Picture from Al-Akhbar
This is what Lebanon is turning into. Read and rejoice.
Today, as I have done in the last 150 weeks, stepped into a car and headed towards the airport to take my weekly flight. I, however, had no idea that this ride would be different in every possible way than any other airport ride I have been on.
Traffic was fabulous; we made it from my house to Beirut in less than 20 minutes, a ride that normally takes over 30, and I was getting anxious at the idea of arriving sooner than planned. As we were approaching the exit to the airport (around 2 km) we started observing cars traveling in the opposite direction. Hoping to satisfy our curiosity, we kept going until we reached an ocean of red stoplights accompanied by angry men and women puffing on their cigarettes and swerving their hands in agony and disgust. In the background, we could observe a thick dark smoke killing the life out of the few remaining trees and eternally marking their territories on the 50+ year old buildings that were brave enough to survive an Iliad of wars and attacks.
Upon having waited for 10 minutes with absolutely no result, I built up my 20 seconds of courage, stepped out of the car and decided to follow the few Lebanese that refused to give up their flight.
As I was enduring this walk cladded in a dark black suit while dragging my 10 kg (the maximum allowable weight for the plane) carry-on behind me in one hand and my suit bag in the other I noticed how Lebanese people take advantage of any shitty situation for their own benefit. It seems that while a cluster of individuals found it appropriate to burn tires and block the road to the airport others took this opportunity to awaken their half dead, rusty scooters and offer the frustrated travelers transportation services to and fro the airport, all this for a humble and modest price of 10$. This offer seemed so appropriate to them that rejection was accompanied by a series of insults involving your parents, siblings and even family members that passed away so long ago that you never expected to be mentioned again!
I refused this service several times from different “patriots†(sorry great grandmother Alexandra, a certain guy called Alloush said he wants to do the nasty with you) and I am glad I did because I luckily understood why they called Lebanon a melting pot.
The cool ‘Frenchies’: This type of people are ones that enjoy these situations for one and only reason: to talk and brag about it. This girl, who was walking next to me for a couple hundred meters, found it appropriate to call as many people as possible to share her experience with them. Sample quote: “C’est tghooo dghooole, tu rateee ma Cherie!!!â€
The frustrated ‘Frenchies’: They are the more down to Earth people that have a life which is too hectic that they refuse to loose time that way. Sample quote: “on vit dans un monde de merde. Les gens se demandent pourquoi on veut quitter ce pays et ne plus revenir. Ils sont fou !â€
The ones coming from the south: These are probably travelling for the first time and do not understand the concept of packing lightly. They travel in groups of at least double digits with members ranging from a couple days old to dead in a couple days. Sample quote: “Abou Aliiiiiii, 7kee ma3 2ebnak Hassoun el 2ered wou 2ello ma yetsaraf mete el shi3a ba2a!â€
Other conversations were going on at the same time but most of my brain power was dedicated to insulting the country and the people in it.
After having completed that 20 minute walk in the dreadful sun and mid-June heat, the airport staff found it in their heart to greet us with a warming, and useless, ‘hamdella 3al salame’ and eyes filled with so much pity that killing yourself with a plastic knife would be considered more humble.
I am writing this while sitting in the lounge at Rafic Hariri International Airport and wondering, as I take my last sip of whiskey, if I should be happy that my flight to Riyadh hasn’t been cancelled yet.
Thank you Andre
Monsieur cool businessman Andre not liking “the ones coming from the South”? I suggest he goes **** himself
it just makes you feel so helpless doesn’t it? where is the fucking law?! how can this go unpunished? seriously?! every single idiot can block roads and burn tires whenever the fuck he feels like?! the army and the internal security forces should now be “be7alit estenfar”!!
khalasna ba2a this is getting way out of control, these people do not deserve freedom, violent idiots do not deserve freedom.
God has given us a beautiful country… It’s such a shame we have to share it with such a shit load of retards
Monsieur N ,whoever is Andre,VERY WELL SAID ,he has the right to talk abou the shitty Lebanese ,the shitty Norhterners ,Southerners and Beirutis ,one more thing FUCK LEBANON ,I’M NOT COMING BACK
Mme Lila, whoever you are, passengers who are coming to the airport and are traveling from the South for the first time cannot be labeled as shitty unless one is some kind of a racist bigot. thank you very much.
oh.. and safe travels.
Well said!!very well said!!!this country is turning into a disgrace!!
wow.. so this is how Lebanon really is?
