On the 26th of April 2005, The Syrian army withdrew from Beirut and all regions and repositioned itself in the Bekaa. This “nearly complete” withdrawal stopped there and the Syrians are STILL occupying Lebanese soil.

A report by the UN almost a year ago showed that Syrians are still in the Beqaa and performed several incursions inside the Lebanese territories. Added to that, the borders are still not controlled, illegal paths are still there, drug and arms traffic is still there and we dont have yet an acknowledgment from the Syrian regime that Lebanon is a sovereign country.

Most importantly, we dont have a Syrian embassy in Lebanon, which is for me the only proof that Syrians officially acknowledged our independance.

I refuse to celebrate this day, because it is a fake independance, we are still invaded and under the Syrian regime’s influence.

Here is a nice article on Syria’s continuous occupation.

Happy Easter to all Orthodox Christians !

And a special happy easter to all the Syriac Orthodox !

My only wish is that All Christians celebrate at the same time every year, instead of burying and resurrecting the Christ twice every year … and i dont care which side is right ..

The Armenian genocide is a crime against humanity and against Armenians specifically, and we cannot but condemn it one year after the other and hope that Turkey will get punished for it. Keep in mind that Lebanese Christians were also victims as well as Christians Syriacs in the Middle East region in countries that were under the Ottoman rule.

Till today, only 22 countries recognize the genocide.

Here is a video published by Beith Suryoyo group on facebook on the massacres committed back in 1914-1915.

Wishing all the mothers out there a magical day !
This year, Mother’s day coincides with Good Friday, the day St Mary witnessed her only child, Jesus Christ, be crucified.

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

Why do we do it ?

The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is an ancient practice, probably originating in Rome, where early pilgrims visited the seven pilgrim churches as penance. They are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter, Saint Mary Major, Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls, Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem, and traditionally Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls. Pope John Paul II replaced St. Sebastian with the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love for the jubilee year of 2000.

For those of you outside Lebanon, here are few pictures of the churches i visited today, that way you can at least visit them virtually

Mar Maroun, Achrafieh ( Pic1 , Pic2 , Pic3 , Pic4)

Catholic Capucin Church, Beirut (One of the oldest catholic churches in Beirut), (Pic1, Pic2).

Maronite Church, Beirut ( Pic1, Pic2 )

Saydit el Bchara, Achrafieh ( Pic1, Pic2)

Mar Antonios Church, Achrafieh ( Pic1, Pic2)

St Joseph Cathedral, Achrafieh ( Pic1, Pic2, Pic3)

Mar Charbel, Adonis

And here is an eigth church that i did not visit today, but that is very meaningful to me and that i love visiting from time to time.

Saydit el Maysseh Church, Jbeil :
(Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4)

(From Le Monde, today:
http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2008/03/06/wajdi-mouawad-seul-sur-scene-loin-du-liban_1019517_3246.html) 

Il est des moments, dans la vie, où s’impose un retour sur soi. A 40 ans, Wajdi Mouawad en traverse un, qu’il met en scène, de manière très émouvante, dans Seuls. Le spectacle sera présenté en juillet au Festival d’Avignon. Mais c’est à Chambéry qu’il est créé, à l’Espace Malraux, où Mouawad a déjà créé Forêts, en 2006, et où il est artiste associé jusqu’en 2010.

Forêts s’inscrivait dans la lignée des spectacles qui ont fait aimer en France ce Libanais d’origine, installé au Québec après avoir vécu six ans à Paris, de 1978 à 1986. Sa famille fuyait la guerre du Liban, qui n’a jamais quitté l’enfant qu’il était ni l’adulte qu’il est devenu. Comment recoller les morceaux ? Se construire une identité ? Vivre l’exil ? Ces questions hantent les pièces de Wajdi Mouawad, comme Littoral, qui lui a valu, en 2005, le Molière du meilleur auteur dramatique francophone.

Auteur, Mouawad l’est avec générosité. D’un mouvement ample, il sait tisser des fresques qui vous emmènent là où l’odyssée de l’histoire rejoint celle de chacun, dans la quête sans cesse recommencée de l’amour, de la mort et de la vie à apprivoiser avant qu’elles ne filent leur chemin, et ne vous perdent en route. Il y a un goût indéniable de l’absolu dans cette écriture, qui, avec Seuls, efface beaucoup des majuscules qu’elle contient, pour serrer au plus près l’intime.

