From Tripoli I write you--a short trip for family reasons has come at the right time when I really longed to be back to beloved Lebanon. What can I say about how things are from inside here?....
Well, let's just say that there is fear; it's amazing how when we're away from Lebanon we tend to synthesize news and analyze opinions and speeches in almost a vacuum...and definitely our discourse has been bold on this blog. Writing from here...it all feels different.
The Lebanese people never fail to amaze me. We have such an appetite for life. The night I arrived home, a bomb blasted in Bouchrieh; the same night, my family danced joyfully for my return until the early hours of the morning...This is how we are. This is how it was during the war...and after the war. We lived through it and we overcame it when it ended. We hate defeat; we love life.
On the political level...there is fear and that is saddening and definitely a striking contrast from the spirit a month ago. We don't leave our homes at night. Cars that have any blue signs on them or pictures of those affiliated with Hariri have been a target of sabotage and attacks lately. More and more people are being advised not to wear the blue sign, symbolizing the call for the truth of Hariri's assassination. Moreover, there has been numerous skirmishes and violent confrontations here and there, except that they don't get broadcast....Tripoli is almost divided: a section that has former Minister Jisr's and Hariri's pictures and the other Karami's...
People, yes, have gotten out of their silence and our family gatherings are all about politics, but still such talk is still bound within four walls...the culture of "fear" is still clutching on to us and not letting go...we're scared of speaking out loud about the "others"; we still whisper at times... We suspect that this person or that might be someone "affiliated" and "is recording everything we utter." We talk of prisoners who have been armed and released north....
This is a glimpse of things from here--not a political analysis, but a description of the landscape from the heart to the heart.
I will write soon...
Narakum.
"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."
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3 comments:
Thanks for that post...it's kind of depressing but I guess reality bites. I've been asked by a Western production house to find 'characters' in Lebanon who are being influenced by the recent changes. Even better, people who are part of political groups. If anyone, has a story, please email me. Thanks
Oops, forgot to include my email. By the way, the charactes should reflect what is happening in the country. My email is: am_hamdan@yahoo.com
Thanks for keeping us informed. Stay safe.
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