Monthly Archives: March 2012

Lebanese Authorities Do Not Allow Madonna Concert

According to Al Nahar, Lebanese authorities refused to grant Imad Qanso, a regular fixture for concerts and events in Lebanon, permisssion to have a Madonna concert in Lebanon.

The cause for their refusal was, according to them, Madonna’s statements that the biggest portion of her concert’s revenue goes to the Israeli department of defense.

I’m not a fan but I know people who are actually traveling to watch her perform in UAE and Turkey and who were asking how come she didn’t make a pitstop for a gig in Lebanon.

Either way, I hardly think religious active groups and the BDS would have let the concert be had Madonna been allowed. And while I’m more inclined to see the point of view of the refusal in this case, I still disagree with it. She may be pro-Israeli but she shouldn’t be forbidden from singing here.

This is Not A Movie – This is Syria

To affix to the previous post about a year in the life of a Syrian revolutionary, I found this video fitting to showcase the struggle of the Syrian people – politics aside.

Your stance regarding the Syrian matter cannot be how it reflects on your country. It should be a reflection of your humanity because you cannot see such a video and not be shaken to your core.

And if you still feel like nothing’s wrong in Syria, then you are simply blinded and lack basic human compassion.

 

A Year in the Life… Of A Syrian Revolutionary

Foreword: 

This is a guest post by a Syrian friend who wishes to remain anonymous. The purpose of such a post is to showcase the side of the Syrian revolution that none of us stop to think about. We all go into the political rhetoric of what the Syrian revolution means to us. We never stop at what the revolution means to its people. 

This is a story of one of them.

I opened my room’s window today, just like every other day.

But today had a different taste, a different vision, even a different sound.

I sat and tried to write something. I couldn’t. I wrote and wrote but was never convinced in what came up on paper. So I left the writing process simmer as usual. I had no idea what I could say after 366 days.

It’s been a year on the revolution of a people, a revolution on tyranny, on underdevelopment and poverty.  It is a revolution on a barren life, with all the intricacies entailed. We’re sick of dryness – the land has to breathe. The bodies of our sons will open up like the most beautiful of flowers and glow in sublime colors under the sun.

It’s been a year and I still hear of cities and villages I had no idea existed on a map. It’s been a year and we’ve started to know Syria anew, as if we were newly born. Throughout this year, we were surprised by some regions that we always considered irrelevant such as the Syrian countryside, which we always considered beneath us, which we always misjudged along with its people. The revolution started and grew out from the countryside and spread to all the regions of my country, leading to beautiful protests with their fiery slogans and chants.

We are revolting on misconceptions and false convictions. It is a revolution to correct our sight – to remove the film that has blinded our eyes and hearts.

Syria needs compassion… before freedom.

If we were not compassionate towards each other, the purpose of the revolution becomes null.  But that isn’t possible. After all that I’ve lived through for the past weeks, when my hometown became a home for all the families leaving their homes seeking fragile safety, I touched compassion in the eyes of everyone I saw. My grandma’s house, which always welcomed people in happy occasions, now fits entire families seeking shelter. I felt that compassion has been reawakened after a long sleep and I’ve lived the diversity that people have carried from their various regions: different cultures, different opinions, different dialect.

But what surprised me the most was their resiliency and how fast they got accustomed to their new situation – not only because we helped them but because they wanted to.

Syria – that painting that had dust settle on its stones, so meticulously built one top of the other, for years is now dusting it off… finally.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

The original arabic version is as follows:


 ..فتحتُ نافِذةَ غُرفَتي اليومَ .. كَما كُلِّ يَوم
 ..وَلكن لِليومِ شيءٌ , طَعمٌ , رُؤيَةٌ , و حتى صَوتٌ مُختَلِف
جَلَستُ لِكِتابَةِ شيءٍ ما .. لَم أَستطع .. كَتبت وَ حَذَفت .. وَ تَركتُ مُشيرَةَ الكِتابَةِ تَنتَظِر وَتَنتَظر كَعادَتِها .. لا أَدرِ مَا الذي يُمكِنُني كِتابَتُهُ بَعدَ 366 يَوم ..؟! 

 .. مَضى عَامُ عَلى ثَورَةِ الشّعب .. ثَورَةُ عَلى الظُلمِ .. عَلى التَخَلُف وَ الفَقر إنَّها ثَورَةُ عَلى الحَياةِ القَاحِلة .. بِكُلِ مَا تَحمِلُهُ فِي تَفاصِيلِها .. لَقَد سَئِمنا القَحطَ وَالجَفاف .. وَ آنَ لِلأرِضِ أَن تَرتَوي ..  سَتَتَفَتَحُ أَجسادُ أَبناءِنا شَقائِقَ نُعمانٍ شَديدَةِ الحُمرة .. 