CROISER DES HISTOIRES

Seuls est un solo - joué par Mouawad lui-même. Celui d’un homme, Herwan, un Libanais exilé au Québec, qui prépare une thèse sur Robert Lepage, la grande figure du théâtre québécois. C’est l’hiver, il tombe des tonnes de neige, et Herwan n’arrive pas à travailler. Il tourne en rond dans son nouvel appartement, nu ou presque, comme s’il se protégeait des couches de vêtements qu’il doit enfiler quand il sort.

Le téléphone fixe marche mal, et quand il sonne, c’est soit sa soeur, soit son père, qui ne le lâchent pas, soit le directeur de thèse, qui lui demande de terminer son travail au plus vite pour obtenir le poste d’un professeur qui vient de mourir. Mais pour terminer, Herwan veut revoir Robert Lepage, qui prépare un spectacle à Saint-Pétersbourg.

C’est là que Seuls réserve une surprise. On s’attend, comme toujours avec Wajdi Mouawad, à partir loin, à rencontrer des gens, à croiser des histoires. Et l’on se retrouve face à un homme seul, qui se dépouille peu à peu des peaux d’oignon de la parole, pour entrer dans le monde de la performance, en peignant sur son corps autant que sur les murs ce qui l’habite et lui pèse : la vacuité des jours qui se suivent en boucle, le désir d’être soi et autre, l’appel, nourri des souvenirs d’enfance, à une vie qui échapperait à la pesanteur. Une vie d’”étoile filante”, comme Herwan rêvait d’en être une, quand il était dans l’instant de la nuit, au Liban.

Herwan, c’est évidemment Wajdi Mouawad. Mais c’est chacun, et Seuls le dit bien, jusque dans ses maladresses, qui étaient incroyablement touchantes, le soir de la première, mardi 4 mars. C’étaient celles de la vie comme elle va, quand on se demande où elle va.

It seems only few this year remember the massacre of Saydet Al Najat bombing. Only few Lebanese still remember, the rest are busy with selected assassinations and bombings. We don’t. We remember them all.

On February 27 1995, a bomb explodes in Saydet Al Najat Maronite Catholic church in Lebanon, killing nine worshippers and wounding at least 60 as they lined up at the altar to take Communion.

[Read More]

On the 23rd of February 1980, Maya Bashir Gemayel was assassinated by Syrian agents instead of her dad and fell as a Martyr with 3 of her comrades, Antoine Wakim, Nehemtallah Ghanem & Elias Lahoud.

May she rest in peace.
Bashir 7ay fina.

A Christmas tree lighting ceremony was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov 26. According to Guinness World Records, the 82-meter-tall tree decorated with 2.8 million colorful bulbs is the biggest one in the world. [...]

Here is a nice video of it:

Wishing all Muslims in Lebanon and around the world a happy and blessed Eid Al Adha.

Thousands mourned today the assassination of Francois El-Hajj, starting from Baabda and then all the way to Harissa’s Basilic where masses from all political affiliations cheered his arrival.

Almost all key figures attended the funeral, from Dr.Geagea, Jumblatt, Michel Aoun, Michel Suleiman and even Claudio Graziano ( UNIFL Commander). The mass was surprisingly headed by the Patriarch himself.

The convoy then started from Harissa all the day to El-Hajj’s hometown in Rmeich all the way in the South. People gathered from all regions to give a last salute to the martyr.

Here is a small profile on the General:

- Date and place of birth: 28/7/1953-Rmeish - district of Bint Jbeil
- The languages he used to master: French – English – Italian
- Degrees: Lebanese Baccalaureate second part – Mathematics
- Family Status: married/father of three children

Promotions:

- he enlisted in the Army as a cadet officer and joined the military academy starting from 13/11/1972. he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant on 1/8/1975 and afterwards he was gradually promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of staff on 1/1/2002.

Major positions held:
- Commander of the battalion 43 from 24/2/1984 until 4/3/1984
- Commander of the battalion 51 from 5/2/1986 until 9/8/1992
- Commander the third intervention regiment as regiment from 10/8/1992 until 29/1/1996
- Commander of the navy seals regiment from 29/1/1996 until 22/7/1999
- Assistant Commander of the twelvth infantry brigade starting from 6/7/2000 until 29/11/2001
- Head of information in the Army Staff Operations unit from 9/11/2001 until 25/2/2002
- Head of the Army Staff Operations from 25/2/2002 until his martyrdom.

