For the first time in 25 years, the new Lebanese government, under the leadership of Mr. Nawaf Salam, has approved the state’s monopoly of arms. Indeed, it dared to eliminate the pro-Hezbollah statement, “Army, people, resistance” (https://tinyurl.com/4w5838ww). Is this the beginning of an era of sovereignty, and hopefully eventually peace, in Lebanon?
To conclude this post, Bambi will share a Lebanese song by Mr. Nassif Zeytoun, entitled “Bi Salam” [In Peace]. It is a call to let people live in peace, without wars, destruction, and injustice. The Arabic lyrics are sub-titled in English, starting at 0.48 minutes.
Once again, NO to violence to any place of worship in Canada, including synagogues.
As Rabbi Lisa Grushcow expressed in her bilingual message: “enough in enough: stand against hate“.
In addition to Rabbi Grushcow’s Facebook written message, you may wish to watch her brief video, if you are interested (https://tinyurl.com/yt8mbs25).
A screenshot taken from the Facebook page of the Emanu-El-Beth Sholom temple.
Of note, Emanu-El-Beth Sholom temple is a beautiful community described as follows on its own website: “We draw on Judaism’s wisdom to nourish a spiritual, educational, and cultural community. We also reach beyond our walls, taking pride in building bridges, promoting dialogue, and creating a world of justice and peace: the work we call Tikkun Olam” (https://tinyurl.com/59tp6fn6; https://tinyurl.com/mr3pjvvf).
For those who do not know it, “tikkun” refers to “healing” in Hebrew. It literally means “repairing the world” [“Tikkun Olam”]. This beautiful Jewish concept is deeply rooted in social justice.
English lyrics follow this French song, which were written by Mr. Fady Bassy and Ms. Anne Marie Gaspard (https://shorturl.at/VzxzH). Happy Valentine’s Night/Day/Following Day… and entire year, hopefully filled with care, friendships, and kindness ❤️!
“Cherish and respect others with the same fervour and compassion that you afford yourself.
The consequences of our actions will inevitably mirror the intentions and efforts we invest.
In times of hardship and struggle,
When you find yourself navigating precarious situations,
Make the effort to act and you will observe the results of your actions.
Love will become your support and guiding force.
Embrace love in all its forms abundantly and without hesitation.
There will be moments when clarity eludes you,
Especially regarding the paths and diversions taken by those around you.
It’s challenging to understand the choices and journeys of others in your life.
Even when you struggle to grasp the situation,
The reasons and methods behind their actions may remain opaque.
In moments of self-doubt and uncertainty,
Remember to uphold this principle of loving others just as you love yourself.
For the outcomes we experience are directly linked to what we have chosen to cultivate.
In those challenging moments,
When life feels like a tightrope walk,
Make an effort and you will witness the implications of your choices.
Allow love to be your strength and safety net.
Endlessly dedicate yourself to love and kindness.
In the face of intolerance,
Maintain your faith and assurance within yourself.
Irrespective of the beliefs and values you hold.
If someone tries to silence or hinder you,
From expressing your truth and perspective,
Adhere to the principle of kindness and understanding.
If another individual hurts you,
Curses you or expresses disdain towards you,
Choose to respond with wisdom and restraint.
In opposition to the urge to retaliate,
That seeks confrontation and conflict,
The only viable way forward is to respond with love.
Continue to love others just as you love yourself.
For the fruits of our actions will always reflect the seeds we choose to sow.
In moments of struggle,
When life feels uncertain and precarious,
Put in the effort and observe the unfolding of love’s power.
Let love be the force that carries you through.
Devote yourself entirely to the practice of love”.
At age 20, Bambi had a job interview for her first one-year-long clinical internship in developmental psychology at a psychiatric unit of a children’s hospital in Montreal, Québec. Her potential supervisor surprised her with the following question: “what would you do if one of the patients is Israeli?” She cannot recall her precise words, but her reply was something along those lines: I will interact with him or her exactly in the same way as I will treat other patients. By this I mean with respect, humanity, and compassion. She recalls having seen a look of kind approval in the eyes of this man who later became her clinical mentor or supervisor.
For Bambi, treating people with the same respect and compassion is what is the most natural matter for her, whether the individual would have been born in Québec City, Tel Aviv, Damascus, Tehran, Washington, Gaza, Berlin, Oka, Kinshasa, Beirut, Moscow, Kiev, Yerevan, and/or Baku. What matters here is the person in front of us, not parts of his/her complex identity or even his/her most significant part of identity, whether ethnolinguistic, religious, sexually related or tribal of any sort. Same for political preferences or favourite TV stations (often related to the latter), etc.
How could it not be the case when Bambi’s deep values are those of the Red Cross she was a volunteer with in Beirut during her teenage years: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, universality, etc.? What does this concretely mean in the context of the Lebanese civil war? It means that an injured or a suffering person in front of you is vulnerable. He/she needs your voluntary service, regardless of being civilian, militia person (of any kind), Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian or Israeli? By principle, you treat any suffering individual with humanity, impartiality, and neutrality.
Bearing the above thoughts in mind, it is with great sadness that Bambi read today in international media, including the Times of Israel (https://tinyurl.com/53wy73e3), about “two nurses in Australia suspended for saying they would kill Israeli patients“. Scary to be medically treated one day by such nurses, whether you are of Israeli origins or not. So imagine if you happen to be an Israeli, Australian Jew, someone they might think you are associated with… or if you simply happen to have a Mediterranean look?
