Strange Art

I just got back from the framer. He finished framing (hence his name) two pictures for me, to add to my collection of rather ‘odd’ art. Living in this part of the world you run into some unusual objects, and I drag it all home.

Shrapnel
For instance, my extensive collection of shrapnel. I have gathered a large assortment of ‘important’ shrapnel. Important in the sense of ‘significant’ events. I’ve got a big chunk from a car from the Hariri bomb, I’ve got shrapnel from Tueni’s car bomb and I’ve got shrapnel from basically all major Israeli bombardments that have hit this country the past 14 years. I’ve got a few pieces from the 1996 disaster in an orange grove near Sarafand where an Israeli patrol walked into a couple making out in an old taxi, and got decimated in the process (both couple and 11 Israelis, if I remember correctly.) I used to have all the shrapnel lined up neatly, but they got to be too many, so now I’ve gathered them all in a bowl.
Anyone else in Lebanon that has some shrapnel lying around the house? Raise your hand! I bet it’s not just me with this odd habit.

Cutlery
Another collection is my Cutlery Set. I started this one when I found an Israeli army fork in Souq el Gharb, where a major battle took place between the Lebanese 8th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (led by Michel Aoun who, btw, currently has his eyes set on the Presidency of Lebanon) and Palestinian and muslim forces in September 1983. I don’t know how an Israeli fork got there. The Israelis had invaded Lebanon then, but I am not sure what they were supposed to be doing up there on that hill. Doesn’t matter, the owner of the fork probably did not live to retell it, as twisted as it was. And then I started seeing cutlery at every bomb site. The latest addition is a silver-plated spoon from the southern suburbs.

Pamphlets
But my favorite is the Eviction Notes collection. I am especially proud of that one. The Israelis have a sort of Advanced Warning System developed when they intend to bomb you; they flood the neighborhood with pamphlets, announcing that they really, really regret it, but they see no other option, and that it is in your own interest anyway, so – for the sake of your own health – you might want to look for safer quarters for the moment. During the summer war, there were 47 leaflet missions over Lebanon, with a total of more then 17,000,000 leaflets dropped.
The oldest one I have dates from the 1982 invasion, when the Israelis surrounded the city and threatened to flatten the place unless the PLO got out. The PLO evacuated to Tunis, and Beirut got bombed anyway. Okay, so it was to be some years later.

This one got dropped in July of 2006. It reads:

To the People of Lebanon
Hezbollah declared war on Israel.
We all know Israel's enormous power and ability to mobilize her forces against terrorist organizations whenever necessary.
People of Lebanon:
If you sleep in a cemetery, you are bound to have nightmares.
Israel is a powerful nation and determined to do whatever necessary to ensure the safety of her citizens!!!
The State of Israel