You may think this is fiction, but it’s not. You may wish this were fiction, but you know better….especially if you have any sense of what the Middle East and Arab World has been, is as we speak and seems adamant on remaining – on the same course of hopelessness and injustice – for years to come. Continue reading ““Gaza: I saw the tunnel, he saw the darkness at the end of it””
As a Woman…
Note: Initially posted last year, I re-post the below here today again, on this year’s International Women’s Day, unchanged, and will probably do so again, for many years to come…. An Arabic translation can be found here.
Prisoners to Oblivion II: the never ending tragedy of the Lebanese disappeared and arbitrarily detained in Syria
Note: this is the second and long overdue post on the Lebanese disappeared and arbitrarily detained since 1975. The first post, Prisoners to Oblivion I – posted by Eye on the East in 2012 – can be found here. Not surprisingly, no progress in this tragic issue has happened since.
When a 10-year sit-in comes to an end without achieving its main objectives, it doesn’t mean that the sit-in has failed. It simply means that those who were supposed to deliver have failed, terribly, horribly and shamefully. On December 10, the families of Lebanese disappeared and detained since 1975 (many of which are believed to be arbitrarily detained in Syria) decided to end one of the longest, if not the longest, sit-in in Lebanese history. They decided to keep a symbolic tent in place – in Beirut Downtown’s Gebran Khalil Gebran’s garden – where they steadfastly remained for 10 long years, announcing they would continue their struggle through different means. Continue reading “Prisoners to Oblivion II: the never ending tragedy of the Lebanese disappeared and arbitrarily detained in Syria”
ՀԱՅՈՑ ՑԵՂԱՍՊԱՆՈՒԹՅԱՆ 100-րդ ՏԱՐԵԼԻՑ
Armenian Genocide Centennial
“In the implementation of its scheme to settle the Armenian Question through annihilation of the Armenian race, the Turkish government did not allow itself to be distracted.” – Paul Wolff-Metternich, German [Turkey’s ally at the time] Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1915–1916).
“Unfortunately, our wartime leaders, imbued with a spirit of brigandage, carried out the law of deportation in a manner that could surpass the proclivities of the most bloodthirsty bandits. They decided to exterminate the Armenians, and they did exterminate them.” – Mustafa Arif Bey, Interior Minister of the Ottoman Empire (1917–1918).
…أنا كإمرأة
Note: This is the Arabic translation of As a Woman, posted on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2015. The translation also appeared in Al Rawaby newspaper. The celebration ended, but the need to keep on fighting for our rights remains throughout the year…
ملاحظة : هذه هي الترجمة العربية لمقالة As a Woman التي نشرت في يوم المرأة العالمي. هذه المقالة قد نشرت في جريدة الروابي في زحلة في 26-03-2015. الاحتفال انتهى ولكن الحاجة إلى النضال من أجل حقوقنا تبقى كل السنة… Continue reading “…أنا كإمرأة”
As a Woman…
As a woman, I’ve always been unsure as to what I am required to do on International Women’s Day. Take to the streets in song and dance, post a series of pictures displaying the best of my ‘womanness’ (however that may be) or perhaps wear a quaint little dress to receive well-wishers over a cup of coffee and sweets of my own making. Continue reading “As a Woman…”
Remembering the Armenian Genocide
“Go ahead, destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” – William Saroyan, Armenian-American dramatist and writer
April 24 is considered by Armenians worldwide as the day in which Ottoman authorities unleashed what would become the first genocide of the 20th century. 99 years later, Turkey refuses to recognize the genocide. While 99 year later, Armenians refuse to forget it. Continue reading “Remembering the Armenian Genocide”
Dignity is sometimes too much to ask
You may be easily able to imagine yourself reading a book in a car or eating in a car, but could you imagine living in a car or even dying in a car?
Thinking about Palestine
There is never a good or right time to talk about Palestine. A cause, a dream, a responsibility, a defeat, a crime and a badge of shame on the world, which has affected, been used and abused, and shaped a considerable part of the Middle East’s contemporary history. As the situation in the occupied territories continues to evolve, or rather deteriorate, and with it the chances of a viable peace, keeping Palestine in the public discourse almost seems like a constant necessity to keep the cause alive. Continue reading “Thinking about Palestine”
When Poverty is so Dire…
When I used to look at Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, Brazil’s infamous shanty towns, dotting the city’s lush mountains overlooking its glorious shores, it was difficult to imagine the existence of such dire poverty. I had never seen anything like that anywhere I had been, nor had I seen anything like it in Lebanon. It seemed like an irreversible curse that a country, blessed with such beauty and with a people so happy and content with the simple pleasures in life, had to endure such injustice and inequality. Continue reading “When Poverty is so Dire…”
Eye on the East 