hopeful beirut

Mourning our Ideals

I think today will be one of the scariest days of my life, as I slowly realise that the ideals of truth, justice and peace are dead. As I lay a wreath on the tomb of these great propellors of humanity, I wonder what the future holds, since the moderators of jealousy and greed have been put to rest.

Today marks a turning point in this war as 30 days of massacre, destruction, and violence fail to be sufficient to arrive at a ceasefire and ease people's suffering.

Today, we will be grateful to be alive. We will appreciate basic elements such as water, electricity, and fuel. We will be glued to our TV sets. We will pray for the people stuck under the rubble as well as those who perished underneath. We will accompany the refugees and greet them in their home away from home.

I was afraid of the war becoming my routine, as I kept on repeating: Tomorrow it will be over. Tomorrow they will come to their senses. Tomorrow it will be alright...

I think tomorrow has come.
However, we are far from alright.

We have all been systematically confined to whatever geographic location we happen to be in now as bridges and roads have been destroyed and fuel shortages are a reality. We have developed an immunity to bomb blasts and air raids, and hardly look up at the sky to see their source anymore. We have learnt not to depend on anyone but ourselves, and know that our survival is our problem. We have discovered that health care will soon become a luxury as hospitals run on emergency fuel and will soon be forced to compromise on the quality of care provided. We have pondered the future of our children, whose education has now been put on hold. We have witnessed a score of civilian casualties: children, men, women, and elderly... all killed with savagery and nonchalence. We have dipped our feet in the once blue sea only to find it a yucky black mess, a cemetary for all creatures of the sea. We have watched our souces of livelihood being taken away, and we don't know if we will still have a job when this is over.

When this is over... If this is over...
As the funeral procession carries on through different parts of Lebanon, through the busy cities and the forgotton villages, citizens shower the coffin with questions as they follow behind. But none of them know the destination, none know how long it will take to get there. None. As the ideals of truth, justice and peace are being buried, they cast a glance at the world they leave behind; they see the people whose eyes are glazed with tears unshed, whose heads are bowed, whose hearts are breaking, mourning the death of their ideals, their saving grace.

posted by hopeful beirut @ 23:28