It was Sunday June 15th, a few hours before starting my final year of medicine, as I headed to the graduation dinner of colleagues at my university. I took the unfortunate decision to go to the location by a “service,” or the cheap fare for taxis in Beirut. The place was within walkable distance on any given day but I was borderline suited up and it was June in Beirut.
The taxi picked up a 25 year old guy who wanted to go to “Hotel Dieu” and drove onwards. He dropped me off next to Banque Byblos on Achrafieh’s main road, facing Sofil, and I gave him 20,000.
That was mistake #1.
The moment he saw the bill, he started barraging me about how I hadn’t told him that I had such a huge bill with me. I looked at him and replied: “it’s just 20,000. What would you have done if I had a bigger bill?”
He didn’t like my reply. Perhaps I should have just ignored, but I have a very low threshold as an individual for unnecessary rudeness. A few minutes later as he held up traffic, under a street camera belonging to the bank or the nearby Dutch embassy, he threw all 1000LL bills at me, so I got out of the car and closed the door behind me with an extra flair. I turned my back and crossed the street.
That was mistake #2.
A moment later, I started hearing shouting from behind me. “I will fuck your mother, you cunt!” I turned around and saw that the taxi driver was addressing me. I turned around and walked onwards. “You cunt, you cunt. Your mother is a whore.” I turned around and immediately gave him the finger. His voice kept rising and the insults kept coming. I gave him a second finger and walked onwards.
That was mistake #3.
I walked down the Sofil road, on my way to the location of the graduation dinner, when I heard the shouting get closer. The guy he was supposed to take with him to Hotel Dieu still in the car, the taxi driver drove his car towards me. A moment later, he was out of his car with a bat and before I knew it he slammed me on the side. It was one of those fight or flight moments we get taught about in biology. I decided to fight. So I started beating him as he hit me with the bat he had.
A minute or so later, I break free as the valet parking personnel of nearby “Le Maillon” come close. The taxi driver then runs to his car and drives away as he sees people getting closer. I hadn’t gotten his license plate number. The guy with him was texting throughout; he hadn’t moved a muscle.
My (brief) medical training allowed me to quickly assess my injuries. I felt blood gushing down my neck and lip. I also felt a bruise over my forehead and shoulder. I hadn’t lost consciousness, nor did I feel dizzy or vomit. I assumed my injuries were minimal so I marched on the dinner.
I was disheveled and obviously shocked. I had never thought such a thing would happen to me. My friends were all smiling when they saw me. Their smiles turned into shock when they saw my bloody neck. They went with me to the bathroom to help me clean up.
The graduating physicians assessed my head wound and decided it was superficial and didn’t need stitches. I let my body’s coagulation system run its course and headed back to the dinner. I decided not to ruin the night for the friends who wanted me there, and I tried my best not to.
A couple of hours later, I couldn’t take it anymore so I headed out to my hospital’s ER room. I entered without going through the personnel at the entrance. I saw familiar residents. They knew me. They immediately asked what was wrong so I explained to them that I needed a medical report of what had happened to me to present it to the police. The ER physician asked me to go open a file, the way any other patient would do. I told him I didn’t have money on me – he couldn’t care less. There was no preferential treatment for their own student there. I paid whatever fee they asked, running out of money in the process, and waited in my own triage cubicle.
I quickly told the resident examining me that there was nothing wrong. I just needed my wound cleaned so I can get on my way. The whole thing took about an hour. I was out of the ER and broke my 1AM. My friend was going to take me to the police to file an official complaint.
The best part of the night was yet upon me.
I arrived to the police station a few minutes later. What do you need, the policeman guarding the door asked. I told him the purpose of my visit and he directed me to the 5th floor. To reach said floor, he pointed me towards an elevator for everyone minus “officers.” The elevator wasn’t working.
I reached the 5th floor and explained what had happened to the personnel there. Their initial reaction was not to ask whether I was okay or not, it was to make sure they understood the precise location of where the assault had happened. The reason? “The location falls outside of the jurisdiction of this floor. Please go to the 1st floor so they can assist you.”
