Bambi's Thoughts
What an intelligent analysis (in French) of the actual situation in Lebanon by Agnès Levallois, French expert of the Middle East.
Bambi thanks her sister for sharing this link. In turn, she is sharing it on this blog for those of us who can understand the language.
Bambi would like to quickly comment on the following CBC article about Ms. Masuma Khan:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/masuma-khan-dalhousie-university-apology-1.5335599
Bravo & congratulations to Ms. Masuma Khan for graduating.
Congratulations to Dalhousie University too because Ms. Masuma Khan graduated.
Dalhousie University should have NOT disciplined her for what she has written on her Facebook or twitter accounts. Clearly, this was against freedom of speech!
Bambi says this, even if at the time she found this former student’s comments shockingly vulgar (with her famous “white fragility can kiss my ass”). It was not only vulgar but also disrespectful to a whole community… and country on its 150th birthday celebrations.
Of course, Bambi understands Ms. Khan’s over-zealous activism for indigenous rights whilst recognizing her noble intentions… BUT without endorsing her radicalism.
This being said, Bambi thinks that Ms. Khan should not forget that a university administrator was fired in the process… whilst she stayed.
Not only she stayed… She became an untouchable icon in the Canadian society (we can guess why).
The university has now expressed its apparently sincere regrets, even if on social media.
It is about time for Ms. Khan to begin to learn to forgive in order to let go.
Bambi wishes that this vocal, and surely talented, young lady will learn to wisely turn the page to focus on her new position and personal life (outside of academia). She wishes her all the best!
Sadly, when Ms. Khan came to Sackville a while ago, Bambi was unable to attend her talk. She heard that she was a great speaker. Bambi had a burning question for her then… she still has it now:
Ms. Khan, how would you react if someone tells you: “Muslim fragility can kiss my ass”? Would you accept it?
Bambi is (still) curious.
Once again, and regardless of Ms. Khan’s answer to such question, our words are not innocent. They have weight. Why don’t we use them wisely?
In English:
https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1X60DN
In French:
Way to go to the Lebanese people, young and old, all UNITED like that, insisting on accountability and saying enough (of corruption) is enough! The country wants to live in dignity and in peace, in love and in hope!
ADDENDUM:
After this post was published, someone sent Bambi this video :):
Below is another video on the human chain by Euronews (in French).
“Mabrouk” (= Congrats!) to the bride & groom, celebrating their union in the middle of the Lebanese revolution on the street!
Below is a moving picture and a video of a Lebanese soldier with tears in his eyes, touched by the demonstrators’ expression of patriotism and pacifism (chanting the Lebanese anthem)!
The video now (moving material here):
Here is a video of medical residents/physicians at Saint George Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon (the healthcare centre near the apartment of Bambi’s parents):
Some even danced on the streets.
Even the rain did not stop people.
There is also an organized daily clean-up. Here is a picture of two kids cleaning with their mom!
Last but not least, here is a picture of the Christian religious leaders. All united in their support of the people’s revolt, which is an outcry for a dignified life!
What will happen to Lebanon? Only time will tell.
Today, Washington declared that it understands the Lebanese people in their demands.
So did France earlier, asking the Lebanese authorities to respect the protestors’ right to demonstrate.
What will the President of the Lebanese Republic do or say tomorrow at noon (Beirut time)? Indirectly, what will the Hezbollah say or do… or not do?
The Lebanese army will be in a tough position if it will be asked to stop the protestors, as they tried to do today, it seems.
Clearly, people seem not to fear a political vacuum. They went through one recently for over a period of two years. The country survived and kept moving forward (or backward?), even without a President (and/or a government?).
To conclude this post, people do not trust their politicians anymore. All the politicians. PERIOD.
As the slogan/song of this revolt goes: “Thawara yiwne thawra…. “Killoun yiwne killoon”. This literally means: “A revolution means a revolution. All of them means all of them” (= loss of trust in all politicians). All of them must step down or go away…. but go where? No clue. Who cares now?
