In my part of the world, Ariel Sharon was known as the “Butcher of Beirut.” Even though his bloody legacy began to be built decades before he led the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 – through years of killing Palestinians in British-controlled Palestine prior to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 – he will still be primarily remembered for the responsibility he bore for Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila Massacre in the Palestinian refugee camp of the same name. Continue reading “Burying the Butcher, not Burying the Hatchet”
Lebanon: A Gloomy Look Ahead
Sometimes, I think it would be easier to just re-post my thoughts and frustrations on Lebanon, again and again, in view of the current situation. I am not inclined to write a “Beirut Yet Again and Again” after the latest explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs on January 2, after having written “Beirut, Yet Again” (بيروت ايضا و ايضا) following the explosion in Downtown Beirut on December 27. The nature of the explosives may have differed and the location slightly shifted, yet nothing else has changed on the ground. Continue reading “Lebanon: A Gloomy Look Ahead”
Happy New Year from Eye on the East
From Byblos, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Eye on the East wishes you, your family and loved ones a Happy New Year!
If 2013 was not your year, may you make the best of what you’ve learned and lived through so as to make 2014 better. And if 2013 was good, I hope 2014 will be even better, in whatever way makes you happy.
Eye on the East has been a wonderful journey and I hope the best is yet to come. It is really thanks to each and every one of you that this journey continues, so thank you! I hope you will continue to follow, read, like, comment and recommend Eye on the East to your friends, as I will do my best to keep my eyes on this beautiful and ugly, fast and slow, exciting and depressing and anything you make of this east…so that nothing is left unsaid…
بيروت , ايضا و ايضا
الانفجار الاخيرالذي وقع في بيروت استهدف وزير المالية السابق محمد شطح, و أودى بحياة مرافقه ، الطالب محمد الشعار, واربعة مواطنين ابرياء لم تحدد هويتهم بعد. انه يوم حزين انهى سنة مضمخة بالدماء. و باستمرار العنف و الانفجارات في طراباس و الضاحية, و الاعتداءات المستمرة على الحدود اللبنانية السورية, فان سنة 2013 كانت سنة مأساوية. اخذا بالواقع اللبناني كان يمكن ان تكون اسوأ. Continue reading “بيروت , ايضا و ايضا”
Beirut, Yet Again
Yesterday’s explosion in Beirut – killing former Finance Minister Mohammad Chatah among around seven others who remain to be identified – is a sad way to end a year already painted blood-red. With the ongoing violence and bombings in Tripoli, Dahiyeh, and the recurrent attacks on Lebanon’s border with Syria, 2013 was a tragic year, but in true Lebanese style, it could have always been much worse… Continue reading “Beirut, Yet Again”
The Lebanese Army: Coming a long way and a long way left to go
In another of those instances of invaluable political lessons one learns along the way, there is one about the role of the army that I will never forget. The idea is that in so-called developed countries with long-established and solid democratic traditions, Continue reading “The Lebanese Army: Coming a long way and a long way left to go”
Honoring Mandela
The best way to honor Nelson Mandela isn’t by sharing his words, but by believing in them and breathing life into them. Madiba’s words were loud but his deeds were louder, and this is what made the difference he was prepared to die for…[1]
It is always hard to see great people depart. Part of it has to do with the feeling that they will take something away with them, what made them sources of inspiration and models to emulate. This, despite the fact that what makes them great in the first place is that their impact has already transcended their grasp and can hardly stop its course even after they are gone. Continue reading “Honoring Mandela”
Dubai: What’s behind the desert, the skyscrapers and everything in between
Note: This is the second of two posts recounting Eye on the East’s recent visit to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first post can be found here.
There always seems to be a certain buzz around Dubai. Whether it’s the next Guinness record it plans to break, the occasional regional political overture to supplement its financial clout or its most recent success in being chosen to host the 2020 World Expo trade convention. But little is said about what’s behind the buzz, if there is anything left to say at all. When I found myself in Dubai after all these years, I felt compelled to find out for myself whether there was something left to say at all. Continue reading “Dubai: What’s behind the desert, the skyscrapers and everything in between”
Tripoli: In Memory of a Lost Generation
It is an image I will never forget. A teenage girl, her gently rounded head dangling out of the car window; her long black hair swinging to the beat of the wind, caressing her young features, lifeless; her eyes slightly visible, as she gazed far ahead, at a future she could no longer dream of living. The girl and her family had been killed by Israeli shelling in South Lebanon during Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996. I revisited this image in a previous post but was unable to add the picture to the post, it hurt too much. Continue reading “Tripoli: In Memory of a Lost Generation”
Lebanon: Another battle in the long fight against corruption
Here’s what happened in Beirut yesterday, constituting yet another sad day for Lebanon’s freedom of the press, another badge of shame on the government and another example of the public sector’s impunity when it comes to dealing with its own citizens. Continue reading “Lebanon: Another battle in the long fight against corruption”
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