Make sure you go down the elevator to the ground floor, they said, it doesn’t stop at the first. I did as they said.
On the first floor, the personnel there brought up fancy Google Earth. They had underestimated my ability to read Beirut from satellite, telling me I wouldn’t understand what I saw. I pointed them to where the assault had happened. Guess what? It wasn’t their jurisdiction either. I was pointed to another floor.
I went up. It wouldn’t end there. “Did the assault happen on the sidewalk or on the asphalt?” They asked. “Does it matter?” I replied. Of course it did. Their jurisdiction only extended to the asphalt of the road going up from Mar Mkhayel towards Achrafieh’s main street. The assault on me had happened on the way down to Mar Mkhayel… on the sidewalk. So what what I supposed to do?
“You look okay,” they said, “and we’re obviously not going to do anything now. So why don’t you come back tomorrow at 9AM?”
I didn’t return.
Perhaps I had different expectations of how my first police encounter and how my first calling upon the law would work.
Perhaps I was too foolish to believe that those policemen wouldn’t waste an entire hour of my time at 1:30AM in the morning sending me between their office’s floors in their vain attempts to throw their work off on each other.
Perhaps I was too stupid to believe I would actually get the law working for me, in an area with about 100 cameras per squared meter, by simply asking for my right without resorting to my non-existent connections to help push my cause forward.
My friends told me I should have gone the second day and wasted my time because no one will give me my right if I don’t fight for it, but I have to ask: is it acceptable that, after getting assaulted with a bat at a supposedly safe street in your capital, you need to also figuratively fight with those whose job is to supposedly fight for you, wasting your energy and effort at something they told you wouldn’t lead to much anyway?
I guess I’m lucky he didn’t have a gun.
As I was walking down the stairs to exit the police station, I saw those anniversary posters for our internal security forces. “Our job is to serve and protect you,” they said. I just laughed at the irony as I headed back to the car that drove me back home.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 
El7amdellah 3al salameh….trully sorry u went through such a thing…it is quite dispicable how insecure our country has become where one is risking his life by merely getting out of the house…just makes one wonder if we are condemned to live our lives in fear….
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El hamdella 3a salemtak!
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News.
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When I told people your story, everyone had the same reaction: It’s lucky the guy didn’t have a gun. I’m so clueless, apparently I missed the lucky part of the story.
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I was walking to a pub at 3 am once when a drunk guy had his gun to my temple, saying that i’m from al qaeeda.. I started making fun of him and I felt so intense hoping his arm goes to sleep.. It didn’t so I ran.. I told every cop that I saw while on my way to hamra (I live near barbeer) nobody seemed to care. Moral: Change your mask while dealing with strangers.
Be smart.
Goodnight.
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So this is your incident. What’s your call for action? I hear people complain everyday that they got screwed by the system, but few actually do anything about it. There are apps to report this stuff, people who get things done legally, and organizations that will help. .. you didn’t even comply with the request to come the next day. Think USA or Europe is any better when it comes to throwing responsibility around? Anyway, the system doesn’t work and nobody expects it to.. so hamdilla 3al saleme, and I suggest to take some martial arts classes. I can hook you up if you need contacts.
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Lucky You, hamdela 3al saleme
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I am sorry to hear about your story. Don’t ever rely on these security forces, they really don’t care. After all they are paid $500 per month and not more and above all they are cowards. I’ll tell a story which happened to a girl 15 years ago and this will blow your mind. She needed a new passport and went to the appropriate office for that. They asked for 2 family members as witness, and in fact she had lost her parents when she was young and she also had no family member in lebanon, so the responsible “police officer” after making sure that everything she was saying was true, locked his office door tied her hands on her back with a handcuff made her bend over his office table and did his “duty” using the 2 possible ways saying “this is what they deserve those who live alone in this country. She was about to graduated from USJ as psychology major, and she wanted to travel. She is now in Canada and she never wants to hear the word ”Lebanon”. Welcome to Lebanon . Nanboul if atna (read it in reverse).
