This is a poem I am reblogging from sickofbeirut.blogspot.com
Sick of Beirut: Me, Beirut and suffocation: I can hear my watch ticking next to me I can hear the music I am playing I can hear the AC blowing fresh air in my r...
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Wellywood Woman: Niam Itani (1) - Before the Venice Film Festival
Wellywood Woman: Niam Itani (1) - Before the Venice Film Festival: Niam Itani Niam Itani (also Etany) is the only woman director among the ten finalists in YouTube’s short film competition, Your Film Fes...
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Super.Full. played at AsterFest in Macedonia yesterday. Here is the trailer of the festival which has an excellent line up of films from various countries all over the world.
AsterFest Official Website
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
It All Burns Down to...Memories
Everything. Whatever happened earlier today. Yesterday. The week before. Last month. The whole year that ended. Since I came to Lebanon. Five years at Al Jazeera. My agonizing years once upon a time. University. School. I wonder how many terra bytes can my memory hold. Two is very little. Maybe twenty. Or two hundred. Sometimes I want to write them down before I forget them. At other times I just tell myself, "forget". There will be space for happiness when you forget the pain. But is that really all what we remember? The pain?
I am only writing this because I needed to write, really. I miss writing. I secretly envy my students at LAU because they get asked to write and are given a deadline. I am left to write at my leisure.
I often go back to wanting to write about home. What I still fail to define and recognize, but miss nevertheless. Was Beirut ever my home? I hate to even think that there may be a yes to that question. Even if it would be a temporary one. Like for a month. When I was a day old.
People find it funny that I don't brag about Beirut being my home & my city. I mean, who wouldn't want a place like this for a home? Right?
And I wonder to myself, though I now know the formula, I wonder, what do they like about the city. The formula is simple. For foreigners, visitors, passers by who will never feel trapped in this city, they are at total luxury to enjoy its magic. They can come and go whenever they want. They are always treated well -for the most part- because they have money (mostly), they are interesting (ajenib!), or because it is simply cool to hang out with someone who "looks" civilized once in a while for a change.
Today I drove to Dahyeh to offer condolences to a relative's family. The single traffic light that I had to pass on Hadi Nasrallah Highway was a piece of furniture for many drivers (not all).
Close to the house of the wake, there is also a new sad story which foreigners might find disturbing and I find sick, but people here have grown to find it normal. A newly wed groom was bragging to his wife about his gun and jokingly fired it. Into her head. I don't think I want to comment on this incident. I leave it to you. Honestly, I don't know what the hell am I typing anymore. Good Night, Folks!
I am only writing this because I needed to write, really. I miss writing. I secretly envy my students at LAU because they get asked to write and are given a deadline. I am left to write at my leisure.
I often go back to wanting to write about home. What I still fail to define and recognize, but miss nevertheless. Was Beirut ever my home? I hate to even think that there may be a yes to that question. Even if it would be a temporary one. Like for a month. When I was a day old.
People find it funny that I don't brag about Beirut being my home & my city. I mean, who wouldn't want a place like this for a home? Right?
And I wonder to myself, though I now know the formula, I wonder, what do they like about the city. The formula is simple. For foreigners, visitors, passers by who will never feel trapped in this city, they are at total luxury to enjoy its magic. They can come and go whenever they want. They are always treated well -for the most part- because they have money (mostly), they are interesting (ajenib!), or because it is simply cool to hang out with someone who "looks" civilized once in a while for a change.
Today I drove to Dahyeh to offer condolences to a relative's family. The single traffic light that I had to pass on Hadi Nasrallah Highway was a piece of furniture for many drivers (not all).
Close to the house of the wake, there is also a new sad story which foreigners might find disturbing and I find sick, but people here have grown to find it normal. A newly wed groom was bragging to his wife about his gun and jokingly fired it. Into her head. I don't think I want to comment on this incident. I leave it to you. Honestly, I don't know what the hell am I typing anymore. Good Night, Folks!
Sunday, January 01, 2012
2011 - Fading Away
O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things. You make the night to enter into the day, and You make the day to enter into the night, You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give wealth and sustenance to whom You will, without limit.' [Soorah aal-Imran (3): 26-27]
"I came like water, and like wind I go" Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
"I came like water, and like wind I go" Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Friday, December 09, 2011
E-Courage !
