Reblogged from جوعان… مواطن ضد الأنظمة المزورة:

خضر سلامة بعد انتحار والده فقرا وعوزا العام الماضي، قرر زاهد أيضاً الانتحار.. يقف على كورنيش البحر، في بيروت المغتصبة كل يوم، هنا صادر ضابط شرطة نذل عربته لبيع القهوة، وسجنه شهراً لمخالفته قرار بلدية المدينة التي لا تعترف الا باغنيائها، بمنع البسطاء من العمل على الكورنيش: هذا الشاطئ لمطاعم المنتفخين مالاً فقط، هذا الشاطئ لمسابح خدم الحريرية السياسية فقط، هذا الشاطئ للمثقوبين من أسفل في صالونات رئيس الحكومة المعتكف عن واجباته وعن حقوق عمال البلد، يقف زاهد، آخر المواطنين في هذا الوطن، يقف زاهد كي يريح رأسه المثقل بالهموم، بصخرة في أسفل البحر. من يتهمه اليوم؟ أخرجوا كل ما في جعبتكم من سكاكين كي تطعنوا بها جسد المحتضر، كما طعنتم كل منتحر تعباً من قبله، قتل الميت مرة أخرى، أسهل عندكم من قول كلمة حق في محضر سلاطينكم الجائرين، حكم الاعدام على جثة، أهون عند القضاء اللبناني الجبان من سؤال مصرف عن أمواله، أو وزير عن نفوذه، أو نائب عن رشاويه، أهون عند القضاء اللبناني الجبان من محاسبة الأزلام الذين ينهبون الخزينة، ومحاسبة الميليشيات التي تجول وتصول فوق جثث قتلانا. …

She speaks of the sad reality we live in, the truth. You can hear the pain in her voice. Yes, there is pain and despair in her voice. There is pain and despair in all our voices, but we are good at hiding it.

Jamilah doesn’t hide it. She has had enough and she wants them to know.

This video is only a minute and a half long, and is in Arabic.

The speech is truly inspirational and touches every person out there – every person with a functioning conscience.

I’ve heard of Chaplin’s speech, but I’ve never actually listened to it until today. And for everyone who’s never heard it yet, I highly recommend you do; it is definitely worth your time.

[Note: the images in the video are not from the film The Great Dictator]

Here is the text of Chaplin’s speech:

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone – if possible – Jew, Gentile – black man – white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness – not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

“Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

“The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men – cries out for universal brotherhood – for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world – millions of despairing men, women, and little children – victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

“To those who can hear me, I say – do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed – the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

“Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes – men who despise you – enslave you – who regiment your lives – tell you what to do – what to think and what to feel! Who drill you – diet you – treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men – machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate – the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

“In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” – not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power – the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

“Then – in the name of democracy – let us use that power – let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world – a decent world that will give men a chance to work – that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!

“Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world – to do away with national barriers – to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!”

Reblogged from جوعان… مواطن ضد الأنظمة المزورة:

خضر سلامة اسكب كوباً آخر من الشاي يا صديقي، فبرد بيروت لا يرحم، وشعبها أيضاً، هذه النار في كبد الابريق تلسعني وتلسعك، أما سياط عيون الناس وصراخهم وشتائمهم القذرة، وسفالة رجل الأمن المقفل بقفل الأجهزة العنصرية، تلسعك وحدك، اسكب كوباً من الشاي، في بخار الشاي سراباً يشبه صورة الوطن الجميل الذي يتلاشى مع كل نشرة أخبار لبنانية جديدة، وفيه أيضاً، طبول بلاد النوبة، تذوب في هذا اللون الأبيض السام الذي يحاصرني، ويحاصرك. صديقي السوداني، هو المبتسم لفتاة صغيرة لأنه يرى فيها أحلام أخته الصغيرة التي تركها تنتظر حصتها من رغيف الحزن في قريته النائية، والفتاة تبكي، لأن رجلاً قبيحاً برتبة والد، خوّفها من رجل أسود يخطف الصغار الكسالى، ولأن أمّها المتبرجة بأمراض العصر، حذرتها من الفقراء الغرباء الطيبين، صديقي السوداني، هو الموشوم بمذكرة اتهام دائمة، على أي حاجز أمني، يقوده ضابط يطأطأ الرأس ككلب منزلي مطيع للّص القابع خلف مكتبه، ولا يقوى إلا على الحزن الأسمر المجرّد من انسانيته، لأن عورة وطني لا تنتصب إلا بساديّة تمزّق تعب نهار كامل لعامل أجنبي، لم تفلح الصدفة في إعطاءه جواز سفر أوروبي، كي تخر الحكومة كلها سجوداً له عندها. صديقي السوداني، هو المثقف جيداً، والعارف بشؤون العرب وشجونهم، هو المتمسك بصورة السودان كما يراه، معسكر منذ ستين عاما للعمل الفدائي، والمتأبط أغاني العرب كما درسها في مدرسة حقول القطن، وطنٌ أبنيه مع صديقي السوداني، أجمل بكثير من وطنٍ يبشرني به دعاة السلام الخائب، صديقي السوداني، هو الذي ترميه حقائب التهريب على شواطئ أوروبا، أو في شوارع لبنان، أو في عتمة أمريكا، فيرفض أن يكون أقل من عامل يعيد رسم ملامح الأوطان ويبنيها، ثم يود لو يشتري لأبيه تذكرة حج إلى مكة، فيرد قليلاً من الجميل الجميل. هو الهارب من موتٍ في بناء منهار، ليجد نفسه في أقبية الأمن العام العار. هو الخارج مصابا من حادث عمل، فيرميه رب العمل لكلاب الداخلية ووزارة الصحة. هو حارس العمارة من غدر اللصوص اللبنانيين جداً، وهو من يقدم لأمك ربطة الخبز، لأنك أجبن من أن تواجه برد العاصفة، أو حر الصيف، وهو من ينظّف فناء الدار من قذارتك البدائية برمي نفاياتك في الشارع، هو طبيب تجميل لصورتنا القبيحة، لكسلنا الكثير، لخجلنا بمهنة نفضل عليها البطالة، هو عامل البناء في أغنية الشيخ امام.. أما المقاول الأبيض فـ “كان ليه الشطارة”. صديقي السوداني هو كل الرائع، في وطن لا شيء يغريني للبقاء فيه، هو آخر العمّال هنا، ويحمل في نفَسه آخر روائح الفلاحين في أرضي، صاحب الذوق الرفيق في انتقاء موسيقى العود، ليكنس خطايا روتانا من ذاكرتي، هو المتلحف بغطاء الإهانات المستمرة من حيٍّ لا يرى فيه إلا “فحمة”، وأرى فيه ضوءً لم تخطفه بعد عتمة الطغيان المتحكمة بكل أسرة، كل مدرسة، كل حزب، كل يسار وكل يمين، في هذا البلد البشع. اسكب الشاي يا صديقي، هذا الشتاء البيروتي طويل، بيروت الجالسة على كف رجل أبيض ينهبها، تخاف فيك كل شيء مختلف عن عواء ذئابها الفاشيين، كل شيء لا يشبه استسلام أهل البلد للمال، واستسلامهم للسبات، كل شيء فيك يقنعني، أن لا زال في هذه الأرض ما هو لي ولك، للانسان فينا، للعامل يخرج لكسر هذه الطبقية التي تتهمك باللون، أو بالفقر، أو بالثياب الرثة أو برائحة العرق، يخيفهم ما فيك من كدٍّ وعمل وكبرياء، لأنك متعب، والمتعبون، يخيفون الكسالى. صديقي، لا تسامحهم، حكومة وشعبا ومؤسسات، إنهم يعرفون جيداً ماذا يفعلون. مدونة جوعان على الفيسبوك

79 countries criminalize marital rape, but Lebanon is not one of them.

125 countries have outlawed domestic violence, but Lebanon is not one of them.

I got the information above from the following inforgram prepared by @abzzyy and @CafeThawra:

Facts about sexual violence in Lebanon

The infogram also includes:

Her body is not protected from violence because of the absence of a law criminalizing violence against women.

If she gets raped by her spouse, it is not considered as rape; as detailed in articles 503 and 504 of the Lebanese Criminal Code.

If she cheats on him, she risks three months up to two years in prison; as detailed in articles 478, 488 and 489 of the Lebanese Criminal Code.

On the other hand if he rapes a woman, his prosecution and sentence will be nullified and stopped if he marries his victim. Detailed in articles 522 of the Lebanese Criminal Code.

While extra-marital sex on the husband’s side is only considered adultery if it happens in the conjugal home or if the affair is long-term. Even so he risks one year in prison, half of that of his female counterpart; as detailed in articles 478, 488 and 489 of the Lebanese Criminal Code.

Demand change and join us tomorrow, January 14th, at 12:00 PM as we begin our march from the Interior Ministry near the Sanayeh Garden, and move toward Parliament at Nejmeh Square.

If you or someone you know have been raped, sexually harassed, physically or verbally abused and have never received justice and the perpetrator was never prosecuted, then you should be in the march tomorrow, fighting for equality, protection and rights.