One day when the wife if a “za3im” will be attacked they will start importing those defensive sprays or any type of weapon for women’s protection. Or you have to wait that one of our “mafiosos” will have the monopoly to import these products. We need 1000 years to become civilized until then try at all cost to avoid confrontation or if you are rich have always a body guard with you. Even in the jungle there are some rules. Here you don’t even have these. Take care.
Finally to answer Ryan in USA in Europe you have your right and at least you are respected as humans , here you are not even respected as animals.
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Whilst on vacation in Beirut, a couple of years ago, thieves broke into our apartment and stole all our cash and jewelry, when we called the police, they did come, but the first words out of the mouth of one of them was, how much are you going to pay me to find them! Corruption is how things get done in Lebanon, nothing has changed nor will it ever change.
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Hamdilla You are ok, WE should not be quite on things like that, we need to talk and talk about what happened, No one has the right to do us harm. NO ONE
God bless you, My you feel better soon
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Get well soon, hamdella 3al salemeh
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A few years ago, I got mugged in the middle of Gemmayze. Two guys on a motorcycle pushed me and took my bag (containing laptop, phone, passport, ID, wallet and its contents, etc.). Reporting it was very close to what you experienced. Of course, they noted down by hand the laptop’s serial number (not even one computer on the premises, their phones are actually the round ones you have to manually turn for each digit you want to dial). The next day I got a call from the muggers (no caller ID) telling me to meet them somewhere near Dahieh to get my stuff back. I naturally called the police to go instead at the given place and time. His reaction? At that time I will be in the village picking olives. Call me Monday, but don’t go yourself, it’s dangerous!
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I got mugged next to my house a couple of weeks ago as I parked my car. The thief opened my car door asking for 10,000 (obviously a junkie) but i was out of cash. He proceeded to steal my phone and my ipod and slammed my head with the door. The whole incident took place on the wall of a fire department and barely a 100 meters away from a police station. When the guy ran I went to the guard of the fire department, who told me I can’t help you, though he saw the thief running, and that I should go to the police station here. I got the rest of my stuff from my car and went to the police station. I was obviously injured and frightened. I told them what happened, that I had my phone stolen and my ipod, they asked where did it take place, when i said right behind the fire department, they told me sorry not our jurisdiction, you should go to the police station in Basta. I was a 19 year old girl, with a head injury and hysterical, with no phone on me to call my parents. I was not offered water or help. They didn’t even offer to call my parents. I walked to my building, told my parents what happened, and then we had to go to the Basta police station. They didn’t even send a forensic analyst to get the prints of the thief. The next day they called us because I had to sign a document, and it was then that they asked if they should send someone to get the prints. But by that time we had already moved the car so the prints were gone. Their answer? “Bassita”. The best part was that when they asked me for a description, they had a person in mind who was known to do this kind of stuff. A couple of days later they sent me to Sakanet el Helo to identify the guy. There are also no elevators working and had to go to the 4th floor. For 3-4 hours I sat down in front of a computer, with 4 other citizens that went to identify criminals. Only one guy was in charge, who left several times to go get something for his friend from the pharmacy. After I identified the guy, I had to wait for the others to do so, because “it’s easier to print all the papers together”. After they printed the papers, (and I had to wait more time because they forgot to print mine), my dad was going through my statement that the officer wrote down. There was no mention of my phone or ipod. It only said that the guy asked me for 10,000 and I gave it to him then he ran away. When my dad pointed it out and how ridiculous it actually is that I would press charges over 10,000, the answer of the officers there? “Mistakes happen, we’ll fix it right away”. They were so lost and all over the place. One of the officers was outrageously flirting with me, telling me all about how if we had time he would do my portrait because he’s a sketcher then he wanted weigh me. The level of unprofessionalism was outrageous. The best part is that the guy who mugged me, has a previous mugging history. He mugged another person, got arrested and was let go a week after, less than 2 weeks after his release, he mugged someone else and was arrested only to be released a couple of days later. The explanation of the officer to this was that the guy “mad3oum men el 7arake”. The thief is yet to be arrested and I doubt he ever will.