َعام مضى وَ أنا مازِلتُ أَسمَعُ بِأسماءِ مُدُنٍ وَ قُرى جَديدَةٍ .. لَم أَكن أَعرِفُ أَنّها مَوجودَةٌ عَلى الخارِطة .. عَامٌ مَضى وَ بَدأنا نَتَعَرَفُ عَلى سُورية مِن جَديد وَ كَأنّنا ولِدنا تَوّاً .. 
خِلالَ هَذا العام تَفاجَئنا بِتلكَ المَناطِقِ التي لَطالما اعتَبرناها مُتَخَلِفة .. كَالأريافِ السورية .. وَ التي لَطالَما ظَلمناها وَ ظَلمنا أَهلَها .. لأنَّ الثورة انطَلَقت وَ نَشَطت فِي الريف .. وَأَبدَعَت مَناطِقُهُ المُختَلِفة الممتَدة عَلى رُقعَةِ هذا الوَطن .. فِي هُتافاتِ المُظاهَراتِ وَ لافِتاتِها .. 
ثَورَتُنا هِي ثَورَةُ عَلى المَفاهيم وَ المُسَلَمات وَ المُعتَقَداتِ الخاطِئة التي تُطلَقُ جُزافاً ..هِي ثَورَةٌ شَامِلة لِتصحيحِ البَصر .. وَ إزالَةٍ لِتكَ الغَشاوةِ التي أَعمَت لَيس فَقط أعيُنَنَا بَل قَلبَنا ..! 

 .. سُـــورية بَدها حِنيّة .. قَبلَ الحُريّة
إذا لَم نَكن نَملِكُ مِنَ الحَنانِ ما يَكفي عَلى بَعضِنا .. فَإنَّ الغايَةَ مِنَ الثورة تُساوي صِفر .. وَلكن هذا لَيس مُمكِناً وَ ذلك لما لَمَستُهُ فِي الأسابيعِ المَاضية فِي مَدينَتي التي استَضافَ أَهلُها كَباقي المَناطِقِ الهادِئة عَائِلاتٍ مِن المَناطِقِ الساخِنة .. فِي بَيتِ جَدّتي الذي لَطالَما اتسَعَ لِلكَثير مِنَ النّاس فِي المُناسَباتِ الفَرِحَة .. اتسعَ الآن لِعائِلاتٍ لا أَدري كَم .. عَدَدُ أَفرادِها .. أَحسَستُ أنّ المَحَبّة استَفاقَت مِن جَديدٍ بَعدَ نَومٍ دَامَ طَويلاً .. وَعِشتُ التنوّعَ الذي يَحمِلُهُ الأشخاصُ مَعَهم مِن بيئاتِهم المُختَلِفة .. الثّقافَةِ المُختَلِفة وَ الرأي المُختَلِف وَ اللّهجَةَ المُختَلِفة ..لَكن الذي أَدهَشَني كَيفَ استَطاعوا التأقلُمَ مَع هذا الوَضعِ الجَديد ..! لَيس فَقط لأنّنا ساعَدناهُم وَ هذا مَا تَوّجَبَ عَلينا .. وَ لَكن لأنّهُم أَرَادوا ذَلك 

سُــــ ــورية .. تِلكَ اللّوحَة التي تََكَدَسَ الغُبارُ فَوقَ أَحجارِها المُلَوّنةِ المَرصوفَةِ بِعنايةٍ فَائقة .. نَفَضتِ الغُبارَ عَن أَكتافِها .. أَخيراً ..

Lebanon’s Chicken Hit With Deadly Virus

I actually come from a family who owns chicken farms both from my paternal and maternal sides. I grew up around family members highly involved with the little creatures, although I tend to stay away from anything I am not obliged to do with their regards.

Every month or so, my family has to bring in over 125,000 chicken to our farms and get them to grow to full size before they’re taken out and turned into food. Recently, there has been panic about a virus that has been blowing in from the Northern parts of the country, killing thousands of poultry in its path. My uncle likes to call it: the plague of the chicken.

I don’t mean to get anyone to freak out, not with all the rotten meat and cheese frenzy, but I have yet to see any major news outlet talk about the matter so I figured I would.

Only yesterday, one of the farms next to my uncle’s in our hometown, had ten thousand chicken die because of the virus. My uncle was lucky enough to have his current flock removed before the virus hit. My maternal uncle, however, may not be as lucky. Extra measures are currently being taken to ensure his 100,000 birds do not suffer dramatic losses as a result of the virus. Despite those measures, over 8000 have died overnight yesterday.

The “silver-lining” is that with this virus killing the chicken, the odds of it getting transmitted to people by consuming chicken are next to nothing.

However, it will lead to drastic shortages in chicken meat in the Lebanese market. In two short days, the price according to which my uncle’s chicken were sold jumped more half a dollar from $1.90 a kilo to $2.5 and it’s been increasing since then. Add this to another factor eating away at the wage increase.

With all the rotten meat, rotten cheese and now dead chicken, perhaps observing lent was actually a good idea this year? ‘Tis a good time to be a “devout” Christian apparently – or vegan.

Nobody Knows – Lori McKenna Track Cut By Carrie Underwood For Blown Away?

According to the Boston Globe, Carrie Underwood has cut the Lori McKenna track titled Nobody Knows but has yet to release it on any album.

We know Lori McKenna has most probably landed a cut on Carrie’s new album. So could Nobody Knows be the one for Blown Away?

I found a demo floating around by Lori McKenna of the song and it’s quite different from the sound Carrie has been known for. It’s more folky and more subdued. I quite like it, actually, and would like to hear Carrie’s interpretation of it because it would surely take it to the next level. And with a song like this, the next level would be simply spectacular.

Let me tell you, the lyrics are great.

You can listen to Nobody Knows here:

Let me know what you think? Would this be something you’d like Carrie to record?