Monthly Archives: February 2013

The Blinded Fools of Lebanon

Don’t you find some Lebanese reactions to things in this country overly odd?

I can somehow fathom some religious extremists taking it to the streets in order to protest the murder of their religious leaders even though I’m against it.
I can somehow fathom political militia groups blocking roads to get a boost in tactical power even though I’m definitely against it as well.

What I can’t fathom is how some people can be more than convinced that the best way to stand up for the Lebanese army is to block the road for everyone else and create a new mess for the army to clean up.

You try to tell them so. They say you’re not patriotic. I guess we can say now we’ve heard it all in this country.

Do you want to support the Lebanese army and have the urge to show it? How about you do so in productive ways like – say – enroll? But weren’t you the same people, like me, praying and crossing every single digit in your body so they cancel that mandatory army enrollment by the time you turn eighteen?

Those barricades blocking roads in support for our army are a mere pre-election political ploy and people eat them up. Politicians, notably Christian ones, can’t wait to come on TVs and point fingers and say: See those? Those are the people you shouldn’t trust. See us? You should vote for us all the time because with us the army is always protected.

The truth, though, couldn’t be farther away from that notion.

For instance, the people of my district, Batroun, decided that – similarly to the people of Sarba – they were going to block the highway yesterday in solidarity with the army and both its new martyrs Pierre Bechaalani and Ibrahim Zahraman.
I have to ask the people of my district one simple question: where was all this army love when one army man of our own, Samer Hanna, was gunned down and murdered like a dog, his killer never to see a jail cell?

Oh wait. What was Samer Hanna doing flying over parts of Lebanon?

Where was this fear for the army’s sake when people like Francois el Hajj, who defended the entire country during the clashes of Nahr el Bared uttering his infamous sentence: they either come out of that camp in body bags or in handcuffs. was blown up to little pieces?

Hold up again. What business was it for Francois el Hajj to snoop around?

Wasn’t the army threatened back then too? Is it truly us supporting our army when we are 1) hypocritical about it, 2) not knowing we are hypocritical about it and 3) not even knowing how to support the army?

Our army has been taught a few lessons over the past few years.

Chapter one: Samer Hanna – the South is off limits.
Chapter two: Francois el Hajj – the army is only allowed a very limited leeway.
Chapter three: The Sunni Mufti – parts of the North are off limits.
Chapter four: Pierre and Ibrahim – Arsal is another no-no.

Between chapters one, two, three and four, our politicians had differing opinions. Some of their supporters, who never see themselves as blinded because God forbid their politician of choice ever make a mistake, had differing opinions as well.

The army man who died in chapter one cannot compare to those who died in chapter four. And vice versa.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: emotional upheaval towards the army in this country is an auction. Fools are those who actually fall for it – and fools are many. Because the blood of Samer Hanna doesn’t serve some people politically so it’s never – ever – mentioned.

But I will never forget that man and how some politicians who can’t wait to flaunt army love today were the first ones to dismiss his murder a few years ago.

And who’s the victim always in this? Our army. So you support him by blocking roads and feel good about it because your twisted imposed logic tells you so. Because protesting against those “extremists” by doing exactly what those “extremists” do is not extremism and terrorism at all.

The fact of the matter is “justice” in this country is only applied to those who are weak. So when our army barges into Arsal to capture those killers and justifiably so, I really hope someone out there remembers that there are other army killers out there and that there are army martyrs who are now forgotten, who didn’t have roads blocked for their sake and whose blood has gone cheaper than dirt.

Rest in peace Samer Hanna. Every day of hypocrisy, especially from the people of your region, is another nail in your coffin.

Lebanon’s Arguileh Militia

Soon after I blogged about how the Beiruti restaurant Enab, situated in Gemmayze, was violating the smoking ban despite stickers announcing the place as a non-smoking restaurant (link with pictures), IndyAct Lebanon decided to take matters in their own hands after a growing number of complaints regarding that particular restaurant were met unanswered by our tourism police.

