Walk on the Wild Side

They’re building like mad in my neighborhood. And for every building pit, they set up a crane. I had never seen how they assembled these things, but yesterday they did it right in front of my kitchen window.
It was done by a couple of daredevils. A reminder that laws don’t really apply in this country. I was weak in my knees from just watching them.

These guys were working at least 40 meters above the ground. No security lines. No safety net. One wrong move, and SCHPLATTT! they’re dead. No labor laws prohibiting this. No danger pay for these guys. I doubt they even get extra pay for this. Or whether their pay is decent to start with.

And who will take care of their families if they drop dead? (No need to worry about disability pay. They’ll never survive this fall, not even partially).


And so they worked there, nonchalant, unmoved and unconcerned, smoking a cigarette, connecting the crane parts bit by bit, tinkering around a but at 40 meters above Beirut. Impressive.

Another reminder that laws do not really apply in this country was a story I heard yesterday over dinner. This lady explained how she got her driver’s license in Montreal, Canada. Everything went well, but her driving instructor just did not understand why she did not pull up as soon as the green light appeared.

“Ya madame, you do not understand the country I am coming from. Just because the light is green doesn’t mean it is safe. The other side will keep on driving anyway. Or there will be a policeman standing on the intersection telling you to get a move on, regardless of the lights, or maybe there is a police car passing by who is at the end of their shift and he wants to go home, or maybe it is someone who knows somebody high up in the police force so he does not really have to stop at the red light, or maybe . . . “ and she had another few reasons why in Lebanon, you do not drive at the green light, but first you check whether the coast is clear.
It’s all about living on the Wild Side, I guess.