Friends in Lebanon
From Muzna:
Lebanon news – Saturday July 15It is not me they should be worrying about, my friends from countries around the world who have been calling since Wednesday; after all I live in one of the safest areas of this country, next to embassies, and prime ministers. I have water and electricity, and above all internet. If they are to worry, they are to think of the tens of people I am calling everyday. People in the south of Lebanon who are under the shelling, and isolated from the rest of the country. If I am to share a diary I will not share mine, but that of my friend Mohammed and his family.There are forty people in Mohammed’s two bedroom house since Thursday. Along with his wife and his twin boys, are his brothers and sisters, their children and their 70 year old mother. Their village has been attacked and is relatively unsafe. Unfortunately the place they are staying at now is not any safer. They are in Al-Hosh, a suburb of the city of Tyre. Yesterday night a gas station hundreds of meters away was bombed, and they have been hearing the shelling all day today. They have no electricity. The generators, already present in most regions, of the country are running out of fuel as the roads to the south are all destroyed now. Water which should reach the houses through electric pumps is now scarce due to the electricity pumps.The family feels isolated, the road back to their village was already destroyed so are the roads to other regions of the country. “It is like we are living on the margins of life, things might happen here and nobody would know.” We talk about Naim, a kid we both knew from a Zibqine a lovely village south of Tyre. He died on Thursday along with 11 other members of his family when their family home was bombed. Some of the bodies might still be under the rubble. “Basseeta”, he says, literally meaning “it is simple” or “not a problem”, and I ask how can he say something like this, while his family is under siege and threat. He says it to continue, expecting that if anything happens to him and his family, the world, as with Naim, might also see it as too minimal of an incidence.“We know the story too well, we lived it so many times” he says, “but this time I feel it differently”. “Yesterday, watching my children in their sleep, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness. How can I protect them? They are three and a half years old and I thought they were saved from the life we lived. I am scared of the possibility of running out of supplies, of gas, water and food for them. They are agitated, now trapped in the house with 38 other people for three days. What scares me too is that they are acquiring too early knowledge I wanted to shield them from. Yesterday, on the phone with their uncle in Germany, they asked for a tank, like the one the Israelis have, as a present on his next trip to Lebanon. It chokes me up. When I was kid I asked for plastic guns as a gift. We played “war” in the living room with cushions as our sandbags; this was a game they never played and I was hoping they would never learn. Yet, unfortunately, it seems I am not their only tutor.”
Zena al-Kalil
For the last half hour or so, I have been watching the skyline outside mybalcony. It is on fire. It's 4:14am.
At 3:28am this morning, I woke up to the sound of Israeli jets flying lowover our skies in Beirut. I was just beginning to finally fall asleep, had racing thoughts in my mind all night, cramps in my stomach, fear... Just asI thought I was going to fall asleep, I heard the sound of jets, followed by one explosion after another.It has calmed down now. I hear morning prayers in the distance.I am at home with some friends who have taken refugee with us. A lot of them foreigners. We are trying to explain... Who, what, why.. But, we're also trying to be normal. Because being normal is what got Lebanese through 20 some years of war. We are joking about how the airport is on fire because of all the alcohol in the duty free. We are trying to be normal.Up until now, Israel has done the following:
-blown up our international airport, run ways, gas reserves for planes (noone can leave or enter the country.)
-blown up small military domestic airports (both in the north and south)
-blown up all bridges and roads linking beirut to the south
-blown up areas/villages of the south, everything from the deep south tosaida
-blown up ... As I type this now, another jet is flying by, it is so loud-... Continue...
Blown up the suburbs (Dahiye).. Three missiles-blown up the beirut-damascus road at several points-we are surrounded at sea as well, there are military ships launchingattacks... Not watching tv anymore, but I know there is so much more going on.Thousands evacuated their homes from the south today. They had to walk for miles because their cars could not cross the highway.Another jet and another explosion. This is all going into Dahiyeh. I can see the red anti aircraft "bullets" being shot in retaliation. Pointless. Theweapons Hizbullah have are so old and out dated (World War II left oversfrom Russia).. No match for Israeli technology.Newest update, it's 4:26am, Israelis are attacking the city, "Saida" fromsea. They are targeting the bridge that connects to Saida.Another really loud bomb. My heart is racing. I can only pretend to bebrave.Everything that is happening now is because Israel is trying to wipe out anytrace of Hizuballah in Lebanon. In the process of doing all this, they havewiped out our infrastructures. Our roads, bridges, etc. civilian homes,innocent lives.It's 4:32am and I have a knot in my stomach. I am praying they don't hit the electricity. I want my internet. I think it's the only thing that will help me stay normal.
Latest update; 9 missile raids into Dahiyeh in the last hour. There are now several parts of Beirut without electricity.I am praying for the people in Dahiyeh ..
Another really really loud bomb. I guess that makes it 10 now.
I am angry now. the things that cross your mind... I just set up a new installation last week, now, no one will get to see it. I was just about ready to launch an international residency program here.. Not going to happen now. was just planning to start a family, who wants to get pregnant now?Ladies and gentlemen, I did not want to burden you with the troubles of war,but I think it is really important that the world knows what is going on. We are under attack by israel. It is unjust and unfair. I wonder what the media coverage is like out there. All this must end. Israel must be stopped. This is so unjust and unfair. Everything we've worked on for the past 10 years is gone now. so, so so, unjust and unfair. We had so many cultural events planned for the summer... Exhibits... Concerts... Plays.. Etc. all gone.We have found a website that is giving up to the second news in Arabic if anyone is interested in following up: www.tayyar.org
Dear friends, pray for us. For this madness to end. Pray for the Lebanese people to stick through this together and not lose their cool.