His/her/their graffiti comprises of rebellious and satirical epigrams, dark humour and a distinctive stencilling technique.

He/she/they is/are Banksy, an anonymous UK-based graffiti artist. There have been numerous rumours and theories as to Banksy’s identity, some even suggested that Banksy is actually a collective of artists rather than a single person.

Wikipedia described Banksy as a graffiti artist, a political activist, a film director and a painter.

This is an excerpt of what they’ve written on him/her/them:

“Banksy’s work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. According to author and graphic designer Tristan Manco and the book Home Sweet Home, Banksy “was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s.” Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass, which maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is active today.

Known for his contempt for the government in labeling graffiti as vandalism, Banksy displays his art on public surfaces such as walls and even going as far as to build physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti directly himself; however, art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder. Banksy’s first film, Exit through the Gift Shop, billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie,” made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the UK on 5 March 2010. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film.”

Identity aside, I think Banksy’s work is beautiful and carries deep messages.

Here are some of my favourite of his/her/their work:

[Note: I did not take any of the photos below and I do not know who the photographer is/are; if I did, I would have given them credit]

"What are you looking at?" - my favourite

"The joy of not being sold anything"

"Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock"

"This'll look nice when it's framed"

"If graffiti changed anything - it would be illegal."

"Because I'm worthless"

riots

this made me

"You don't need planning permission to build castles in the sky"

You can find more of Banksy’s work on his/her/their website: http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Like most time-lines the Guardian creates, I thought this one was pretty impressive. That is until I took a closer look on Lebanon’s strip in the timeline.

As I was going through the timeline, I was surprised to see that Lebanon’s strip remained empty from the beginning till the end, apart from one green icon placed in the ’23 January and 30 January’ slot.

I hadn’t yet looked at what the icon said, but I had expected it to inform people on the anti-sectarianism movement that started early this year in Beirut and spread throughout Lebanon, since it was the largest movement to take place in the country in 2011. And even though the protests came to an end during the summer, the movement was considered a significant one that brought together Lebanese youths from different backgrounds. I personally took part in several of those protests.

The first anti-sectarianism protest was held on February 27, with thousands of Lebanese marching under torrential rains, calling for the “toppling of the sectarian regime.” From then, the Lebanese gathered every Sunday in a different location and chanted against the sectarian leaders and called for a secular state. You can read more on the protests of Lebanon here, here and here

The movement had caught the attention of local and international media; there were numerous articles and reports on the peaceful protests that were held every Sunday. (You can Google-search them)

However, it seems that the movement did not catch the Guardian’s attention. Instead, a much smaller, violent protest was what the Guardian chose to shed light on; the “day of rage.”

The green icon on Lebanon’s strip in the timeline read: “25 January 2011 Thousands of Sunnis take part in a ‘day of rage’ in opposition to  the prospect of a new government under Hezbollah control after the ousting of Saad Hariri as prime minister of the US-allied government.” And if you clicked on the icon, it would lead you to this article.

During that day, supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri took to the streets to protest his fall from power. The protest quickly turned violent as angry young men attacked reporters and cameramen in Beirut and Tripoli, where they also torched a van belonging to al-Jazeera.

Now, everyone has the right to protest against something they dislike, and the people who took part in the “day of rage” protest are no different; they have every right to express their opinion. My only problem with the protest is that it turned violent, really violent.

The Guardian made no mistake by including the “day of rage” on Lebanon’s strip in the timeline because after all, it is a protest. However, the Guardian was wrong in omitting the anti-sectarianism and pro-secularism movement from the timeline.

The latter was a movement comprising of several protests, yet not one is seen on the interactive timeline that is supposedly “tracing key events.”

I’m not sure if it was an honest mistake made by the creators of the timeline, or that the Guardian intentionally chose to exclude the movement. But one thing I do know, it is a shame that there was no mention of an important movement in Lebanon’s history.

The protest was peaceful, and attracted more people than organizers were expecting. In such protests, no more than 500 – 800 people actually show up, but this time thousands of Lebanese citizens participated.

NewTV said there were 5,000 people, one of the organizers said there was definitely more. I was there, and I would say perhaps a little less than 6,000 people were there; NewTV’s estimation is close though.

However, this post won’t be about the protests, but rather about what I found after leaving Riyad el-Soleh Square.

A couple of my friends and I decided to walk to Ein el-Mraysseh and have a cup of coffee there, it is perhaps a 15-minute walk. For those of you who don’t know Ein el-Mraysseh, here’s a couple of photos:

[Disclaimer: I didn't take any of the two photos above.]

