authorities, insisting that they form a government within 15 days only (usually, it takes them an endless time to veto or fight for political power).
Now, surprisingly, they all agreed to nominate a new PM on the eve of Mr. Macron’s visit. His name is Mr. Mustapha Adib. Bambi has never heard of him before and she is not the only one. He seems to have been the political advisor of a former PM who, in turn, nominated him as the Ambassador of Lebanon in Berlin. He was born in Tripoli. He is 48-year-old (his birthday was two days ago). He has a PhD in law and political science. His spouse is French and they have five children (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustapha_Adib_(politician). If Bambi understands the news well, he seems to be supported by France and Iran (+ other countries) whilst the USA is fine with him (it does not want to veto his name, so to speak).
There has been a shocking abuse of the freedom of press during the day of parliamentary consultations to nominate a PM. Specifically, the Lebanese MTV channel (one of the most highly respected mainstream media!) was prevented from covering the day-long event at the Presidential Palace. Can you imagine? The good news is that EVERYONE in Lebanon denounced this censorship (independent MPs like Ms. Paula Yaakoubian, other political figures, the media, the population on social media, etc.)!
Related to freedom, as you can see below, it seems that Hezbollah’s Mr. Nasrallah is asking to boycott Arab channels like Sky News – Arabic and Al Arabiya– Al Hadath. He is even threatenening to prevent them from broadcasting.
The attack on the freedom of the press is VERY worrisome. Bambi is against boycott in life because she believe in the freedom of thoughts and choice.
This being said, to come back to the new PM, Dr. Adib, two thoughts come to Bambi’s mind: All the Lebanese political fractions agree on his nomination, even if he seems to lack the political experience to lead a complex country like tiny, bankrupt, corrupt, and vulnerable Lebanon (on all fronts, namely public health, internal security, and geopolitical risk). Why is that in reality? Is it because he will be a good cover for their corruption OR just useless and this suits them? Who knows? Perhaps he will surprise Lebanon and the world with his magical efficacy, even if that same old corrupt system is still running the show. One thing good that this new PM did was to go talk to the people affected by the explosion on the streets. No Lebanese politician has dared to do this yet (only Mr. Macron and twice thus far!).
Anyhow, time will tell what will happen in Beirut… Until then, may Tamara’s mom and her 199 fellow citizens who lost their lives rest in peace. May the 6500 injured people heal. Best wishes to those left on their own to repair their destroyed homes, businesses, and/or cars.
May Lebanon finally know how to end impunity in order to truly reform itself in all sectors, namely financial (i.e., banking, etc.), political, and legal. It is hard to start or know from where to start the clean-up. However, one thing is sure in life and we know it from key theories of change of behaviours: Intention to change has to precede any plan of action. We also know that the resistance to change can be too powerful in its toxicity. Despite this, a change is overdue. If not, the alternative would be a clear take-over… or eventually civil unrest, especially if key external players come into play (like what happened in Syria). More than ever, Lebanon needs to hang on to its sovereignty in its institutions, borders, and a prosperous vision for the future. Lebanon, and especially the Lebanese people (i.e., their safety and well-being) must come first, that is before any loyalty to external ideologies or regional forces (from Iran, Syria, Russia, to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or other).
As for Mr. Macron, during his very busy 48-hour-trip to Lebanon, he offered the diva Fairuz the “Legion of Honour”, which is the highest official French honour. Among her famous songs in the Arab world are: Li Beirut as well as Bihabek ya Loubnan. The latter means: “I love you Lebanon“. It is with these cute yet apparently heart-felt words, (pronounced incredibly well) that France President chose to end his last press conference before taking the plane back to Paris. Mr. Macron seems to have continuity in his thoughts. He began his second trip to Lebanon by honouring Fairuz.
In addition to his numerous meetings meant to oversee the work/coordination of volunteers and the 700 helping French soldiers as well as his encounters with the population on the streets, his meetings with politicians/key national figures, and with the singer Fairuz, Mr. Macron took the time to plant a cedar. He did so to celebrate Lebanon’s 100th birthday, as a symbol of hope. Once again, he gave hope to the people of Lebanon. This being sad, some young people decided to take the streets to demonstrate, asking him not to deal with the criminals in power (see further below, video in French).
One thing is sure, the people of Lebanon are far from being naive, even when they seem to want to believe in a saviour (like Mr. Macron). People know the issues of their country too well. Same for Mr. Macron, most likely. Despite this, he seems to be willing to take the risk when it comes to show his support to the Lebanese people. However, even with the purest intentions in the world, can he help Lebanon in reforming to be able to save itself?
Will it accept to reform finally? If so or if at all possible still, why did the Lead Lebanon Negotiator for IMF resign on August 30, 2020? According to Bloomberg, “he is the third ministry official to quit over Lebanon’s response to its financial crises” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-30/lead-lebanon-negotiator-for-imf-and-eurobond-restructuring-quits). What are the next steps for Lebanon? How will it succeed in re-building the trust with its own people and, one day again, with any investor?