As I said, it’s obvious there’s an under-the-table deal somewhere that benefits off our lungs. Anything for that extra money.

IndyAct decided to use their office space, which is ideally situated next to Enab, in order to set up a huge banner announcing to people who frequent Gemmayze that the restaurant nearby is violating the law and that it is not, in fact, a smoke free place as it advertises. The people of IndyAct were surprised to find their premises violated soon after by employees of Enab who took down the poster. Apparently they wanted to break the law in peace.

And it has all been documented on video:

Soon after the incident, IndyACT procured an official permit from the municipality of Beirut to set up the poster that Enab’s employees forcibly removed. Let’s hope those employees don’t break yet another law by removing the poster.

Enab Gemmayze Smoking Ban

 

It is said apathy is the weakest point in applying the law. It is our duty as Lebanese to make sure our law is enforced, people constantly said. But I have to ask: what’s the point?

When restaurants such as Enab break the law so flagrantly and have no problem breaking it even more to cover up the initial violation fully knowing they won’t face any repercussions whatsoever, what’s the point?

The more I call that magical 1735 number, the less cooperation I find from the tourism police whose job, paid for by my taxes, is to ensure such laws are enforced. The smoking ban is dead, despite some politicians wanting you to believe otherwise.

The amount of restaurants violating the law today is way too big to count. There isn’t a restaurant in Jbeil or Batroun or Tripoli – the places I spend most of my time in, apart from very few select places like Crepaway, which is actually observing the law. And they don’t even care about it. When you ask them about the smoking ban they reply: “that little thing? No, there isn’t such a thing over here. Do you want an arguileh, sir?”

 

The solution that I have found suits me best is to reward those few restaurants that are actually observing the law by frequenting them more often. On the other hand, I have decided that when I visit a restaurant that turns out to be violating the law, I will simply leave making sure they know all the smoke in the air is the reason for my departure. They want to make money off arguileh? Well, it won’t be my money they’ll be taking.

While our minister of tourism panics over the decreasing number of tourists visiting our beautiful country and sets up promotions to boost the sector, I have to wonder: how can you expect those people who come from much more organized countries to visit a place where even arguile has its own mini-militia?

I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I will personally never visit Enab, Jbeil’s Feniqia (link) or any restaurant that violates the ban for that matter again. I invite you to do the same.

 

Lebanese Anthony Touma Rocks France’s The Voice

Anthony TOuma The Voice France

Young Lebanese musician Anthony Touma took it to the stage of France’s version of The Voice – titled in typical French as La Plus Belle Voix – to become the first candidate of the show’s second season that gets the approval of all four judges, causing them all to turn their chairs to face him signaling them wanting him after his rendition of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. He was even introduced as Lebanese, his nationality front and center.

Apparently Anthony Touma had attempts at breaking into the Lebanese music scene but they weren’t very successful which caused him to leave the country to France where he pursued the dream. He is now the second Lebanese to be on the show after Johnny Maalouf (link) almost reached the quarter finals last year.

I will update this post when I stumble on a video of the performance that is functional in Lebanon. If you are in France, this will work for you (link).

Update: the video –

However, as a testament to how good Anthony Touma was, he trended on Twitter in France minutes after his performance:

Anthony Touma The Voice France Twitter - 1

And he eventually trended worldwide on Twitter as French people spoke about him him and Lebanese people gushed over how proud he made them:
Anthony Touma The Voice France Twitter - 3

Notable Lebanese journalists and entertainers also tweeted their support of Anthony Touma:

Anthony Touma The Voice France Twitter - 2

“Me who thought Billy Jean was American when it came from Beirut”

I’m really glad that Anthony got his break into the music business, something he would have never gotten had he stayed here. He now joins a long list of Lebanese shining abroad, bettering our image as a people and making us proud with what they do (link).

You can follow Anthony on Twitter (here).

When Lebanese Army Martyrs Fall to Protected Terrorism

Pierre Bechaalani, one of the fallen men in Ersal

Pierre Bechaalani, one of the fallen men in Ersal

The news of the death of two Lebanese army members surfaced yesterday after a squad tried to capture a terrorist and outlaw in the Bekaai town of Ersal.