Wow–At the exact time of concluding this post, that was the song playing on a radio station called “Mount Lebanon” from LA (USA) that Bambi enjoys listening to whilst working (no commercial ads, just joyful Lebanese music).
End of Day 7. Tomorrow is a new dawn…
May the light of political wisdom, honesty, and economic prosperity shine on Lebanon at the end of this revolt process.
May the ghost of any violence fade away and let Lebanon just rise again from the ashes of poverty and despair like the phoenix that it has always been!
The future may be uncertain but Lebanese people are determined to remain on the streets, as you can see in the pictures below.
From Vancouver to Edmonton, from Toronto to Montreal… All the way to Moncton, Canadians of Lebanese origins gathered in support of Lebanese protests.
In Moncton, some drove from as far as Fredericton, NB, or Pugwash, NS (a young family with a toddler and a pregnant mom ready to give birth soon). Some drove from Amherst, NS, or Sackville, NB to join their fellow citizens from Moncton in front of Town Hall.
Everyone stood up together, waving Lebanese flags and chanting the anthem, which goes like: “ALL of us for you Lebanon”. Indeed, we are all as diverse as the society in Lebanon and as united as they are in their demands for a dignified life.
A few cars passing by in the downtown area kindly honked in support.
First, here is a video with a speech in English from the President of the Moncton Lebanese Association, Mr. Mike Timani:
In the link above (FB of the MLA Association), we can see/hear Mr. Timani’s speech (video). Bambi was also moved to read a word of thanks from her sister from as far as Beirut.
Second, here are a few pictures from the event (we can even see a metal “Bambi” and two kids dressed up in the Lebanese army outfit ?).
Some signs were in English:
Other signs in French:
Yet others in Arabic:
And some did not need any words:
Thank you to the Moncton Lebanese Association for allowing us to gather together to show our support to our beloved ones in Lebanon!
To conclude this post, below is a famous double picture that has circulated on social media today. It shows a Lebanese woman during the civil war of 1975-1990 AND it shows her again, today (October, 2019). This lady, older now, is rejoicing. For her, today is the true end of civil war because ALL the Lebanese people are on the streets UNITED with their Lebanese flags (only!) and with the same demand: A dignified life… because enough (of corruption) is enough.
Best wishes to Lebanon in the next stages of its history!
To honour her country of birth, Bambi would like to share two videos:
(1). A video produced by the MEA (Middle East Airlines) showing the safety instructions in a creative way, that is with landscapes from Lebanon and dancing, etc. (please see further below). This is the video she watches on any MEA flight she takes from Europe to Beirut.
Perhaps this is not the best time for tourists to visit Lebanon. Hopefully soon!
(2). A moving French song by Mr. Enrico Macias for Beirut that moves Bambi’s heart every time she hears it. Thank you Mr. Macias!
Lebanon is a wonderful touristic destination with incredible food, with fabulous mountains and beaches, with welcoming people who will make you feel like kings and queens with their generosity (regardless of the money in their pocket).
Almost everyone speaks Arabic, French, English, in addition to Armenian (for some Lebanese). Many speak also other languages (e.g., Portuguese, Greek, or German, etc.).
Sadly, today three Arab countries asked their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.
The Lebanese army escorted some travellers safely to the airport. Other tourists may have trouble reaching the airport with all the demonstrations across the streets of all the country.
Anyhow, here is the fun video by the MEA airlines:
It is both sad and worrisome when even Lebanon (at least right now) seems to be more democratic than Canada.
Lebanese people demonstrating on the streets forced their government to scrap a recently approved WhatsApp tax.
Although it is unclear what is going to happen next in that country, its people already gave us five little lessons:
Bambi thinks that NO sign of any candidate from any political party should be vandalized. No to violence. Period!
We should all be concerned about what happened in Sackville recently.
Bambi is disappointed by the lack of public voices denouncing what has happened in our town with Ms. Nancy Mercier, including our other candidates.