I am rethinking my trip back anytime soon..
mr. andre, at least u can mention the reason behind the street blockage. i dont think its appropriate to have 11 lebanese kidnapped in syria for 1 month till nw nd not do a move. blocking the st may not solve the prob but it will make the gove more aware of the issue. one more thing u hav no ryt to generalize tbe shit u said abt tbe ppl from the south. PS: hope u enjoyed ur last sip of wiskey at beirut international airpot cedar lounge. ur probabbly goin to hav issues to hav another glass in ksa where u r considered a kafer by the ppl of ksa and their portable tents wives…
Dearest Ali,
Ghandi was able to get many things done by a peaceful sit in without polluting the air (that is already polluted) and so have many others during the history of our beloved earth. We even got our independance without burning tires and blocking the airport road. It is right there are 11 lebanese that are kidnapped , there are also french people that are kidnapped in niger, and mali and many people get kidnapped like this everyday but you don’t see the french people burning tires on the road to Charles de gaule or in the railway station
Why aren’t we lebanese (who claim to be the most civilsed and open minded people in the middle east) able to deliver a message by any other way than burning tires ??
Did you ask yourself Mr. Ali that maybe even the government got bored with that burning tires shit? that maybe burning tires and the lungs of the people are doing more harm than good in delivering this message?
I didnt say its appropriate to burn tires i just commented on how he portrayed the whole issue . The whole description of thhe ppl coming from the south and the frenchies didnt seem appropriate to me. Plus he didnt mention the reason behind the strt blockage
Funny how some people only saw a small part of the whole post and ignored the main problem.
All of us Lebanese are being portrayed that way to the West and to the world, all because of the behavior of many and I am not talking about a sect or party or group, of many LEBANESE.
That’s the sad truth.
@N & Ali. What was written was a pure observation. No generalization or criticism of reason was intended. I was just describing that while all the commotion was happening how different groups of people from with cultures reacted. The 3 groups described have been depicted as observed, no exaggeration was made and, again, no generalization intended. I am originally from the Saida 🙂
While im Against Blocking the roads in any way, I understand their frustration and the road blockers are getting indirectly what they want which is that they be heard, and as such we are all talking about them and bitching about them. BUTTTTTT
I feel that the ones blocking the roads because of the electric situation missed THE CHANCE to make a point.
They SHOULD have blocked the road when the So-Called Minister of Energy and “Lack”of Electricity was on his way to airport to fly off to Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development!! What a Joke!!
I cannot believe the Ninja in the photo is spraying PRECIOU$$$$ GA$$$$OLINE this way.. it’s not only me, check out the astonished faces around him..
About the Lebanese ATBS (Acquired Tyre Burning Syndrome), I want to quote this:
“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.†– Albert Einstein
..Let alone a lower level, Mr. Einstein.
Hehehe Lebanese have nothing all day just to reply to each other thats why I said shitty everyone included ,screw your country that you label as Switzerland of the East ,thanks Andre whoever you are for the facts said , I will be talking about this way about this country wherever I go,I will narrate the shitty facts
Someone as uneducated as yourself does not deserve to even say “Lebanon”. Go back to your shit country which noone’s ever heard of.
I was there too , and as a khaleji citizen i was a bit scared to step out of the car to be honest and walk all the way to the airport, but i had to do it since i cant miss my flight. well but that doesnt make any difference as im coming back to beirut tomorrow . <3 Lebanon
You should be ashamed of yourself!! “The ones coming from the south: These are probably travelling for the first time and do not understand the concept of packing lightly.”, this is extremely unacceptable !! i wish you can (Andre and all the ill-minded, highly retarded extremely ignorant people who liked what he said, and said poorly by the way) be half as courageous and patriotic as the southern people. Well said? Stereotyping southern people and intentionally demeaning them is considered to be a well said piece of writing? anyways, i dont blame Andre for being so stupid , I mean it happens, but i blame the blog and whoever posted this piece of crap. I really feel sorry for you baby and I recommend that you go get some education, and im serious with not the slightest sarcasm, not because you failed to write a few words of English but because you failed to truly write about an incident that might have been very influential if read by the viewers and instead you wrote your opinion about people who have honor and pride that you will never have.
You know I am from the South and didn’t feel insulted. He saw people coming from the South (based on their accent or what they said or whatever) and made the observation. Let’s stop making a big deal out of it.
And please stop it with the patriotism and courage of the Southern people and all that crap we keep hearing. Don’t get me started on this whole fake image that is stuck in people’s minds for no valid reason. Lebanese from the South suffered as much and sometimes much less than many other regions in Lebanon, and they are no more patriotic than the Beiruti or the Northeners.
The man is posting on how he was humiliated cursed and attacked by Lebanese, and you find it insulting that he described some people who happened to be coming from the South as ignorants when it comes to packing.
