hopeful beirut

Resilience

A few days ago, 2 young men were kidnapped and murdered; and yesterday, Miss Lebanon pageant was underway and a new representative of Lebanese beauty was chosen...

It takes courage to vacillate between the extremes of the emotional sphere... between joy and sadness, happiness and fear, love and hate...

We are a resilient people, bordering on insensitivity, for over-exposure renders our senses numb, our hearts colder, and our compassion weaker.

It feels strange to be back to posting about world-grabbing headlines, especially since they consistently feature in the morbid section, but every now and again a joyful event adds a splash of color to our drab situation. Thank God its not red...

What more can I say? What can I promise? I can only say with certainty that the future is uncertain. That it takes so much effort to remember why you are still faithful to your country, why you still call it home... That while you are busy working towards a better future, some can still not get over the bloody past. That while you are investing hope in children, some are instilling fear in adults.

Should we:
Stop caring?
Give in?
Forget?
Leave?
Cry?
SHout?
Scream?
Be silent?

Is it our heritage to be nomads in foreign countries; giving them our youth, intelligence, and fervor?

Is it our destiny to remain quarelling between one another, too busy shouting to hear the tears?

Is it?

I refuse to believe in such a sinister proposition.
I refuse to be sucked in to the negative vibes circulating.

We are sons and daughters of pioneers, of people who braved the seas, climbed the mountains and reached out to touch the stars.

We are meant for goodness, compassion, and solidarity.

And we believe in making our own destiny.

posted by hopeful beirut @ 10:47