Luckily, there is a citizen from our town who generously offered a reward to anyone who may have information that can help the police investigation concerning Ms. Mercier’s electoral signs ($500).
Now, to end this post with a touch of Lebanese humour, if you like to smile/laugh like Bambi, check the second short cartoon video, which shows the reactions of travellers when they were told the following (in standard Arabic): “Due to a sudden failure, their airplane must urgently land in Beirut, Lebanon” ?.
FIRST VIDEO:
Here is the first video by a PPC candidate, called Ms. Tara Dos Remedios, copied from her Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/i/videos/1185287864742887424
SECOND VIDEO:
This is a cartoon that came out of Lebanon today.
Bambi just received the following message by email (thank you Lamia and thanks to the Moncton Lebanese Association):
“Good Evening Everyone,
في ظل ما يحدث في لبنان ودعما للشعب اللبناني الذي يطالب بالعيش الكريم بما يضمن كامل حقوقه، تدعو الجمعية اللبنانية في مونكتون جميع المهتمين في
نيو برنزويك الى مشاركتها في التظاهر سلميا يوم ٢١ ت١، الساعة١١:٣٠ صباحا امام مبنى السيتي هول، مونكتون.
نتمنى عليكم المشاركة لدعم اللبنانيين من نيو برنزويك في مطالبهم المحقة.
نامل ان نراكم جميعا
In light of what is happening in Lebanon and in support of the Lebanese people, who are demanding a more dignified life that guarantees their rights, the Moncton Lebanese Association invites all those interested to come join us on Sunday, October 20 at 11:30 a.m. at Moncton City Hall to stand peacefully alongside the people of Lebanon.
Please come in numbers to show our support from New Brunswick, as
this is an issue that affects us all inside and outside Lebanon.
Hope to see everyone there.
En vue de ce qui se passe au Liban, et afin d’appuyer le peuple libanais qui revendique une vie plus digne et plus respectueuse de leurs droits, l’Association libanaise de Moncton invite tous les intéressés à venir nous rejoindre dimanche le 20 octobre, 11h30 à l’Hotel de ville de Moncton pour pacifiquement manifester votre solidarité avec le peuple libanais.
Veuillez venir en grand nombre pour démontrer l’appui provenant du Nouveau-Brunswick, puisque cet enjeu nous touche tous, soit à l’intérieur ou à l’extérieur du Liban.
Nous espérons bien vous voir.
Regards
Lamia Chami (on behalf of the Moncton Lebanese Association)”
A video from Lebanon (the second day…):
A video created by Bambi’s nephew, Nicolas Douglas on his Instagram:
Sadly, there have been casualties today :(.
As you can see in the picture below this one, peaceful protesters courageously stood up between the police and those committing vandalism (infiltrating crowds):
All Lebanon from the North to the South, from the East to the West, is on the streets right now (it is nighttime, at the moment of this post).
People are united against their corrupt government, regardless of their community, their religion, socio-economic class, sex/gender, etc.
They all have ONE single demand: The resignation of the government. They want a reduced caretaker government. These seem to be their demands. They do not want to stop until they achieve this.
Schools and banks will be closed tomorrow (no, it is not because of Greta’s Fridays!).
The whole country is in a sort of a revolution, united against poverty/the corrupt system.
People are fed up. Too much poverty. Too much corruption. Too much taxation (the icing on the cake was today’s approved tax on WhatsApp calls! People use WhatsApp a lot there; just like Bambi does to chat with her family).
Here is a video from downtown Beirut in front of the Parliament with people chanting together the Lebanese anthem:
Here is another video somewhere in Beirut:
Of course, we are in the Middle East (even if Beirut is called the Paris of the Middle East). Burning tires is sadly always on the menu, even after the 103 fires:
Bambi’s heart goes to Lebanon… May justice and prosperity prevail. A beautiful country with its beautiful people deserves beautiful politicians.
They say we usually have the government that we are willing to tolerate. Lebanese people elected or re-elected many of these same politicians (some in power for decades). They lost their patience. Will a change take place? And what will happen after such a change?