By pretending that those people, which I am part of, have more honor and pride than he will ever have, aren’t you doing the same exact thing you accused Andre of doing??
Thumps up
Rana,
Relax. I really think ur taking this a bit too seriously. Its a simple post by someone who had an incident on his way to the airport, and wrote about it. Period. Noone’s generalizing and attacking all southerners and/or their patritism!
Really no need for terms such as “ill minded” & “highly retarded”!
(or as u said on ur FB profile with regards to this article: “Some people should just drop dead”!! Walaw?!)
Relax woman. Relax!! Accept some light humor!!
I like how when someone states an opinion, he sometimes gets ridiculed by another party just by a simple: chill, relax, take some pills…
one is entitled to state his opinion however boldly and feverishly one likes. if you don’t have one, don’t order people to be as cold and indifferent and subdued as you.
N,
Im neither cold nor indifferent, i just think she’s over-reacting and being a bit too sensitive.
And if one is entitled to state his opinion as you say, then she shouldnt label them as “highly retarded” and think they should “drop dead”..!!!
Andre just described the reality of our country. DEAL with it, guys! Wake up Lebanese, you ARE NOT living in “the Switzerland of the East”! Just for once in your lives accept reality and deal with it!
Admit that Lebanon is a shitty place. Nevertheless, we LOVE IT!
oh well i dont want to relax. why dont you just state your opinion and let me state mine. and Andre described “a reality”? what reality ? he didnt state any facts or provided us with the slightest background information that is crucial for his article. he merely stated his own opinion. 11 lebanese citizens have been kidnapped for a month now what the hell do you expect? and you “Z” i guess your definition of humor is different than mine. this is an issue of high sensitivity and please i beg you all can anyone explain to me how can “probably travelling for the first time” be interpreted in a positive light? w “ma yetsarraf mitil elshi3a”? shu wen 3ayshin ??????????????? how is acceptable to say such a thing? what did you axactly mean Andre bi yitsaraf mitil elshi3a? Honey all the sects burned tires in lebanon and demanded certain rights or demands. and by the way out of all the demands this one, the families rights to know the fate of the kidnapped, is worth all the anger and frustration.
exactly*. and by the way i also have one more question. As an english major i know that every article i write or not even article every writing in general has an end, it holds a message, a meaning, a goal … call it whatever you want. so what was the purpose behind your article? if it is descriptive, as in describing an incident, then you failed as you showed serious prejudice and personal reflection. if it is to deliver a message, then what is it?
And by the way i went to school in Saida and i know that you telling us that you are from saida doesnt justify anything.
Rana,
Stating an opinion does not include stating words such as ill-minded, highly retarded, extremely ignorant etc …
Assuming you are an English major, I suppose they taught you that the word retarded should not be used against other people as the retarded person is someone with a medical condition.
He stated his own opinion based on observations and did not generalize based on facts. You do know what observation means no?
Speaking of the 11 citizens, I expect people to block the airport road because they were kidnapped in Syria?? What sort of logic is that??
As for “what did you axactly mean Andre bi yitsaraf mitil elshi3a?”
In case you haven’t read properly, he overheard this and is not stating it hence the quotes ( You should know that, English Major no?), like everything else. And that’s sadly Lebanon and how many Lebanese talk about each other whether you admit it or not.
“of all the demands this one, the families rights to know the fate of the kidnapped, is worth all the anger and frustration.”
It’s not worth blocking the airport road. Chou khass el airport road ya 3amme? Explain!
And being from Saida doesn’t justify the terms you have used to address Andre and others, and like I said Southeners r not more patriotic than others.
All in all, you should really cool it down because this is turning against you “baby”.
first of all we don’t call them retarded people 7abibi we call them “challenged” ya mizwi2. nice try ;). w tene shi who wrote the quote? He did, so practically im questioning his credibility.
Rana,
That’s why you are twice as wrong in using that term 1) because its demeaning to those who are mentally challenged 2) because we don’t even use that term to describe mentally challenged people anymore.
Nice try you said?
As for who wrote the quote, you assigned the quote to the author and did not question his credibility. Big difference. He said he heard that. You said he wrote it himself.
Still it does not justify any of your harsh replies and impolite terms.
his observations are factual ? haha what? please tell me you’re kidding. he projected his own opinion upon a scene that should have been stripped from any personal perceptions.
w kamen bekon shi ? ebnak el 2ered w yetsarraf mitil el shi3a ? ya 3amme im going crazy ! since when its acceptable ino ni7ke be hek tare2a ta2efeye ? 3anjad you guys are unbelievable 🙂
You are living in Lebanon right? You never heard people talk that way about others? ever?