I never believed in our system or our policemen to begin with. Many times I’ve heard them say “this is Lebanon not Switzerland” as if that’s an excuse for their behaviour and recklessness. But I thought maybe they would do something, act, help me, do anything. It’s not about the stuff that were stolen from me, because I didn’t even want them back. It was about getting justice. But “this is Lebanon, not Switzerland”.
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Sad but true. I never reported anything to the police because I know there’s no outcome. In this country you need to know how to defend yourself by yourself. If you hadn’t figured this out already then I don’t know what else to say. Read about self defense, psychology, reflexes and reactions. If you ever got to be in that situation again you need to relax, think quick, then find your way out safely. Try to get inside that person’s head and imagine what he’s thinking while asking for the money. Get a weapon, or just ask him to relax and reach for your car keys or whatever gets you out of your situation safely. Running or driving also helps, even if you had to hit other cars and make a bigger deal out of it you’ll only get him in bigger trouble.
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7amdella 3al saleme
Taxi and bus drivers are the worst. Thugs gather under Dawra bridge disguised as van drivers and station operators have a sole purpose of yelling at everyone with the Army a few meters away. It is a bad bad place we’re fortunate to be alive. A miracle.
Hope nothing of that sort happens again
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Hey there brother,
First hamdella 3al saleme, you survived a potentially life threatening encounter with only superficial wounds.
Most people seem to forget that the police (regardless what country you are in) have one simple job: to ensure the laws are applied. Their job is NOT to protect you as an individual, it is to keeo the peace.
I am a Persinal Protection consultant (meaning i teach people how to survive in a variety of environments) and I wrote, a while back, an article entitled surviving the service (find it here http://www.senshido.net). It has tips on how to conduct yourself until you reach your destination. I need to update it a bit. Vans are actually a bit safer than services.
I would love to offer you a debriefing and some tips. Please contact me and we will talk.
Be safe.
G.
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So what you are saying is “Most people seem to forget that the police (regardless what country you are in) have one simple job: to ensure the laws are applied. Their job is NOT to protect you as an individual, it is to keep the peace.”
This just couldn’t get any more illogical!
First, ensuring that the laws are applied means protecting individuals, since that’s what laws are made for- to protect citizens!
Second, how can peace be kept if we all run around holding bats and knives and guns and waving them at each other?!
I respect what you do in life. just don’t go around encouraging angry people to have their own “tools” and to use them for their “personal protection” (as you did in this post and in your comment on a following one) for the sake of getting more customers and money.
If you’re going to advertise your services and business, you’d better do it the right way, and not like this!
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Hello Kystel and thank you for your reply.
Before going on, I know that the written medium is the least optimal way to communicate properly as it lacks tone of voice and body language, hence can be easily misunderstood. I will do my best to elaborate so my post isn’t misinterpreted.
Let me answer the two points you brought up:
First of all, the Police’s job as an institution is to uphold the laws and not to protect an individual’s rights. To Serve and Protect means to serve and protect the community by making sure that the laws of the land are abided by. This in turn ensures that the public peace is maintained. Do individual police officers work for the benefit of individual citizens? Yes of course but the Police as an institution are here to ensure that laws are abided not to protect the citizenry.
The only person that can protect you is you. A Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) is reactive, meaning he will come after a crime has been committed to investigate it, apprehend suspects, and pass him/ her up to the justice system. That’s their job. They resolve crimes and to keep the peace. If you have friends in the police, ask them, and they will corroborate this. I have worked with police officers both in Lebanon as well as abroad and that is what I have seen.
By the way, don’t take my word for it (never take anyone’s word for anything, always check for yourself).
Second, I never said carry knives or guns or bats or go armed or use violence. I offered my help to people who appear to have an emotional reaction with what they went through in terms of violence. Teaching people to avoid, deescalate, escape, use restraint, understand basic use of force, and utilize violence as the last option to resist violence is not the same as advocating the use of violence for any alleged wrongs and as an immediate reaction to a frightful situation.