To conclude this post, why are we allowing ourselves to become too blinded by rage, hate, ignorance, or intolerance? Why aren’t we in contact with our humanity anymore? Without the latter, how can we thrive in a helping profession where we are supposed to know how to welcome others’ humanity and vulnerabilities? Bambi is asking all these questions and she was 10 years old when her Beirut was occupied by the Israelis. She is saying so, and like many readers of this blog, she remains concerned by war in her birth country. A war between Hezbollah and Israel, which is once again occupying Lebanon in its fight against a pro-Iranian Lebanese milita, which began attacking it it on October 8, 2023. Have these young nurses ever met an Israeli citizen in real life?
Bambi loves the guitar in all its shapes, sizes, or origins. The Middle Eastern oud is a variation of this magical musical instrument (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud).
To highlight the theme of this day, selected by God knows whom, Bambi wants to share a few songs by a highly gifted Lebanese singer. Her name is Ms. Shreen AbuSaad whom she randomly found on YouTube a while ago. She devoted a couple of posts to her talent.
The first song is a lovely Fairouz’s piece about the end of the summer season.
The second piece is performed acapella. Yes, here the guitar is just a picture :). This beautiful song, which Bambi adores, is by Ms. Yasmeen Ali from Egypt. It is about people who come into our lives, some touch our hearts deeply, and those who leave it. As the song goes, why are we so sad when this happens since life naturally keeps going on?
The third song does not need any introduction. It is sadly forever associated with war times. Yes, it is For Beirut [or Le Beirut in Arabic] by Fairouz.
As for the last song, it features the oud and it was composed by Mr. Ziad Rahbani. Yes, he is Fairouz’s own son! It is about Lebanon’s tough living conditions and it has a touch of social sarcasm.
Bambi hopes you will enjoy all these melodies. Long live the guitar!
After reading about this story (https://shorturl.at/K3f7G), Bambi could not help not to ask the two questions of the title. While waiting for an answer, especially with regard to the second one, here is a song for you, dear readers.
As reported by the BBC (https://shorturl.at/gepgq), “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented US President Donald Trump with a golden pager while visiting Washington DC. Netanyahu’s office said the pager represented “a turning point in the war” when Israel carried out a deadly operation against Hezbollah in September 2024. In the operation, Israel targeted pagers used by members of the Iran-backed militant group, causing them to explode. Dozens of people were killed and thousands injured in the attacks. Israel said it was tailored to target only Hezbollah members, but civilians were among the victims, Lebanese officials said” .
As a reminder, the massive pager attack mentioned above, which occurred on the 18th od September 2024, across Lebanon (and Syria), injured over 2,931 Hezbollah members and killed 37, including at least four civilians. Among the latter, there were sadly two children and two healthcare providers (https://shorturl.at/OeTRw).
Of note, the Ambassador of Iran in Lebanon was also badly injured in his eye and later said he was honoured, as per an older post shown below.
Regardless of being a militia member or a civilian, the injuries were simply horrible. How could they not be when people lost their eyes, hands, and even some their genital parts?
Whether we endorse the mission and practices of the Hezbollah or not (Bambi clearly does not), one cannot remain insensitive to the individual suffering of its members? First, they had their walkie talkie exploding. Then, their pagers.
So what can Bambi say about the civilians who died, the two children and the two adults? Can you imagine one drop of the ocean of sorrow of their loved ones?
Yes, this act of war was indeed a turning point in the fight between Hezbollah-Israel. Mr. Netanyahu is right about it. However, his gift to Mr. Trump is both heartless and far from being classy. Was it necessary?
Most importantly, how is this Israeli politician’s behaviour different from the odd and awful “gift bags” offered by Hamas to the innocent Israeli hostages upon their release (https://shorturl.at/BQzsI)?
Enough of dehumanization of others, even of enemies. Enough of eye for eye and tooth for tooth? What about respect and love for a change? And what about peace?
This post and the two preceding ones have a common double theme of affection and gratefulness in friendships, families, and in love.
Yes, love. Maybe because after all we are in the month of February : ).
Talking about love, have you ever felt that your heart, filled with passion and affection might “die… of love”?
Well, Mr. Charles Aznavour’s original French version of the song “Mourir d’aimer” is all about love, but not any type of love. It is specifically about an impossible love.
Maybe Aznavour’s famous song is tragic because it was originally inspired by a true case of a sad love story (https://shorturl.at/rNna8). Yet, his powerful lyrics easily make us forget about any heart’s tragedy. Indeed, his song can foster fantasies of nourishing and uplifting connections.
From the original French version of the song, Bambi particularly likes the following lyrics:
“Let’s leave the world to its problems. Hateful people facing each other. With their small ideas. Let’s die of love“.
As for the later English version shared below (along with German and Spanish), Bambi appreciates the following words:
“This world of ours does not grow younger, Some die of illness, some of hunger. I stand before eternity, to die of love.
That’s why I try to find a way now. I only live from day to day now. Because it’s possible you see, to die of love”.
May Mr. Charles Aznavour’s memory be eternal. As for Mr. Marc Hervieux, Canada/Québec are richer with his talent.
Long live music and long live love in all its forms and shapes, from universal love to mutual affections and/or shared passions.
