The Angelina Jolie in Lebanon Effect

So Angelina Jolie was in Lebanon yesterday. She was here to check on the Syrian refugees in the country and she had some nice things to say about us as people. Some very nice things to say actually. Check that out here.

But some Lebanese didn’t have nice things to say about Jolie. Why? Because she wasn’t “jolie” enough when she came over. Why? Because she was wearing what she was wearing in the picture above. Why? Because they think she’s helping fuel stereotypes of women being oppressed in an Islamic country in Lebanon.

Because some people are just plain silly, yes that’s why.

I’ve written about an identity crisis (check here) that Lebanon suffers from and with each passing day, it becomes clearer. To many, Angelina Jolie doesn’t represent our culture. To many, she is helping disseminate the idea that we are a non-open, deeply conservative country. To many, what she did yesterday was unacceptable.

What those many are forgetting is the following:

  1. Angelina Jolie’s attire was more than respectable to the purpose of her visit, which is visiting the Syrian refugees in the country. Anything else would have been offensive to these refugees and an insult to their dismal living conditions.
  2. Angelina Jolie wasn’t in Lebanon to promote a movie or film one or to be a tourist. She was over here to do something that even our government isn’t doing.
  3. Some Lebanese are forgetting that Lebanon is not the party district of Beirut that they’re using to build this “culture” they’re talking about. Some Lebanese are forgetting that you will find women wearing what Jolie was wearing in other sides of the country, even in Beirut in the areas they don’t frequent.
  4. Some Lebanese are not realizing that these stereotypes they so desperately want to change will not disappear overnight, especially not when they have no problem in having a country that can fall into anarchy so frequently (click here) or when they oppose laws that the countries they want to be like have had for decades now (click here).

Yes, we are a deeply troubled people. We are so messed up in the head that a humanitarian visit has to be twisted into an issue of fashion. I think it’s high time some Lebanese people remain silent for a while – take things in, think about them before spitting them out. Perhaps then you can start working on those “troubling” stereotypes.

Angelina Jolie is in Lebanon

Source: Daily Star

As part of her UN duties as a special envoy, THE Angelina Jolie has visited Lebanon to check up on the Syrian refugees in the country. She has also spoken with our prime minister Mikati (such a lucky person, isn’t he?).

“The Lebanese people themselves are dealing with their own problems… it is all the more meaningful that they are so generous and so kind, and I hope the world acknowledges that.”

Well, I hope so too.

So while the region’s Goodwill ambassadors promote their music albums, she’s going around doing what is supposed to be done. Such a shame for our “artists.”

Michelle Tueini on Lebanon’s Smoking Ban

Finally.

We have someone talking without having a history of sarcastic plays that resonate true today with a staunch following. Just because your foot is in sewage doesn’t mean you can’t wipe the dirt off your mouth – and Michelle Tueni says so very eloquently in her piece in Al Nahar. Check it (click here – Arabic).

She says and I translate:

“Those who say the law is being applied at an inappropriate time and that Lebanon has bigger problems should know that Lebanon is a country that faces frequent tensions and if we were going to think that way we won’t move forward. And even if Lebanon has bigger problems, we can’t ignore the smaller issues because that is how we effectively hit rock bottom.”

In other news, I invite you to check this awesome Thai ad to fight smoking. I think it’s very smart.

 

 

Nancy Ajram’s New Song For Kids: Ya Banat

Nancy Ajram has released a song off her upcoming album for kids, Super Nancy.

The song is Egyptian and called “Ya Banat.” The theme is apparently part of what Ajram was trying to go for with her second album for kids: an empowerment for little girls.

Good intentions and me being obviously not the target audience aside, I’m not sure what I feel about the song. While the first verse is something that I got my mom to hear (I’ve been asking for a baby sister for such a long time now), the overall song feels lacking. It could be that it’s way too short or that I’m tired of Lebanese singers singing one Egyptian song after the other.

Does the miserable state of music in this part of the world really need another album for kids from one of its biggest stars? I’m not entirely convinced with that. But hey, at least it’s not candy-coated sex for kids.

Interesting observation: my Australian cousin thought the album promo billboards, which are plastered all over Lebanon’s highways, were ads for a dollhouse.

Listen to “Ya Banat” here – with annoying “Arabica” voice overs and all.

The album will be released on Thursday.

Many Lebanese Will Be Stripped From Canadian Nationality

Have you ever heard the story of those smart ass Lebanese who “immigrate” to Canada and then return to Lebanon without having their passports stamped on their way out to make it seem as if they’re still there?

Well, those Lebanese are taking their smart asses all the way to courts as the Canadian federal government is stripping many of them of the Canadian nationality which they obtained fraudulently.

Do they deserve it? Hell yes. Not only is what they did giving a bad reputation to all the Lebanese who work hard to get the Canadian citizenship but it’s also illegal and it’s high time someone taught those Lebanese who think they can take their illegal ways abroad a thing or two about rules.

No, I’m not a bitter person who’s upset that my passport is next to rubbish but I’m a Lebanese who believes that if I were to get somewhere, I’d want to earn it and not cheat my way to it.

Many of those involved in the scam are from the Middle East, particularly Lebanon. While they do not wish to actually move to Canada, they want an escape hatch in the event their home countries become unstable, according to internal documents.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that a percentage of applicants from the Middle East obtain permanent resident status, then Canadian citizenship, with the goal of acquiring a second passport as insurance in case of instability in their country of first residence,” reads a federal study.

Such an honorable thing. (Source).