I offered my help to Elie (As well as to Moe and his wife) because I felt their fear and understood their anger. These are not bad guys, they just have had little exposure to violence and thus are venting their frustration and the fact that they could have been seriously injured or killed.
My aim is to help people understand violence so that they may prepare for it, avoid it, prevent it, talk their way out of it, escape it, and only resort to using the necessary level of force if needed to get home safe. By knowing violence and its three phases (Pre-Contact, Contact, and Post-Contact), you will be able to overcome anger and control fear so that if a similar situation arises again, you would not make mistakes.
Did Elie make mistakes? Yes he did. Is it his fault? Not entirely, he didn’t know any better. Should we judge him for them? No. Should we learn from this encounter? Absolutely.
The thing is, the service driver was probably a good guy having a bad day. Elie is a good guy as well who was in a hurry. Mix in a bit of impatience from both sides and sparkle with quick anger and you have a recipe for a unnecessary brawl which could have ended with death or crippling injuries to one or both participants.
Would I teach people who are decent folks how to use any tool (Be it verbal, physical, or weapons) to protect themselves and their loved ones? Absolutely.
Criminals will always cheat to win, meaning using weapons, surprise, and violence of action to dominate their victims. So they are already running around with weapons and they are not afraid of using them because they know that most people are untrained as well as unarmed. To add insult to injury, even when good guys carry weapons, the large majority of them are totally irresponsible around them resulting in negligent and often fatal discharges of guns, have the wrong mindset when they carry, which results in making them easier prey to the bad guys.
Kystel, I know that you would agree that in making these decent, peace-loving individuals, looking for an equalizer in their struggle against armed murderers and rapists, into quiet professionals and transforming them into responsible citizens in regards with firearms, is the right thing to do. Clearly, it is the only thing to do as the police will not be present when crimes occur due to their reactive nature. The example of Switzerland comes to mind, where all civilians are trained into, and are provided with, the tools to protect not only themselves from violent thugs, but also their whole country from foreign invaders. An armed society is a polite society…if the individuals bearing arms are properly trained in the use of said weapons (Meaning not in anger or for defense of ego or honor, but for the protection of limb and life).
For the last 10 years my sole objective in life has been to help others survive violence. As a member of Senshido International, I have risen to the challenge of organizing dozens of free Rape Prevention seminars geared towards women, across the country, both during celebrated occasions such as International Women’s Day as well as on regular days, at the American University of Beirut, at the Université Saint Joseph, and at Balamand University – Saint George Hospital. When there were stalkers in Hamra and Bliss, I gave free workshops at AUB and at Houna Center. I have worked pro bono with women’s organizations such as KAFA and others, organizing fund raisers for them. I have taught survivors of violence, both male and female, free of charge and refuse to take money from survivors who come to paid seminars.
In 2007 I had a free weekly TV Show on Heya TV where I explained how women could live safer and lead better lives.
I do my best to write articles and post YouTube videos, which are freely accessible on my website, to help share information that I know will save lives.
I for one am proud to be doing all that I can, which again I repeat is free of charge, to help people live better, safer lives without fear, which in turn will reduce violence in society as a whole.
So Kystel, pray tell, how is sharing that stuff for free bringing me money or clients? I spend zero dollars on advertisements, new clients contact me via LinkedIn, Facebook, or through word of mouth. Money is shit compared to the tears of gratitude you get from a student who is finally able to live a happy life without fear and nightmares.
