It wasn’t long ago when Lebanon seemed absolutely obsessed with setting world records. We had the biggest hummous dish, the biggest tabboule, the longest kebab and largest glass of wine. There also was the largest ceramic plate, largest dabke and largest national flag. I remember seeing a young bride desperately trying to surround her entire village with her dress to set the world record for the longest bridal train, but I’m not sure if that made it to the book… Continue reading “And Yet Again, Bigger Isn’t Always Better”
Living Like There’s a Tomorrow
If we can rarely enjoy a day in Lebanon without countless and extensive electricity cuts, can we ever expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel?
A day in a life of a Lebanese is a dichotomy between everything that is wrong in our small little world and every way to make it better. The light at the end of the tunnel is our hope for the better life we aspire, our dream of the better place we deserve, our faith in the good will of everyone else to make it happen. Continue reading “Living Like There’s a Tomorrow”
No River to Put Out the Flames
During the past year, the Arab Revolutions have seized our news headlines and captured our imaginations. We have been taken aback by the unprecedented tempo of change, entangled with the human toll that paved the way for the downfall of dictators. Continue reading “No River to Put Out the Flames”
Father, Where Art Thou?
I have been meaning to talk to you. Oh, if I could only talk to you. If you could only see what is happening. I am sure you can, wherever you are. See how everything seems to be falling apart. Everything that you built, everything that you gave me, what you asked me to take care of before you left, what belongs to us. Nothing seems to be like it used to… Continue reading “Father, Where Art Thou?”
Political Partying
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)”
Eye on the East 