Tag Archives: Beirut

A Meteor Shower in Lebanon

It’s a bird? A plane? a UFO?

No. It’s super-…

Ah, nevermind.

Lebanon was hit by a meteor shower earlier tonight, which I missed similarly to how that last earthquake totally went past me as well. I guess when it comes to mother nature’s displays, I am not “lucky” enough to be included.

Of course, in typical Lebanese fashion, the jokes about the astronomical event are well underway. From Miriam Nour coming back home to Sergio Ramos’ ball finally reaching Lebanon, you name it.

I guess we wouldn’t be Lebanese if we couldn’t just enjoy something for what it is. Or it could be UFOs attacking – I’m pretty sure some people think so. Or some missiles sent it in by some foreign nation we don’t like. It could be that too!

And these are videos by MTV Lebanon. (Here)

Spotted in Achrafieh: Lebanon’s Neo-Nazis?

Because it doesn’t make sense not to have something of everything in Lebanon, we also have our own Neo-Nazis. Have they read Mein Kampf? I doubt. Do they know what Nazism stands for? I doubt as well.

I really have a hard time understanding how someone’s mentality could actually bring them to be this convinced with Hitler and his ideology that they’d take the time to paint the swastika on a building in Beirut. I even know one person from my hometown who wears the swastika around his neck.

The Maghen Abraham Synagogue in Downtown Beirut, Lebanon

I recently visited the Wadi Bou Jamil area in Downtown Beirut to check out the infamous synagogue, currently being renovated. The area itself is a security zone within a security zone – call it security zone-ception. They have security forces for Hariri’s “Beit el Wasat,” the Serail and the synagogue itself.

You can get to the synagogue by walking up the stairs of the Serail and then walking on the street towards the Capuchin church. Once you reach the church, proceed to the street that is sealed off with one of the red plastic barricades, with an ISF person guarding the entrance to the synagogue’s street. Don’t worry about him, though, just proceed as if he doesn’t exist.

As a result of the security zones, the synagogue is off limits by a huge gate that is sealed shut. You can still see the building from outside but you are not allowed to go in. Furthermore, you are prohibited from taking pictures of any kind whatsoever.

We asked the security guard present near the synagogue if we can get access if we happened to be Jewish and he said no. He then said no one comes to this area except for very few tourists who want to look around, which is understandable because the area is so segregated from Downtown Beirut and yet so close that finding it is a task on its own so many Lebanese don’t care it exists to begin with.

I wonder, though, what’s the point behind so much security if the synagogue’s renovation is supported by the different political parties in Lebanon? I guess what’s been declared is drastically different from the hidden intentions…. Typical of Lebanon.

Until then, the synagogue is such a beautiful location in Beirut, in a very serene area of Downtown Beirut, whose calm contrasts drastically with the bustle of the surrounding shops and streets. It won’t be long before they ruin it with high-rises as well. They’re already talking about demolishing the Roman hippodrome near the synagogue to replace it with a high-rise.

The Shadi Mawlawi Lesson for Lebanon

For all matters and purposes, Mawlawi is irrelevant. In a few weeks, he will only be remembered as the man who was important some time ago. But for his followers, Mawlawi represented a cause, a reason to fight and stand up to a state they hardly consider their own.

Arrested last week, the salafists got into fights that led to destruction and chaos amounting to millions of dollars. Mawlawi got bailed out yesterday for $300. His release was celebrated in the streets of Tripoli: the return of the savior, the hero, the “messiah” of the salafists, the one who represents their struggle.

Mawlawi’s release has showed the salafists what they can do. It showed everyone what can be done to get what you want. Induce chaos. Start havoc. Block the streets. Burn tires. Kill people. Bomb buildings.

The government? It will cave.

The army? Too weak to retaliate.

The ISF? Too involved to be relevant.

Political leaders? Their influence is waning.

Shadi Mawlawi’s release has showed an inherent flaw in the design of Lebanon. There is no state. This is a farm of “people” grouped together. The toughest “person” who can get the others to cower the most for a specific period of time rules.

One of the many diseases in Lebanon is the “Shadi Mawlawi” disease. It exists in many sects and political parties: people who rise from zero to hero in the matter of seconds, who manage to rally the masses behind a “cause,” who get the masses to die for that “cause” and who end up burning the country for a matter that is irrelevant.

There are too many Mawlawis  in Lebanon to count, too many people above any consideration, above any law, above any form of government, above any form of civility. Shadi Mawlawi, Samir el Kentar, the airport officer who led to the May 2008 events, the Islamists of Nahr el Bered…

And then there are those who are taken by the Mawlawis of Lebanon and who believe burning tires is the best solution to get your voice across. The sad thing is they are getting results. It is here that I reiterate the question I asked yesterday: in a country of savagery, is civility the best option for  self-preservation?

“Hay balad? hay mesh balad… hay shellet 3alam. Majmou3in? La2. Madroubin? La2. Ma2soumin? La2. Matrou7in? La2. Oum fout nam w sir 7lam enno baladna saret balad.” – Ziad el Rahbani.

Burning Tires in Lebanon? Here’s How You Can Make a Living

Source via Twitter user PiaaaM.

While they burn tires, you feed them. Copious amounts of starch and other carbohydrates are sure to keep their energy levels high. Then they’ll burn more tires and you feed them more.

After an hour of riot to protest something they were told they needed to protest, you would have made enough money for a month’s living. Sounds like a plan? You bet.