Reading Time: 2 minutes 2020 has proven to be one the most tumultuous and unrestrained years in this little nation’s 100 year existence. Twelve months of continuous and unexpected predicaments of the worst kinds, all endured with exemplary dignity and integrity. The extent of empathy, generosity and care offered so selflessly by the people is simply humbling. Look in…
Pyromaniacs
Reading Time: 2 minutes The discourse of the reformist groups has changed after the massive August 4 explosion. The depth of hatred, spite, corruption and incompetence we are dealing with, embodied by our so-called political establishment, is beyond the most horrific, dystopian imagination. Never have I come across so many frightened eyes as since the Beirut blast. Eyes that…
To you, our enemy
Reading Time: 2 minutes The massive destruction caused by criminal negligence on behalf of our politicians is impossible to assess. Innocent lives were lost. Property, seaport, livelihoods, schools, hospitals, homes, jobs, businesses, trade, dreams, and aspirations were totally destroyed. The impact of this deadly criminal act will reverberate for years to come. Beyond razing the wonderful cultural heritage from…
Doomed to repeat?
Reading Time: 2 minutes When I was a kid, around five or six years old, I had two neighbors, Dalal and Claude. I was fascinated by them; I wanted to be like them. They were maybe 16 or 17 years old, and what they did in 1975 was grab white flags and head to Downtown Beirut to chase the…
Dystopian nightmare
Reading Time: 3 minutes These are worrying times for all of us. In April the lockdown in Lebanon was extended for a second time. It is possible it will be extended again. On a global scale, our lives have been disrupted en masse in a way in which many people have not experienced in their lifetimes. People are anxious,…
The virus within
Reading Time: 2 minutes The situation has become even more surreal. We have a government that is totally disconnected from reality. No matter how many American passports the cabinet collectively has, this government is still undeniably perceived by the international community as a Hezbollah, Amal, and Aounist government, backed by Iran, Syria, and Russia. Meanwhile, this government’s attempts to…
Look to the people
Reading Time: 2 minutes If anything is bankrupt in this country, it is the establishment. Their incompetence is so vulgar and obvious that there is nothing they could do to convince us otherwise. The verdict is out, they know it, everyone knows it—locally, regionally, and internationally. We are all watching them clinging to the power they still think they…
No more lies
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s only during crisis that truth comes to light. As everyone scrambles into new positions, reality is revealed. Each time the Lebanese equation changes, players let their masks slip in their bid to defend their slice of what remains. The violations that are perpetrated in the process are often so flagrant that forgiveness seems impossible. …
Time to rise above
Reading Time: 2 minutes Executive has been shouting over and over again for change in this country, calling the bluffs of successive governments in our more than 20 years of coverage. At times, it seemed as though we were screaming into the void. Ignored by the policy-makers, targeted by threats and lawsuits, and resigned to the lack of reaction…
Le monde du plus fort ou du plus fou
Reading Time: 2 minutes French anthropologist Marc Augé coined the phrase “non-lieu” (non-place) in the mid-1990s to describe places where considerations of history and identity were erased—think shopping malls or airports. Listening to him speak in Lebanon earlier in September got me thinking, Lebanon is the antithesis of a non-lieu. Every space in Lebanon is linked to our history…