The 14th of March coalition swept the LAU student elections at both campuses, showing a continuing unity and faith within its many groups.
As the number of seats is 12 per campus, LAU Jbeil managed 9 and lost 3, and LAU Beirut got 10 and lost 2:

LAU Jbeil:

School Of Business:
===============

Geoffrey Srour (Lebanese Forces)
Rachad Ghanem (Kataeb)
Antoine Abi Hable (Independent)

School Of Arts & Sciences:
====================

Hany Rizk (Lebanese National Bloc)
Yara Estephan (Lebanese Forces)
Michelle Chemali (Independent)

School Of Engineering:
=================

Etien Chehwan (Lebanese Forces)
Mostafa Saleh (Future Youth)
Rania Charafeddine ( Progressive Socialist Party)

He knew how to pick the right words for everything, he knew his martyrdom was coming ..
I have no words to describe this colossal loss for Lebanon … He was the driving force behind the Cedars Revolution, he was its fiercest defender, and he died believing in it and in us .. the Lebanese people …

Rest in Peace ya Gebran.

First two Pictures are from His memorial

I think it’s quite strange that the day went by and no one on the Lebanese blogsphere mentioned anything about the International Day of Human Rights and the prominent role played by Dr. Charles Malik.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed on December 10, 1948. NOW Lebanon has published an article about Dr. Malik’s early career as a philospher and diplomat.

For an official description about Dr. Malik’s “driving force behind the document’s arrangement”, you can find his biography on the official website of the UDHR.

I missed the first part of the ceremony (sorry about that guys)

Video

In commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the assassination of Gebran Tuéni, pioneer in youth journalism, the World Association of Newspapers and An-Nahar newspaper are pleased to invite you to the 2nd Annual Gebran Tuéni Award presented by the WAN

The theme of this year’s ceremony is The Youth and the Challenges Facing Changes

Program :

National Anthem

Nayla Tueni
Documentary and testimonies: Gebran and the Youth

Antoine Choueiry speech: Owner and CEO of Choueiry Group

Documentary: achievements of first shadow government / New shadow ministers

Mrs. Magida Al Roumi: “Enough”

Ghassan Tuéni speech: CEO and publisher of An-Nahar newspaper

Timothy Balding speech: CEO, World Association of Newspapers

Presentation of 2nd award

Time and Place Date: Sunday, December 9, 2007
Time: 9:30am- 12:00pm
Location: BIEL
City/Town: Beirut, Lebanon

Doors will close at 10:15 for live broadcasting

As his father Amin said… “Pierre 7ay Fina” is not a slogan, it is a feeling.
His memorial this year fell on Thanksgiving…and I don’t think this is a coincidence. We should give thanks with all our might, give thanks for knowing him, give thanks that we have the capacity to remember. Give thanks for being lucky despite everything.

Yes, we are lucky, because no matter how much we go through, no matter how many meddle in our affairs, no matter how desperate the situation becomes, we will always have people amongst us that are ready to stand up for what they believe in.
People like Pierre who lived a short but eventful life.
Pierre would not and did not give up. He lived his entire adult life with one aim, one goal…a Free, Independent Lebanon.
A country that would be able to stand on its own two feet. A country that would guarantee a decent life for its citizens. A country that would give its younger generation hope in the future, not just hope in a visa.
Pierre did not get to live his dream fully. He was killed on 21.11.06. He was shot… a cold, brutal death. Yet his death is a wake up call to all of us.
One Pierre died and was burried?
but how many more can live again in his footsteps?
One Pierre cannot hold his children anymore?
but how many of us should now cherish every moment we have with our families?
One Pierre cannot be with his wife anymore?
but how many us should hold on tightly to our loved ones in his memory?
Pierre would never fully die…because his memory lives on through each and every one of us.
Every tear we shed today is a symbol that we will always remember him. A symbol that even though we should naturally move on, yet we should never forget.

My words are simply a drop in the ocean of his achievements…and they are simply a small testimony to his life.

Pierre 7ay Fina..

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers.

A mass will be held near the crime scene at the Church Of St Antoine-Jdeideh
Street: Pierre Amin Gemayel Street
Time: btw 4 and 6 pm.

Click here for more info about the activities being held.