To be honest, the majority of my clients are outside of Lebanon. Why? Because most Lebanese live in denial: “Rape only happens to women who get drunk/ dress like sluts/ give mixed signals/ etc.”, “Muggings in Lebanon? Walaw man shu bi New York nehna?”, “I’m a manly man! I don’t need to learn to defend myself, walaw ana rab rabb el mashekeil”, “My daddy bought me pepper spray/ a gun/ a knife/ I have a boyfriend…”
The truth is, most Lebanese don’t care about bettering their lives, preferring to spend their time doing very important things like smoking the arguileh, gossiping, nagging, and YIIIIing. Despite violence (Including rape but not counting marital rape because that’s between a husband and his wife you know?) being clearly on the rise, no one is doing anything to protect themselves. Even an ostrich with its hand in the sand will pull it out once said sand is burning hot…
I often train police officers for free not because I want to have wasta but because those men and women are on the front lines, in the mud and the dirt, fighting criminals, mafiosos, drug dealers, and terrorists, and everyone spits at them because “the darak are corrupt walaw!”. Yes there are many corrupt police officers here, yes they are a problem and yes people have suffered needlessly because of them. Unless you become the change you want to see in the world, Lebanon will remain a mess and we will keep on nagging.
Anyways, I said what I wanted to say, if anyone is interested in becoming safer, read the website articles, see the YouTube videos, hell even google Senshido torrents and get the material for free, just do something to live a safe life.
Contact me by phone or email and let me know if I can help (Don’t forget to have your credit card ready LOL! Joke)
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First, sorry u got beat up. But as you yourself pointed out, your mistakes brought this on. Stop whining, and don’t act like a dick when an annoyed taxi driver who’s driving all day in hellish traffic complains about your large bill. You sir, deserve what u got because of your snotty attitude.
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I didn’t wanna comment because there was nothing to say about the horrors in this country but you Mr. Allouni are the only dick over here. 20,000 is a large bill? What sort of fucking excuse is driving in traffic all day to beat up people?
You are one of the many reasons this country is as fucked as it is! Fuck your mentality!
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We all have bad days you moronic dickhead, you don’t see us running around with bats to hit people who annoy us! Nothing can justify this action! And I really hope you’re just posting this comment to seek attention and that you don’t actually go around “solving your problems” this way.
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Sorry, but I agree with Ray. Yes, the taxi driver is a criminal, but why did you choose to fight him? To spite him? Why not just walk away? Is that a cultural thing? What is wrong with you guys, anyway?
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from what i’ve read, put aside the Darak, this man deserved getting his ass whooped for more than one reason!
#1- Why did he take the “unfortunate” decision to use a “Service”? this mean of transportation that is daily used by tens of thousands of poor people, including myself! He could’ve simply called any private taxi company and enjoyed his “Fortunate” decision.
#2- I’ve been using the service since i was a little kid, not once did i have a problem, nor did i hear of anyone getting into a fight with a cab driver just for the fuck sake of it!
#3- We all know, ALL KNOW that cab drivers barely have change, it’s a common knowledge, not to call it etiquette, to inform your cab driver in case you have no change right after you hop in, and not when you’re about to go down.
— Till now, the cab driver didn’t do anything that would call in for a fight!
Now here comes this prick’s first rudeness ““it’s just 20,000. What would you have done if I had a bigger bill?”
He didn’t like my reply. Perhaps I should have just ignored, but I have a very low threshold as an individual for unnecessary rudeness”… Really??? From what i see my friend, you were the first one to actually ignite this fight and actually he was pretty decent by just throwing 1000 L.L bills at you and not kick the hell out of you from his car. But so far, i still don’t see a reason for a fight, even though you were the one turning things up.
But here comes the biggest fight call that we all know, storming out of the car and closing the door like hell is about to break! We all hate our girlfriends when they do it, let alone a stranger cab rider who’s using a private property “so I got out of the car and closed the door behind me with an extra flair”, you see that Extra Flair will not put any sparkles over your rudeness, no sir, This, combined with your rudeness inside the cab, earned you with flying marks his coming curses and swears because you simply were rude!
Now you had two options, walk away and move towards your party or do what any stupid ignorant fool would do, THROW FINGERS!
You were really calling for a fight my friend, you and your fancy shmancy suit were begging for a fight… & to be quite honest and say with a full wide smile on my face, you my friend, DESERVED IT!
