Things can change...

I did not believe that the current situation in Lebanon could suddenly change for the better..

But it did.

And we are now on a new path, leading to what may be the nicest summer in Lebanon since February 2005 where Hariri got killed in a huge car explosion. I will not remind you of the horrors and killings and fear and suffocation that we have been through since 2005, but will only say that we are finally breathing. We were living our lives with low oxygen, low expectation, low planning, low hope, low everything. and now we are given a new bottle of oxygen mixed with hope, strategies, planning, future, smiles and laughter. But we still need a shot of vitamines to energize us and make us truly believe that the bad part is over and we are in the good part now.

We also need to forgive the bad part. This is very difficult. But very crucial. It might take a while, and it might be the most difficult thing to do for those of us who have suffered the most. but it is needed. Peace cannot prevail without forviness.

I will start forgiving as of today, but will not forget what has happened to us, and will try to remember all of this and try to teach my kids to be better than us so that they are able to prevent history to repeat itself and maybe create a history that their kids could be proud of.

What is normal?

One week of horrors. One week of shooting, bombing, fleeing people, scared souls. One week of life and death for everybody.
This morning, we all went to school and work normally. That means we took the normal road as opposed to yesterday where half of the roads leading to the other side of Beirut where still blocked. We saw pseudo normal street life again. A bit of sand and debris still scattered here and there, but relative normal street picture. I walked on the corniche as I usually do and so did my fellow men.

I looked at the sea and stopped. This picture is wrong, fake, weird. We are returning to our daily routines as if nothing has happened, the airport is open and flights resumed last night. But somewhere behind this “normal” picture, something is broken, destroyed, ugly, sad, empty. More than 50 people have died in last week‘s fighting. Killed and burnt. More than 200 hundred are injured and will never forget what they went through. Homes and offices are destroyed, burnt down, leaving only black sod and desperation.

No, this picture is definitely not normal.
Lebanon is deeply scarred . This should never have happened. But it did.

The horrors of the last days are reminding us of the disastrous state of our country. It is a ticking bomb, filled with angry people with a lot of weapons. This is in itself a dangerous cocktail. And we are at the mercy of those who chose to wake the dormant monsters from their beauty sleep.

Beirut, may 8th

The morning after.. the streets are still very quiet in my neighbourhood. i woke up at 5:30 am to watch the news and listen to the radio. apart from squatteret fights in the streets of the capital, the situation is less dramatic than expected.. howeve the road to the airport is closed by huge sand piles and most probably will remain closed for some time. this is adding a more dramatic dimension to the crisis. one thing is to be under siege in our homes, but it is a totally other ballgame to denie us the access to the airport. the country will indeed be shut down.

still May 7th, 12:45 pm

The strike is postponed until further notice. Lack of protection of the demonstrators seems to be the main reason (?).
Snipers are being caught on top of buildings.
Stone fights are injuring journalists and civilians.
Gunfire heard several places in the city.
Road to the airport is blocked with piles of sand, burning tires and demonstrators.

The day is moving towards chaos.

Meanwhile, i am hearing birds singing on my street for the first time ever! This is the positive side of being under siege. No cars, no people. Just birds.

Beirut, may 7th

What we thought was a period of calm and rest culminated this morning in a massive anti-government strike and protest, paralyzing the city of Beirut and several hot places in Lebanon. The morning started with a mortal silence instead of the normal morning buz of people going to work and to school. Followed a huge roar of tanks roaming the streets and halting in every intersection of my area (Mar Elias), thus blocking every entry or exit to the neighbourhood. Next thing is the itching smell of burnt tires and the black smoke invading our skies. Few people are venturing outside the safe heaven of their homes, mostly young lads, tense, ready and eager to start a street fight. We are all home, waiting for this day to unravel itself and hopefuly nobody will die today as a result of the nightmarish state of Beirut.