This seems very familiar, right?
Some things may have changed. But the crux of it all is still the same.
It’s been 142 years and this still rings true. Should this sadden us? Or should this open up the eyes of those who are still blinded by the infinite quest towards national unity which will never happen?
(source)
Welcome to the republic of eternal fragmentation.
It seems there’s a new family in town to take into consideration these days. What’s special about this family though isn’t that it has its own Facebook page. They have their own military wing to bring back their own demented form of justice.
The Mekdad Clan has decided that a social media presence is very needed and for that they have created a Facebook page. (Click here).
It’s not all serious though. The Facebook page posts some jokes sometimes. And it has over 1300 likes so far.
Welcome to Mekdadistan.
You are forbidden from roaming certain places after specific hours. Do so and you will be severely punished.
Welcome to the republic of shame. (Source)
With my flight a few hours away, this news is surely reassuring. At 11:15 am today, electricity went off at Beirut’s International Airport (or the Rafic Hariri International Airport as they call it these days). (Source).
Personnel rushed to get the situation fixed. The problem seemed to have originated straight from the source: EDL.
I wonder, if this had happened at night, how many people would have died? Don’t they even have backup generators that would ignite the moment anything of the sort happens to ensure smooth and continuous electrical coverage?
It seems even our most important facilities as a country are going down the drain. And what a splendid image we’re giving to those visiting. The moment they land… bye electricity… yes, this is the way things are here. Better get used to it by now.
Ahla w sahla fikon bi Lebnen.
It was a weird month this July. Apart from the unbelievable heat and the dismal electricity, among other things, my hometown didn’t have bursts of fireworks every 2 days starting mid July as students passed their official exams and either advanced to high school or to universities.
The official exam results were nowhere to be found. And I hadn’t given it much attention until I asked a friend whom I knew had sat for the exams back in early June if she passed or not and she said the results weren’t out yet.
But it’s August! I said. She shrugged. There was nothing the students could do.
It seems the teachers whose job was to correct the exam were on a strike. A strike against a government that refused to give them their lawful rights in wage increases whilst it gave those rights to the professors at the Lebanese University after they closed down said university for months last year.
This government – arguably the worst that has governed Lebanon in many years – apparently doesn’t care that there are students who don’t know if they can pay their enrollment at universities. They don’t care that there are students who might fail and with each passing day they lose hope of ever having a second round of exams soon. They don’t care that they’re literally ruining the life of teenagers whose only fault was to sit for an exam they were forced to take in this God-forsaken country.
The minister of education on the other hand apparently had the audacity to throw threats around. The fact that the results that should have been out early July weren’t out by early August wasn’t indicative enough for him to know exactly how horrible a job he’s doing. But no matter… the results will be out tomorrow, Saturday August 4th.
Starting in the afternoon, students can text their corresponding exam branch (SV/SE/LH/SG/Brevet) followed by their student number to 1070. SV (LS) and SG (GS) results will be out tomorrow while the other ones will follow soon after.
So for instance if you are SV and your number is 20842 (that was mine back in 2007), you text: SV 20842 and you send it to 1070. You will get a reply with your result: whether you passed or not.
I have no idea if texting that number is free of charge or if it’ll cost students. I’m fairly certain it’ll the latter, adding insult to injury: they wait a month and a half for results that they will have to pay to get. Let’s jump on any way to make money off of people.
Good luck to all the students and for those who aren’t so lucky, it won’t be the end of the world.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 