Lebanon news – Saturday July 15It is not me they should be worrying about, my friends from countries around the world who have been calling since Wednesday; after all I live in one of the safest areas of this country, next to embassies, and prime ministers. I have water and electricity, and above all internet. If they are to worry, they are to think of the tens of people I am calling everyday. People in the south of Lebanon who are under the shelling, and isolated from the rest of the country. If I am to share a diary I will not share mine, but that of my friend Mohammed and his family.There are forty people in Mohammed’s two bedroom house since Thursday. Along with his wife and his twin boys, are his brothers and sisters, their children and their 70 year old mother. Their village has been attacked and is relatively unsafe. Unfortunately the place they are staying at now is not any safer. They are in Al-Hosh, a suburb of the city of Tyre. Yesterday night a gas station hundreds of meters away was bombed, and they have been hearing the shelling all day today. They have no electricity. The generators, already present in most regions, of the country are running out of fuel as the roads to the south are all destroyed now. Water which should reach the houses through electric pumps is now scarce due to the electricity pumps.The family feels isolated, the road back to their village was already destroyed so are the roads to other regions of the country. “It is like we are living on the margins of life, things might happen here and nobody would know.” We talk about Naim, a kid we both knew from a Zibqine a lovely village south of Tyre. He died on Thursday along with 11 other members of his family when their family home was bombed. Some of the bodies might still be under the rubble. “Basseeta”, he says, literally meaning “it is simple” or “not a problem”, and I ask how can he say something like this, while his family is under siege and threat. He says it to continue, expecting that if anything happens to him and his family, the world, as with Naim, might also see it as too minimal of an incidence.“We know the story too well, we lived it so many times” he says, “but this time I feel it differently”. “Yesterday, watching my children in their sleep, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness. How can I protect them? They are three and a half years old and I thought they were saved from the life we lived. I am scared of the possibility of running out of supplies, of gas, water and food for them. They are agitated, now trapped in the house with 38 other people for three days. What scares me too is that they are acquiring too early knowledge I wanted to shield them from. Yesterday, on the phone with their uncle in Germany, they asked for a tank, like the one the Israelis have, as a present on his next trip to Lebanon. It chokes me up. When I was kid I asked for plastic guns as a gift. We played “war” in the living room with cushions as our sandbags; this was a game they never played and I was hoping they would never learn. Yet, unfortunately, it seems I am not their only tutor.”
Zena al-Kalil
For the last half hour or so, I have been watching the skyline outside mybalcony. It is on fire. It's 4:14am.
At 3:28am this morning, I woke up to the sound of Israeli jets flying lowover our skies in Beirut. I was just beginning to finally fall asleep, had racing thoughts in my mind all night, cramps in my stomach, fear... Just asI thought I was going to fall asleep, I heard the sound of jets, followed by one explosion after another.It has calmed down now. I hear morning prayers in the distance.I am at home with some friends who have taken refugee with us. A lot of them foreigners. We are trying to explain... Who, what, why.. But, we're also trying to be normal. Because being normal is what got Lebanese through 20 some years of war. We are joking about how the airport is on fire because of all the alcohol in the duty free. We are trying to be normal.Up until now, Israel has done the following:
-blown up our international airport, run ways, gas reserves for planes (noone can leave or enter the country.)
-blown up small military domestic airports (both in the north and south)
-blown up all bridges and roads linking beirut to the south
-blown up areas/villages of the south, everything from the deep south tosaida
-blown up ... As I type this now, another jet is flying by, it is so loud-... Continue...
Blown up the suburbs (Dahiye).. Three missiles-blown up the beirut-damascus road at several points-we are surrounded at sea as well, there are military ships launchingattacks... Not watching tv anymore, but I know there is so much more going on.Thousands evacuated their homes from the south today. They had to walk for miles because their cars could not cross the highway.Another jet and another explosion. This is all going into Dahiyeh. I can see the red anti aircraft "bullets" being shot in retaliation. Pointless. Theweapons Hizbullah have are so old and out dated (World War II left oversfrom Russia).. No match for Israeli technology.Newest update, it's 4:26am, Israelis are attacking the city, "Saida" fromsea. They are targeting the bridge that connects to Saida.Another really loud bomb. My heart is racing. I can only pretend to bebrave.Everything that is happening now is because Israel is trying to wipe out anytrace of Hizuballah in Lebanon. In the process of doing all this, they havewiped out our infrastructures. Our roads, bridges, etc. civilian homes,innocent lives.It's 4:32am and I have a knot in my stomach. I am praying they don't hit the electricity. I want my internet. I think it's the only thing that will help me stay normal.
Latest update; 9 missile raids into Dahiyeh in the last hour. There are now several parts of Beirut without electricity.I am praying for the people in Dahiyeh ..
Another really really loud bomb. I guess that makes it 10 now.
I am angry now. the things that cross your mind... I just set up a new installation last week, now, no one will get to see it. I was just about ready to launch an international residency program here.. Not going to happen now. was just planning to start a family, who wants to get pregnant now?Ladies and gentlemen, I did not want to burden you with the troubles of war,but I think it is really important that the world knows what is going on. We are under attack by israel. It is unjust and unfair. I wonder what the media coverage is like out there. All this must end. Israel must be stopped. This is so unjust and unfair. Everything we've worked on for the past 10 years is gone now. so, so so, unjust and unfair. We had so many cultural events planned for the summer... Exhibits... Concerts... Plays.. Etc. all gone.We have found a website that is giving up to the second news in Arabic if anyone is interested in following up: www.tayyar.org
Dear friends, pray for us. For this madness to end. Pray for the Lebanese people to stick through this together and not lose their cool.
posted by AK | 11:13
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