Commemorations and Anniversaries

September 11 brought with it a series of commemorations. In the same week, Beirut hosted a few activities in remembrance of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. A few days after that, it was time to commemorate the assassination of a president, and on and on … It suddenly felt that we only gathered to support each other in solemn occasions, to share grief or pain, to keep a sad slice of history alive in honour of those who perished.

I’ve decided that what we should be doing is recognizing and celebrating anniversaries of positive life effects, of events that saved lives and promoted humanity. Events that changed our world and our lives for the better, forever. Here are some real and imaginary events that come to mind, and for each, I call for a global day of tribute and celebration (if some of these already exist, they’re clearly not global enough, so let’s push them forward, people!):

- Discovering penicillin
- Eradicating polio
- Conquering childhood malnutrition
- Finding a sustainable solution to homelessness
- Giving women and youth the right to vote
- Shutting down the last manufacturer of weapons, arms and mines
- Celebrating the treatment of the last polluted water source
- Eliminating the word ‘discrimination’ from the dictionaries, because it no longer means anything
- Returning to the point where we see “number of people dead” as a crime and a tragedy, regardless of who, how, where, how many and why.
- …

Every time I come back to the list, I add something else on. I’ll leave it here for now, but feel free to add a few of your own…

Car Bombs and such…

Another car bomb went off in our fair city yesterday, claiming the life of an MP, 7 unfortunate souls who were nearby, and injured 25 others. In a tiny country that prides itself on its intimate support networks, I was paradoxically grateful that I did not know any of the victims, and suddenly wondered, morbidly, how long my luck would last.

It was another car bomb in our city. After two months of relative calm, this triggered the old mechanisms in all of us… I was at a seaside café when we heard the news. People leaving quietly and abruptly should have given it away, but our reflexes were rusty. After getting an update from my companion’s mother, we made the necessary calls to reassure family that we were alright, and to check on friends who live or might have been in the area, put away our cell phones and continued our conversation. My mother pleaded with me to go home, not realizing the safety I felt in staying still. Jumana texted from abroad, and when I replied that we were by the sea, returned with “Lebanon is a strange place”.

I suppose it is.

But here is what I continue to learn – that survival has many forms, one of which is standing perfectly still and not flinching; that a drop of hope carries people a long, long way; and that sometimes, when the problem is that much bigger than you, keeping it in the background can be an effective tactic.
Just a thought…

Airport Experiences

Having lived as an expatriate for most of my life, I became familiar with airports at a very early age. I should say, I became aware of farewells and departures at an early age. As children, we learn to take things in stride, and you would think that after all these years of experience, one would finally be accustomed to the process. Well, you would be wrong.

Returning from my recent vacation at my parents’, a funny old feeling revisited me. You probably know the one – when you willingly get on a plane knowing full well you want to reach your destination, but wondering why you have to leave in order to do so. As I waited for my ride at the airport, I wondered how I could feel so sad to leave a life that made me so unhappy and unfulfilled when I was in it. I believe this is the typical pondering of a typical ‘immigrant’.

We boast a centuries-long history of migration – both voluntary and forced – and yet we have still not cracked this code. Is it life that became so complicated, or are we no longer able to reconcile our dreams with a single place? Did our predecessors open the door to the world of opportunities, or pre-dispose us to the choice such that the completeness of our individual worlds was no longer possible without complications?

Considering we have been doing this for years and years, we have naturally found ways to acclimatize, so I don’t dwell on this much. It just comes to mind when I’m at airports…

The living is easy-er with naps

Have you ever noticed how, in our mid-thirties, the highest form of luxury becomes being able to take a nap in the middle of the day? Even more interesting as, if I recall, we resisted nap-time with a vengeance as pre-schoolers, and resisted any form of non-motion as young adults. I’m not lamenting my age, by any stretch. Quite the contrary, I’m relishing the fact that I now don’t resist the urge to lay back wherever I am during the day, and shutting the world off for a blessed 15 – 20 minutes.

If you haven’t tried this recently, I highly recommend it. It is now a must on my list of holiday criteria … and I’m thinking of sneaking a sofa into the office too.

Please leave a message…

I love these out-of-office automated replies. It gives the impression to whoever has just contacted you that you were considerate enough to rub your vacation into their face, complete with how long you’ll be away while they’re still working. My main complaint is my automated message never seems to work!

I am finally on vacation. A number of tell-tale signs indicated that it was time to take a break (let’s just say that I fell just a few inches shy of breaking things), and though finding a seat on a plane proved to be a challenge, I was packed and off in a few days. “Packed” not only referred to necessary and not-so-necessary items of clothing, but also to a number of books, articles, etc. that I thought I would attend to now that I had free time. Big mistake. The one thing worse than bringing work with you on your vacation is being overrun with guilt for not doing said work. After two days of trekking around with a backpack full of papers and books, instead of swimsuits and shorts, I received a metaphorical slap in the face from a friend who simply insisted “DETACH”. Interesting how the simplest messages forcefully expressed are so effective… If you need me, I’ll be at the mall or evaporating on the beach. Still carrying those articles around, but not really caring if I get to them or not. Guess attitude really is everything.