Most of what I see these days on facebook is posts related to the so called "Arab Spring". Those of my friends who know me well, know that I detest "undisciplined enthusiasm" in any field of life. I prefer planning (even planning not to plan is fine with me). Yes, I do believe that most political systems in Arab countries are rotten and need to be changed. Yes, I know that people suffer from poverty and discrimination and FEAR. I am not an enemy of the people. In fact, I want the people to be free and to enjoy equal rights to education, healthcare, voting, etc.. And I also support their right to read more and have faster internet access so they can educate themselves on ethics too.
But what I hate about this Arab Spring is that in its aftermath in each country, people are starting to hate each other. For the first time, people have the right to say their opinions out loud. A free opinion after long long years of oppression. So what would we expect? Most of the time it is a non-civilized hate speech fuelled by propaganda and political interests.
In Lebanon, the conflict in Syria adds to the internal tension between right and left. Most of the people -not all- in Sunni and Shiite sects follow their leaders points of view for obvious reasons: It is the interest of your sect or your party/militia/political group. If their interest is the survival of the regime in Syria, you adopt the side of the regime in Syria. A set of propagandistic explanations is ready for everything that's happening. If the sect/political interest is against the regime in Syria, you state your blunt hatred towards the regime in Syria and you have a set of propagandistic explanations ready for everything that's happening.
Another sad thing is that the political interest for those WITH the regime in Bahrain is with those AGAINST the regime in Syria. And people say flat out that they support one of these "revolutions" but not the other, when it is clear that both revolutions are very similar.
The struggle in both countries is multi-faceted and very dirty. Interests of loads of countries intertwine in these conflicts. Those who believe that no foreign interference happened in Bahrain and no foreign interference happened in Syria are plain idiots. Those who deny that people in both countries are suffering under their current leadership and that they could be offered better lives are also idiots.
I am an artist. I have nothing to do with political interests or sectarian interests. But I despise double standards. Particularly when they have to deal with human life.
The title of this post is inspired by posts on facebook and twitter. Most of the "revolutionaries" with and against the Syrian Regime on my facebook friend list and twitter feed, do not live in Syria. But they are very devout pro and anti regime, with dirty non civilized words and all. And I want to salute their E-courage. They have no brothers to die on the streets in Syria (afaik) and they have never lived in Syria long eough and probably never will, to decide if the Syrian people want their political system or not.
Last but not least, I am very sad that things in Syria now seem to have gone out of control and nobody wants to talk to anybody anymore. I wish the least number of mothers lose sons in these sad events. And I hope the conflict ends with more freedom for the Syrian people, regardless of their religions and sects or lack thereof.
But what I hate about this Arab Spring is that in its aftermath in each country, people are starting to hate each other. For the first time, people have the right to say their opinions out loud. A free opinion after long long years of oppression. So what would we expect? Most of the time it is a non-civilized hate speech fuelled by propaganda and political interests.
In Lebanon, the conflict in Syria adds to the internal tension between right and left. Most of the people -not all- in Sunni and Shiite sects follow their leaders points of view for obvious reasons: It is the interest of your sect or your party/militia/political group. If their interest is the survival of the regime in Syria, you adopt the side of the regime in Syria. A set of propagandistic explanations is ready for everything that's happening. If the sect/political interest is against the regime in Syria, you state your blunt hatred towards the regime in Syria and you have a set of propagandistic explanations ready for everything that's happening.
Another sad thing is that the political interest for those WITH the regime in Bahrain is with those AGAINST the regime in Syria. And people say flat out that they support one of these "revolutions" but not the other, when it is clear that both revolutions are very similar.
The struggle in both countries is multi-faceted and very dirty. Interests of loads of countries intertwine in these conflicts. Those who believe that no foreign interference happened in Bahrain and no foreign interference happened in Syria are plain idiots. Those who deny that people in both countries are suffering under their current leadership and that they could be offered better lives are also idiots.
I am an artist. I have nothing to do with political interests or sectarian interests. But I despise double standards. Particularly when they have to deal with human life.
The title of this post is inspired by posts on facebook and twitter. Most of the "revolutionaries" with and against the Syrian Regime on my facebook friend list and twitter feed, do not live in Syria. But they are very devout pro and anti regime, with dirty non civilized words and all. And I want to salute their E-courage. They have no brothers to die on the streets in Syria (afaik) and they have never lived in Syria long eough and probably never will, to decide if the Syrian people want their political system or not.
Last but not least, I am very sad that things in Syria now seem to have gone out of control and nobody wants to talk to anybody anymore. I wish the least number of mothers lose sons in these sad events. And I hope the conflict ends with more freedom for the Syrian people, regardless of their religions and sects or lack thereof.
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