Anyway, on our way to there, we decided to take a short-cut through the Clock Square in central down-town, but as usual, a couple of policemen and army soldiers blocked our the protesters’ way, so we had to take the longer way to Ein el-Mraysseh.

Here’s a photo of what is known as the Clock Square in down-town Beirut:

[Again, I didn't take this photo.]

We didn’t mind the detour much; it was a beautiful day. The sky was as clear as the sparkling sea ahead of us, and the sun’s rays managed to warm up the cool winter breeze, making it the perfect weather to be outside (and to protest).

Now, as we turned left before reaching an-Nahhar’s building, I noticed a small child kneeling, staring intently at something on the ground. Moments later the child’s mother whisked him away and climbed into a black Audi that was polished enough to make you squint when the sun reflected off the hood.

I was curious to see what the child had been staring at so I walked further and looked at where he was and found a long, grey tiled pavement with inscriptions on it. Yes, inscriptions.

The grey pavement stretched from the hotel, Le Grey’s entrance till the end of the same building. Not all tiles had a poem, proverb or saying inscribed on it, but most of them did.

[Note: Le Grey is a hotel facing an-Nahhar's building, and an-Nahhar is a prominent Lebanese newspaper.]

As I started reading the first one, I immediately moved on to the next one, and the next, until I reached the end. They weren’t all written in Arabic, some were in English and others in French.

Here are some photos I took of them:

For my readers who don’t know Arabic, let me tell you what’s written is truly beautiful.

I chose a couple that I really liked and translated them:

[I translated as best I could, by the way.]

Translation:

The liberation of the south is a cause that lies at the heart of all Lebanese. [Referring to the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon]

And the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from the south will be a victory for all Lebanese, not for one sect or one group only.

[Note: Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000]

Another photo:

Beirut has died a thousand times and has risen a thousand times…

One day Beirut will rise again and return to her children free, liberated and independent…

As the capital of democracy and freedom.

One more photo:

Translation of the inscription above:

I will say to the youth of Lebanon, don’t be ashamed of the civil war because it is an important lesson.

Remember it to know why we held on to Lebanon and paid 200,000 souls for it [Lebanon] to live on.

Translation of the one below:

The new Arab generations want freedom and democracy and education and thought and efficiency and equality and justice and human rights and bread and a dignified life.

There were many more, but these were the ones that I truly liked.

After I read them, I began wondering: who wrote those?

I walked until the end of the tiled pavement and reached a grey, granite tablet, on it was:

Translation:

We swear by the great God,

Muslims and Christians,

To remain united for ever and ever,

To protect the great Lebanon,

Long live Lebanon and its people.

Signed: Gebran Tueni.

When I read Mr. Tueni’s name, I figured out it was him who said/wrote all what I read.

Mr. Tueni was assassinated in 2005, and perhaps this inscribed pavement was a tribute for him.

Now, I do not agree with all of Mr. Tueni’s decisions and stands, but he was a great journalist and a wise man.

I don’t know how long those inscribed tiles have been there, but I do know that they were a joy to read today.

It’s always a delight to discover new things in Beirut.

The Painstaking Path to Lebanon’s Football Victory

After Lebanese midfielder Abbas Atwi kicked a blinding shot past the goalkeeper into the South Korean net the crowd erupted in celebrations unseen amongst Lebanese fans for quite some time.

The match between the two countries that took place in Beirut on November 15 shocked the football world, with Lebanon beating their South Korean counterpart 2 – 1.

You can read the rest of the article on al-Akhbar’s website here.

For the past week, the Lebanese people have been dealing with a nationwide power outage. Yes, even the people of central Beirut.

Power cuts are nothing new in this country, but cuts that last for almost 12 consecutive hours are unbearable – even for the Lebanese.

Rumours spread like wildfire as people tried to search for a reason to explain the sudden, prolonged power cuts.

A recent article in al-Akhbar Enlgish revealed that a “political dispute was the cause of Lebanon’s nationwide power outages over the weekend.”

The article also mentioned that the head of the Amal movement, Nabih Berri, “wanted to “teach two lessons” to the FPM [Free Patriotic Movement] regarding Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas deposits, and the pilot protests at the Middle East Airlines.”

Teach them a lesson or two?

Hmm.

What better way to teach someone a lesson than punishing an entire population?

Am I right!?

…

Who, other than us, suffers from these electricity cuts? The politicians? They have electricity 24/7, and if for some reason the power cuts at their place, they have backup generators that work for hours on end.

Once again the Lebanese are thrown under the bus as the politicians and so-called leaders continue their useless bickering.

Once again the Lebanese get the short end of the stick as those politicians continue with their corrupted acts and the theft of the people’s money and rights.

And what do we, the people, do about it?

Nothing.