And the news is sad.
While the Dutch were celebrating the Queen Birthday Bash at the Beirut Golf Club tonight (Hell yes, we play golf in Beirut!), news spread fast that the two youths, the ones that had been missing since Monday, had been found. Not alive, however. They were dead. Liquidated, in fact. And although religion isn’t much of an issue to the Dutch, it is to the Lebanese. They boys were sunni muslim, and somehow related to someone who – back in January – was involved in the killing of a shia youth. But noting is confirmed. The rumor circuit is running at full force.
Who dunnit!? Could be anybody. Your guess is as good as mine. The number of parties that will benefit from their deaths is equal to the number of people that will suffer from it.
It is difficult to fathom if you come from a clear-cut society like Holland, but here in the Middle East, it’s all intricate and inter-related, and nothing is quite like what it seems. It is sad though, that a 12 year old has to pay the price of someone else his war. Especially if you have a 12 year old at home. Can you imagine this being your child?
Anyway, once that news got out, the party (The Queen’s Birthday; an annual event that is an absolute ‘must-see’ if you are in Holland, April 30th) was over in less then 10 minutes. The cell phone network got busy, and the Lebanese went home. Schools got cancelled. Only the Dutch stayed behind, to celebrate what was left of a good Queen’s Birthday, oblivious to the rising tension. They said Corniche el-Mazraa was closed, and one should avoid it while driving home. Reason enough to choose Corniche el-Mazraa to go home. But apart from a heavy army presence, nothing was happening ath Corniche Mazraa..
This is becoming tiresome, this sectarian issue. The more I think of it, the more I believe we’d be better of without it.
It is difficult to fathom if you come from a clear-cut society like Holland, but here in the Middle East, it’s all intricate and inter-related, and nothing is quite like what it seems. It is sad though, that a 12 year old has to pay the price of someone else his war. Especially if you have a 12 year old at home. Can you imagine this being your child?
Anyway, once that news got out, the party (The Queen’s Birthday; an annual event that is an absolute ‘must-see’ if you are in Holland, April 30th) was over in less then 10 minutes. The cell phone network got busy, and the Lebanese went home. Schools got cancelled. Only the Dutch stayed behind, to celebrate what was left of a good Queen’s Birthday, oblivious to the rising tension. They said Corniche el-Mazraa was closed, and one should avoid it while driving home. Reason enough to choose Corniche el-Mazraa to go home. But apart from a heavy army presence, nothing was happening ath Corniche Mazraa..
This is becoming tiresome, this sectarian issue. The more I think of it, the more I believe we’d be better of without it.
On a lighter note; we did celebrate Queen Beatrix's Birthday with much vigor. And we made a concerted effort to support the Lebanese beer and wine industry. (Alamaza Malt only, please!)
A lesson in Dutch customs; Heineken beer and 'bitterballen'.
No Joe, the flower arrangements are not to take home, they serve as decoration!
5 comments:
Great post. I think the kids were Druze according to this Lebanese professor in the US:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=81760
Don't you feel like you're on the Titanic? All going down, and getting drunk?
excellent!
let's go find the piano ; )
Well, the boys were linked to the PSP, which originally is a druze party, but their names indicate that they were sunni.
Sietske, even on this blog people keep informing us what side the two boys were on. They were linked to... originally druze ... blablabla, links to professors in the US. I don't think these people quite understand what you try to tell them.
Ysbrand.
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