Pen Thoughts

A fish was swimming one day in a cool pond at the high western mountains of Lebanon, happily and peacefully. A frog came along and asks the fish: "Heyy, how is the water". The fish look at the frog surprisingly and blankly, responding: "What's water"! If you live in Lebanon, you don't need wittiness to understand who's the fish and who's the frog might be. Yet it is always surprising how resistant some Lebanese on seeing clearly the true colours of our crisis; thus, are completely blind on who hold the responsibilities. It could be blindness, collusion of interests and/or a mixture of both. In any case, this never stop being a perplexing dilemma for Lebanese citizens who have freed themselves from the slavery of sectarian autocrats, or to whom have never given their knees. Even when it comes to advanced liberal forces who have fought against the tyranny of neighbours, they have fallen, as their pride did, into the cracks of the sectarian sy...

I was born in Lebanon in 1981. until the day I started to gain consciousness about my surrounding social paradigm, I learned two things. Our reactions as a cultural entity highly depend on emotions. We can be stupid and illogical. A lot of things changed during my 38 years of living in this shit hole. but the abovementioned facts never changed. In fact, it got worse. We believe silly lies. We discuss meaningless subjects. We do useless jobs, though we hate it, we never try to change. We say whatever it comes from our one cell brain without owning any responsibility. We are fearless and full of fears at the same time. Utterly sectorial. Full of empathy and careless at the same time. We have to admit firs that our downfall, the current one more precisely, is a direct implication of our destructive mindset, contradictive and irresponsible behavior. Lebanon, this is what we are, own it

I find it really weird! On the outset of the 17th October uprising, I started a daily ritual of packing a bag and going to Riad El Soleh area. Though the first day of the uprising I was angry because what motivated people to react on unbelievable, shameless actions of the political elite, was mainly the proposition on Whatsup tax. For me, people reaction was more insulting than the proposition itself. Yet, after the fourth day of the uprising, I only got the sensation of hope and beauty in this new strange movement. I even was fearful the whole thing would end at any second. I woke up every day with an urge that took me to the screens hoping to see roads are blocked, people are in the streets shouting angerly, defying and fighting for their most basic rights. I find it weird, finally courageous and hopeful! In its seventy days anniversary, with lots of ups and downs, resistance, perseverance, and commitment, this uprising still breathing. It was reduced, however, no d...