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you need to complain about the security forces, through the app as Ryan mentioned… it’s our duty to report these incidents about/to the security officials…
Once at the import, the security official fetching my luggage took a bag of M&Ms, when i left that area, i asked some security guys about the officer in duty, he took me back in and called for the security official and asked him to open his drawer to find the M&Ms bag (i was dead scared he will not find it), then he thanked me and asked the security official to step out and follow him…
it’s our duty to help our institutions get rid of the few (or many) law abusers… hamdella a salemeh 😉
JC
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Hello, I just the read the whole story and we are all, all of us – are sorry that this happened to you! there’s something I’d like to add and to point out to all the people who seemed to be dissing the boy and blaming him on his actions.
Okay first of all, if you people want to express yourselves on a social media platform: stop being so rude and so trashy with the way you express your opinions and words. I know, I know, everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but it is opinions we are discussing, not facts and obviously not blames – social media is not a secure thing as you might believe, use your words wisely and gently – it never hurts to do that.
Second of all, to the people who dissed the boy or who blamed him, remember one thing: you were not faced with the same situation, each individual might deal with it in a different way than the other but sill that’s no excuse to blame him. The CAB DRIVER IS HAVING A BAD DAY IN TRAFFIC or whatsoever…. what kind of excuse is that? I don’t care (no one cares) if he is poor or tired or has a bad social, economic, political statuses – having a bad day? a bad life? do not blame others for it, fake smile it or something because we all have bad bad days, weeks, sometimes years. If he is having a bad day, that is no excuse to export that anger into these awful actions and onto him, even if he told him what would have happened if he had a bigger bill… if he wanted to make a bad statement, he should’ve thrown the 1000L.L. bills and just drove without cursing – that’s the maximum that might go to it.
Third of all, yes he closed the door with that “Extra flair” – I wonder what would you guys do if you were her… he let go of his anger and so did the cab driver. Did he break his door? did the cab driver respect him by throwing the bills? yeah he started it but it wasn’t an insult – it’s his job to at least keep an amount of money to exchange with bigger bills – if your dad is a taxi driver, ask him….
Fourth of all, the whole point of this is to show how Lebanon is awfully bad in the way of protection and the rights of its citizens and how sometimes people get to be rude and disturbed… and some of you still keep on blaming the cab driver and some blame the man. This is not the point people, no one cares if the taxi driver hits him or vice versa.
Thank you.
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After stealing my mother’s in law bag from my car and the police confiscating my car because I didn’t pay the mecanique fees (ironically) instead of arresting the thief and after some sorry excuse for a human tried to mug my wife in saifi village (imagine)…I went and bought a small portable pump action shotgun and bought my wife a pocket knife….call it vigilante justice or whatever you want, I swore and I’ll make sure this never happens again!!!!
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Moe if you and your wife are interested in getting to learn how to use your tools, I xan help.
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I loved the way you wrote your post and immediately felt that what you went through could happen to anyone of us. It is so sad to have to go through such an attack. Yet, when I read the comments on your post, it made me react. Come on guys, these things do not happen only in Lebanon! We should not, every time we face a problem, start shaming the whole country. After all, we have individual and collective roles in fixing things.
The most serious part in your story is your narratiion of what took place at the police station. I really don’t understand this continuous issue of “go up to this or that floor, go down to this or that floor” in the Lebanese public institutions! It is crazy … I mean with the millions of dollars poured on lebanon to fix public institutions, we still have an archaic system … not only in police stations (where it is terrible) but in all administrations. Try going to the “Niyabeh 3ameh” or “Daman Ijtima3i”.
Unfortunately, you did well by not going to the police the next day … you would have spent hours and went out, probably, the accused!!!
Something is seriously wrong there and we really need to start building up public awareness about it.
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Hamdella 3al saleme! I just saw this.. hope you got better now!
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Reblogged this on Lebanese Memes and commented:
Hamdella 3al Salemeh!
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Hamdella 3al Salemeh! This is Horrible.
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