Pierre Bechaalani and Ibrahim Zahraman are two men who, by all standards, are heroes. They were both fathers in their early 30s. Who among us can really tell their sons and daughters that their fathers’ death truly didn’t go in vain in this country? We can’t.

It doesn’t matter what those terrorists are. I don’t care if they are Syrian rebels. I don’t care if they are Lebanese nobodies. I don’t care about their sect, their political affiliation, their family name. Whoever they are, whatever they do, the only thing befitting them is the death penalty.

Their stance from the Syrian revolution doesn’t even matter. I don’t care that they are rebels. Syria is slightly to the East. This is Lebanon. Go fight over there and leave us in peace here. Any Syrian rebel or regime-enthusiast who decides to enact their ideology on Lebanese soils should not be tolerated.

The even bigger problem is that their sect, their political affiliation and their family name will not only protect them from this, it will protect them for years to come. I hope I turn out to be mistaken.

That’s how cheap the blood of our army members goes these days. Pierre and Ibrahim, and many other them of our army’s fallen soldiers such as those of Nahr el Bared, are not just the fallen men of a Ersal clash. They are the fallen men of a state in our country that perpetuates a situation that allowed them to die and will allow other soldiers like them to die in the same exact way.

We all know how much outlaws are harbored in the town of Ersal. But they are allowed to remain there untouched. Perhaps it’s time for a major clean-up?

Whenever the Lebanese army faces such horrible situations and loses men, the eternal debate among Lebanese of who loves our army more erupts because we are only good at patronizing each other on that matter as if supporting our army is a national auction. The truth is that our army is in dire need for better weapons and equipments in order for things like the Ersal clash not to be repeated again and for children, like the sons and daughters of Pierre and Ibrahim, not to lose their fathers to some maniac who believes he will never face the law.

May all the fallen heroes of our army rest in peace.

Saad Hariri & Lebanon’s Civil Marriage

Following more than two hours of questions and dodging answers, you could say that Saad Hariri’s first interview in a long time came down to one single moment that everyone was waiting for.

It wasn’t his proposal for the electoral law. The ship has sailed on that. It wasn’t about when he would come back to the country. We all know it will be soon as elections are starting to knock on our doors. Many tuned in to see how the man would look like after all this time. Many were surprised to find his speech flowing smoothly. Many, such as myself, were not impressed with the quality of the discourse.

But we can all agree that Saad Hariri shined when the moment called for it.

I am not usually a fan of Mr. Hariri’s antics. But I must give the man credit where credit is due. Because the moment was, by Lebanese standards, historic.

Saad Hariri did the following:

  • He defied his sect’s religious reference and that ridiculous fatwa barring any politician from supporting civil marriage under the threat of apostasy.
  • He went against the majority of his base by supporting a marriage that they are against.
  • He became the first major Sunni leader to come out in support of civil marriage, breaking a taboo among the Muslim ruling class of Lebanon by advocating for something that goes beyond Islam.

That wasn’t enough for some Lebanese. The moment Saad Hariri supported civil marriage, they accused him of doing so for electoral purposes. Color me confused but how is defying your entire voting base on a crucial issue such as this beneficial electorally? This is courage that I haven’t seen in a Lebanese politician in a long, long time.

But I digress.

I, as a Lebanese first and foremost, am proud of the stance that Saad Hariri took regarding the issue of civil marriage. I, as a Lebanese Christian, am happy that this non-Christian leader sees beyond the scope of his sect that some of my “Christian” leaders are failing to do while whoring around my supposed rights in the process.

When asked the question of whether I wanted Saad Hariri to be back as prime minister, I answered no. Today, he forced me to reconsider. Why wouldn’t I with his newly found mentality?

Saad Hariri just did what his father was too afraid to do. What Najib Mikati was too afraid to do a few days ago. And he’s proudly welcomed today in the Lebanese circle of kuffar.