If politics is said to run in Lebanese blood and party is said to be among the things they do best, shouldn’t political parties be the next best thing the Lebanese can do? Continue reading “Political Partying”
Small Acts of Resistance
Acts of resistance may sometimes be small, but their consequences are sometimes immeasurable.
Resistance can be national or local. It can span across years or simply months. Resistance can be characterized by its political affiliations or religious undertones. It can take place on higher ground, the high seas or the online world. Resistance can be peaceful or violent. It can earn the brave a slap in the face or push them to perform the ultimate sacrifice. Resistance can be of massive proportions, but it can also consist of a simple and small act. Continue reading “Small Acts of Resistance”
The Road to Secularism – Part III
If all roads lead to Rome, is Lebanon’s road to secularism doomed from the start?
When I look back at the beginning of our road to secularism, I see an empty path that slowly gained loyal adherents along the way. I see glimmers of hope from those that believed that one day, no matter how far, they would not be forced to go to Cyprus to have a civil marriage. Continue reading “The Road to Secularism – Part III”
In Memory of the Children
We meet them after they have given the world their last breadth. Their bodies bearing witness to what they could fight against no longer, for those who only dared to look. Their eyes bearing witness to their innocence and youth, for those who could only see. We become surrounded by their images, their stories and their dreams. We feel we have known them and that part of us has died with them. We feel we are one and the same and that we must go on so that their deaths not be in vain. These are the children and the young revolutionaries of the Middle East… Continue reading “In Memory of the Children”
I Live…(The Proud Version)
- I live in a country where a hometown means that everyone knows who I am, what my father does, where my mother is originally from, what car my uncle drives, and who my cousins are married to all at once Continue reading “I Live…(The Proud Version)”
I Live…(The Dismal Version)
- I live in a country that boasts one of the world’s earliest examples of urban planning yet lacks any such planning to speak of today Continue reading “I Live…(The Dismal Version)”
The Road to Secularism – Part II
As someone who believes that one must judge others not only by their words, but also by their actions, and for the sake of my credibility and convictions, I woke up on Sunday, March 20, 2011 with the intention of ‘putting my money where my mouth is.’ And so I joined what turned out to be the largest demonstration to date, of tens of thousands of fellow citizens, calling for the downfall of the confessional regime in Lebanon. Continue reading “The Road to Secularism – Part II”
The Road to Secularism
If you happen to be in the Middle East these days without punching your fist in the air, calling for the downfall of someone or something, then something must be wrong. To be fair, the people of every single Arab country (and Iran) are/would be completely justified in doing so. Yet in the chaos and confusion of it all, there was one single nation standing out, that was apparently on the sidelines of all the action: Lebanon. Continue reading “The Road to Secularism”
“When will we become Lebanese?”
From Bouazizi to Tahrir Square; trying to keep up between Manama, Benghazi, Tehran, and Sanaa; and before we turn our walls into live feeds of events in the countries that remain, I think of Lebanon… Continue reading ““When will we become Lebanese?””
Eye on the East 