Last week, my wife and I managed to get out of the country and spend a few days in Europe. We wanted to recharge our batteries and get away from the daily pressures we all face in the country. The whole trip was amazing and we managed to disconnect and enjoy the beautiful cities of Budapest and Vienna during winter time. Looking back at the trip and any other trip, you realize that so many memories are forever engraved in your mind.
Ironically, the most striking image that I can never get out of my head is not that of an enchanting castle or a majestic church. It’s rather the image of a family (mom, dad and child) at the metro station in Vienna standing at the ticket booth making sure that they insert the tickets before using the metro.
So What’s the big deal?
1- The rotating metallic barriers or blocking doors usually found at any metro station entrance in order to prevent people without tickets from entering, did not exist.
2- Security and police officers were not present at the gates in order to check the tickets and prevent people without purchased tickets from entering.
3- One can easily go in and out without a ticket. Nothing and nobody will stop them.
4- At the time, the station was somehow empty and almost nobody was around. These people were practically alone and yet they stopped in the middle of an empty hallway on a virtual border to insert their tickets before moving towards the metro area.
These two parents could have easily not stopped and kept going with their child. They could have used one of the many excuses we use everyday to justify our public wrongdoings (we’re late, we’re not the only ones, the train is here, who cares, everybody does it, etc). Instead, they are teaching their child not to steal or cheat his way through life, and are raising him to be a responsible citizen.
The question remains:
What are we teaching our kids in Lebanon? Are we able to raise them as true citizens with everything happening around us? How can we teach them to abide by the law when those in charge of enforcing it are corrupt? How can we ask them to do the right thing when you need a “wasta” for almost anything in this country?
I don’t have an answer for that but I know I will try my best to raise my kids to become good citizens and encourage them to make a difference in Lebanon and the world. Even though it’s hard in a country like ours, we all need to do an extra effort and teach our children honesty, responsibility, fairness, compassion and inspire them to make a change in their community. Raising our children to become good citizens in a failed state is difficult yet remains something we should be fully committed for their own sake and the country’s sake.
In Vienna, controllers dress as civilians and surprise you while you’re in the metro. They’re like normal people reading a paper, then all of a sudden they put their control badges out and start asking people for their tickets. I saw it with my own eyes last summer and got controlled too.
Gab,
I’m sure there are controllers but you get the idea 😀
Yes 🙂
Hey Gab, of course there are controllers, cameras and many other ways of catching a cheat. I know that not every citizen is responsible. Maybe adults behave out of fear of getting caught, but its all a matter of perception for our kids, it’s about telling them the right story in order to inspire them into becoming responsible human beings and citizens. We have the power to make them law fearing citizens or law respecting citizens. We just need to make sure we tell them the right story 🙂
Exactly Gab. In order to fear the law, there must be law enforcement. It’s not a question of civility or moralism, it’s a question of law enforcement. The problem is not with our values, it’s with our lawlessness.
That’s why we should not go abroad even for a couple of days. They’re poisoning our minds.
LebaneseMasterRace represent!!!
hehe, well Dany,
It was a wake up call for us to put more effort with our kids given everything that they are exposed to on a daily basis.
Love this post! You express the frustration I have when I come to Lebanon for a vacation and start hearing all the excuses for crossing red lights, recycling, reducing waste, turning off the lights, etc.
Thank you 🙂
Total freedom. That’s what Lebanon has. Anarchy!
What strike me was something that happened 3 days ago.
A relative came from abroad to sell some lot and finish the related business.
The first thing we talked about was how surprised he was from the people that he had forgotten about, he lived 21 years in Lebanon before leaving.
He said it clearly: It’s a mayhem!
I guess the best translation for mayhem is “faouda!”.
Then he begin explaining what he experienced the FIRST TWO DAYS.
He said, ”
People drive like crazy, they can’t even wait, they have to push their way.
I was at the bank talking to someone that was helping me and this other man comes and cut our conversation.
I was in line for a ticket and I see them trying to cut me.
Why can’t they wait in line like normal persons?
They can’t wait.
They’re stressed and violent.
It’s a mayhem!
”
What we have to do, like you beautifully showed in your post, is not teach our children to be “opportunistic exploiters” , to only think of the present getting whatever is available now without thinking of future drawbacks.
The big issues is that people don’t think on the long run, they got used to living in a dangerous country so they just think about the now.
But those actions pile up and it ruins the country!
The garbage crisis is just a small example.
Spot on Patrick,
We invest in our kids, whatever we teach them today will become a reality few years down the line.
Lebanese people do not know their rights in a political system and are getting dump due to their explanations of regions
You would be surprised how much respect, trust, and a sense of community can do.
Hello there !
I stumbled upon this post, and I couldn’t help myself but to comment. I lived in lebanon all my childhood, and then went abroad to France to study. Been there for 8 years approx now and let me tell you this.
Your points are absolutely true from your perspective. Nevertheless, you require an inside opinion on the matter which I will provide. It is not out of love of the law that these europeans act, but by fear and submission. Like Gab said, controllers can really hurt you if you don’t validate your ticket, and the fine could get up to 160 euros for a ticket that costs 1.5 euros. Let me give you an example of why the european children are NOT better than the lebanese. Le savoir vivre, like the french would call it, is not present in european societies. It’s true that there’s less chaos, and that people are much more respectful ( and by that I am completely exagerating, because respectful people constitute the educated minority approx 20 %) .
But allow me to cite a personal example that happened to me during my uni days. My whole promotion suffered a really unjust decision that is not justifiable. Not a single one of the 200 people present dared to contest that decision. They have a submissive and non ambitious personality and their justification would be : ” ça ne sert à rien” . Had I not been present to contest, they would have accepted this unfair decision and lived by it.
Why do you want lebanese children to be educated like europeans ? Do you really want those children to grow up to be selfish, submissive and unfit for social behavior ? Do you really want them to grow up and be happy for 1.5 euros a month, instead of being ambition and aiming higher ? Do you really want them to settle for a bachelor licence, instead of learning more and more.
You underestimate the lebanese’s eductation. There is a reason why lebanese suceed abroad everywhere they go, and trust me when I say it, it’s not about genetics. The obvious problem in Lebanon is the administrative and government department. The society is “decent” compared to the rest of the world ( Now I know, fi ktir ze3ran, but I am talking about the average moderate familly in Lebanon, which I really take pride in)
That being said, all I’m implying is to take the best out of each civilization and incorporate it into our own, and that our culture is something to be proud of, because it is superior. ( Again, I’m talking about the educated moderate familly excluding the nouveau rich, the wazawiz and the sheep )
Hello Patrick, I agree with you.
Yes, we have a very good educational system I am not saying otherwise. I do understand that many people act civilized in the west out of fear of being fined. Nevertheless, it’s the process of teaching kids to respect the law and become good civilians, that’s what we are trying to highlight here.
Best,
Jimmy