A moving picture taken from Reuters.
A picture released by Fairuz. She is 85-year-old, it seems. In Bambi’s mind, she is ageless. She is wearing a protective mask. He is not. They spent over an hour and 15 minutes together. She offered him the delicious Lebanese coffee, it seems (and likely other goodies :)). Thank you Mr. Macron for your visit and for honouring our amazing Fairuz!
Young Lebanese protesters asking Mr. Macron “not to collaborate with the murderers in power. They want justice. If the (international) justice finds those politicians innocent, be it“. As a reminder, MANY of the actual politicians, including the President of the country, knew about the ammonium nitrate that exploded at the Beirut port (whether purely accidentally or not).
In this clever cartoon by Mr. Yannick Lemay, you can see our strange times:
The decapitated head of Sir MacDonald, the first PM of Canada (vandalism with an ISIS style).
The Montreal police officer with his covid-19 mask put on his eyes instead of his nose and mouth (no, he did not see anything). He is even sleeping and snoring.
Have you ever tried to bring down a heavy historical monument in your life? Even if she has not tried it, Bambi can imagine that you cannot destroy it without equipment and preparation. This police officer (and perhaps with him Montreal’s Mayor) must have been taking a long nap :). Mayor Plante wants us to believe that she woke up after the vandalism and she condemned it, which is good. Maybe? But now what?
Last but not least, radical extremists in Montreal destroyed our country’s history in front of our eyes… ISIS and Taliban style. Today, these extremists are leftists (it may partly explain the silence of most of the political elite or the sympathy of the media; fear may be another factor. Some dared to speak today, like Mr. Trudeau. Bravo to him, it is never too late to stand up for common sense. However, perhaps his good words were not that clearly strong, even if they made more sense than his vague words during the WE investigation). Regardless, Mr. Trudeau is absolutely right on this one: We have to keep a critical eye on all the PM’s work, including his own dad, as he said. Bambi will allow herself to add that this also includes himself as well :). Indeed, one day, we will have his statue or portrait. He can be assured that Bambi will be defending history with the same convictions, as she is now, if his statue or portrait would be attacked. It is about Canada. It is about principles. It is about our heritage (and pride). It is about our self-respect, as a civilization. Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why should we follow trends in the USA (aren’t we truly sovereign?)? Why follow the world’s latest ideologies, without critical sense or choice? Why can’t we be have our own spine, as a country? Is this too much to ask for?
Today, it is about Sir MacDonald’ statue. Tomorrow, it will be about another historical figure. Today, it is by this radical group. Tomorrow, by another (perhaps to the right, perhaps not). Bambi would not be surprised if those thugs would dare to go after Mr. René Lévesque’s symbols, one day. Of course, Québeckers will not take it… If they would, our times would be much stranger.
Funny how people have a selective memory when it comes to Mr. MacDonald. He was not the kindest to French Canadians (in addition to, of course, our Dear First Nations). Yet, we owe respect to our history, and this includes ALL our Prime Ministers, from Sir MacDonald all the way to Mr. Justin Trudeau. Without the former, the latter would not exist. Plus, you and Bambi would have not been able to call Canada home.
From Bambi’s non-expert citizen experience in unstable countries and/or times, violence usually starts against monuments, electoral signs, properties… and if there is no push back, it may increase to the point of targeting real people on day. Why aren’t we pushing back now, before it would be too late?
It is Bambi’s hope that this cartoon’s sleeping police officer will wake up before it is too late and his job becomes more difficult… At the end of the day, despite all the calls to de-fund the police (some literally say abolish it), it is 911 that we will likely all dial when our safety is at risk.
To conclude this post, here is an earlier comment by Bambi to the incident in Montreal:
Like their parents and ancestors, they just love Beirut.
Unlike many of us, they are gifted with a fabulous voice and magical fingers.
Bambi was deeply moved by this beautiful video, “Li Beirut – Cover by Romy Mounzer“. She is happy to share it with you (thank you Marina)!
From 2:53 to 3:09 minutes into this video, you can hear artist and singer/song-writer (+ mom, we learn from her Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/romy_moun/?hl=en) adding English words to the famous Fairuz, Li Beirut, song: “We stand with you, we pray for you, you will rise once again“. Well said, thank you!
Bravo to both Ms. Romy Mounzer (angelic voice!) and Ms. Romy Sukkarieh (moving piano melody!) for sharing your beautiful talents. Both of you are blessed to have supportive and talented families… Well, Bambi is honoured to call herself a family’s friend :).
At the end of this post, if you wish, you can hear again Mayssa’s own dad honouring Beirut on his piano (Mr. Nagi Sukkarieh). Among the comments, you can read Maysa’s own beautiful words to her beloved “baba” [Maysa, Bambi finally had the chance to discover your talent :)].
Following this post, if you wish, you can re-hear/re-watch, Li-Beirut, a beautiful yet moving artistic video about the August 4th port explosion (shared by Ms. Roula Douglas).
In that earlier post, you can read an English translation of this eternal Lebanese song.
