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””
Visualizing the Nakba
These days, it isn’t only a picture, but an infographic, that is also worth a thousand words. In commemoration of the Nakba (catastrophe) on May 15, when the State of Israel was established in 1948 after over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homeland, here’s the Nakba itself in one infographic. Continue reading “Visualizing the Nakba”
Eye on the East wishes you a Happy New Year
Having welcomed 2015 from the agitated waters of the Mediterranean Sea, especially when looked upon from Beirut, Eye on the East wishes a Happy New Year to you and all your loved ones. May 2015 be all that you wish for and more. And may it be a much better year for those who truly deserve it, those who battle sickness, misery and indignity, who have lost loved ones or are waiting for them to come back, wherever they may be, for those who flee death and violence and for the children who suffer, for childhood should be about anything by suffering.
Continue reading “Eye on the East wishes you a Happy New Year”
A walk beyond the Berlin Wall
Note: This is the second of two posts recounting Eye on the East’s recent visit to Berlin. The first post can be found here.
“You were just there, I was there, and now you say you may move there. Why is it that everybody’s in Berlin these days?”
“Someone told me that Berlin has the same energy and vibe today that Beirut had five years ago. I guess that may explain it…”
So I finally made it to Berlin, one of those cities high on my travel list for many reasons and no reason whatsoever. Coming from Beirut and after having visited Belfast last year (see Eye on the East’s account of Belfast here and here), I’m starting to believe my travel priorities are mandated by alphabetical preference or by a hidden fascination to explore cities that are quite like my own…
N for Nasrani
During a trip to Jordan in 2008, I visited the site where it is believed that Jesus Christ was baptized. As I headed to the banks of the Jordan River, a group of women solemnly made their way back from the pilgrimage. They were clearly Christian, given the particular headscarf they wore and prayers they whispered. They prayed in silence but with a passion and fervor that was hard not to notice. Continue reading “N for Nasrani”
This is Gaza
After the pain from the heartbreaking pictures coming out of Gaza and the frustration towards a world seemingly unwilling to stop the bloodshed, what is left for you and me to do, for Gaza? If you ask me, I say what is left is for us to keep giving it a voice… Continue reading “This is Gaza”
Three Years and Counting: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, in Pictures
It has been three years already: Eye on the East has still not run out of things to say because Lebanon and the Arab World has never been so full of things to talk about. But since 2011, it has been each and every one of you, the readers, followers and supporters that have helped in keeping this going and made it worthwhile…. And for that, I thank you all.
Continue reading “Three Years and Counting: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, in Pictures”
March 14 is Coming to Town
Something tells me that I wasn’t the only one that first gasped, was later amazed, laughed and then brushed aside the news that a delegation from March 14 would be going to Gaza. But on November 27, a delegation of journalists and three MPs went indeed, as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people in view of the latest Israeli assault. Continue reading “March 14 is Coming to Town”
Gaza: When Will the Guns Fall Silent?
With Gaza no longer in the headlines, it may seem as if nothing ever happened there.
But for the eight days of Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, we all discussed the futility of declaring victory for either side, because so long as innocent civilians died and the possibility of such attacks recurring remained, there could be no real winner. We were angered by Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians, children and journalists, wondering how their deaths would strengthen the security of the Jewish state. Continue reading “Gaza: When Will the Guns Fall Silent?”
Eye on the East 