Khaleena nenzal 3al matar ana wi yeke at 6 when they block it again 🙂
Rana,
I understand where u are coming from, and u make some good points about the purpose and the credibility of this article, because if i am some other observer writing about the same incident, i would probably also mention the pretentious businessman, and how he went out of his way to mention that he was sitting in the lounge sipping on his whiskey, even though it’s pretty irrelevant, just like his condescending way of portraying southerners.
However, no matter how important a matter is, I am sure there are other ways to solve the problem peacefully and in a civilized way. What happened to the good old peacefully-organized, previously-notified demonstrations, hunger strikes, normal strikes ect…?
by burning tires and blocking roads you certainly get attention, but you move from being the righteous victim to the violent aggressor stepping on the freedom of others.
peace
+1
OMG no seriously i dont know how to respond to you anymore. I called people who accept the usage of such language as retarded and not the mentally challenged ! wtf ? anyways im done arguing with you its my opinion PERIOD. and “bored guy at the office :p”, i agree that there are alternatives but my comment is about what he wrote and not about the act itself.
Are you sure you r an English major?
A retarded person is a mentally challenged person yet the term is not used cause its offensive. When u call someone retarded u r offending him and those mentally challenged.
It’s not an opinion when u include foul language and offensive terms. Your comments r irrelative and pointless and u haven’t made a single point yet.
Added to that this is not twitter so u can write ur thoughts in one reply. No need to spread them over 3-4 comments.
Yup sure aub student 44 gpa if u care to ask my name is rana harbi 🙂 if u find my comments irrelevant then ok the discussion ends here obviously we are on different mental levels. ما جادلت جاهلا الا Ùˆ غلبني Ùˆ ما جادلت عالما الا Ùˆ غلبته
take care 7abibi.
Different mental levels??? Wtf does that mean?
Based on ur proverb, I concede that u won habibi lol
i thought AUB was the best university in lebanon, Thanks god that i changed my mind
Back to the main topic . . . as much as I DESPISE tire burning and don’t agree with road closures, (I’m not even going to touch the other side-bar elements at play in the comments) I’m going to try and shed an optimistic perspective on the situation . . . regardless of the inconsideration, the annoyances, and the lack of respect for the environment, at the very least, the Lebanese can honestly say they have true elements of democracy at work here . . . after all, how many other countries in the region will allow demonstrations like this? So in conclusion, not only are the Lebanese “diverse” but they can honestly say they enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. 😀
The article was pretty bad. I am from the south and my grandfather traveled long time ago to africa and started something a hugu business. Just to say i aint shia but fro south. Dont have misconceptions, like please .
Stop saying that Lebanon is a shitty country
Lebanon is a beautiful country with idiot people
Why do you wanna burn tires you are hurting yourself and why block the airport road go block the road to a politician road,no one cares if your blocking the airport
But I do feel bad for those 11 kidnaped but this is not the answer
this has gone TOO far
-if its about the 11 kidnapped ppl, y close the airport road instead of closing the road where the politician(s) who can solve this issue live, instead of bothering thousands of lebanese who cross that road daily ?
-if its about electricity let them burn tires in front of the ministry of energy and NOT the roads again bothering thousands of lebanese
-if its about jal el dib bridge let them close the road where who are is responsible for the bridge live, or else u DONT have the right to do this shit no matter what the reason is
and they should burn politician’s houses not tires
@Salem
You mean “”
@Andre,
this is one hell of an article!
You described the daily problems faced by many in Lebanon. Burning tires and blocking roads is not new to Lebanon, and the ISF and the army should be much more hardline towards the people who do this.
By the way, insulting af fellow lebanese is actually an offence and punished by law.
Regards,
Rabih
Love it how pro-Hezbollah and so called-southerners, with their silly pride, dare talk about the missing 11 in Syria. I’d like to remind them, had their wise confessional leaders not supported a raging dictator, they would not have been kdinapped. And further, I’d also like to remind them that there are 600 other Lebanese who are still missing in Syria, who have been kidnapped by Assad, probably dead, and their families have the dignity not to block airport roads, burn tires, and insult people who are forced to walk for 2 km to get to their god damn planes. No, they instead they voice their disgust in a garden in downtown and don’t bother anybody about it. Oh, and for all those people in the south, you’re not better than any Lebanese, and just because you have illegal guns, doesn’t give you the right to get aggressive with everybody. Unlike you, other Lebanese prefer to be non-violent, so go fuck yourselfs. Great article Andre.
Yeah,because pro-Harris don’t do that