Travel Plans
A Dutch friend of mine, living here in Beirut, was contemplating this morning whether she should go to Holland a little earlier than usual this summer. It promises to be a hot summer, with the fighting in the north and the constant explosions in Beirut. And that is only the beginning of it. Fear is that the fighting in the camp will jump to other camps. The situation in Gaza is not exactly an indicator that things in the camps here right now are all fine and dandy.
“I don’t know,” she says,” the travel agent said there were plenty of seats available all the way til the end of June. I think I’ll wait until the next bomb before I decide.”
That, of course, was this morning.
Now the situation is a little different. Some obscure Palestinian group just fired three rockets into northern Israel. I didn’t even know that the Palestinians in Lebanon had such advanced hardware these days. And you know what the Israelis do when they get mad. They bomb everything.
Last year, she ended up getting evacuated. She couldn’t even return to her house in the southern suburbs to pick up some clothes, so she arrived in Holland without anything.
However, after this evening’s event, I bet you there won’t be that many seats available anymore.
Everyone is thinking the same; not again by boat. This boat refugee thing was not a success by Lebanese standards.
Terroristic Vehicules
“I don’t know,” she says,” the travel agent said there were plenty of seats available all the way til the end of June. I think I’ll wait until the next bomb before I decide.”
That, of course, was this morning.
Now the situation is a little different. Some obscure Palestinian group just fired three rockets into northern Israel. I didn’t even know that the Palestinians in Lebanon had such advanced hardware these days. And you know what the Israelis do when they get mad. They bomb everything.
Last year, she ended up getting evacuated. She couldn’t even return to her house in the southern suburbs to pick up some clothes, so she arrived in Holland without anything.
However, after this evening’s event, I bet you there won’t be that many seats available anymore.
Everyone is thinking the same; not again by boat. This boat refugee thing was not a success by Lebanese standards.
Terroristic Vehicules
On a different plan, my car seems to have acquired ‘terrorist status’ overnight. Yesterday I could still drive the stretch from Caracas to Sanayah. Today no longer. I did not pass the check point that suddenly emerged there a couple of days ago. The road passes close by the house of a rather well-known MP, who, they say, currently also provides a roof for all other worried MP's in town that fear for their lives. That's about 40, if I got my facts straight.
“Pick-up that way,” said the policeman, motioning up the hill.
“Yes, but I need to go that way,” motioning straight ahead.
“No. You go that way.”
In the meantime everyone was allowed to continue straight, even 4x4. But not my car.
“Look, you let that Range Rover pass,” I argued indignantly.
“Yes, 4x4 good, pick-up, no good. Sorry, he.”
Yes, sorry indeed, when we can no longer distinguish a terrorists from a housewife with kids in a car. Desperate housewife, if this continues. I mean, the stuff we've had to deal with lately.
“Yes, but I need to go that way,” motioning straight ahead.
“No. You go that way.”
In the meantime everyone was allowed to continue straight, even 4x4. But not my car.
“Look, you let that Range Rover pass,” I argued indignantly.
“Yes, 4x4 good, pick-up, no good. Sorry, he.”
Yes, sorry indeed, when we can no longer distinguish a terrorists from a housewife with kids in a car. Desperate housewife, if this continues. I mean, the stuff we've had to deal with lately.
3 comments:
Well maybe it isn't you or the car that puts you in the terrorist category, maybe it IS the kids... Do I know them?
Y.
Hoi Sietske,
Hoe safe is het om eind Aug naar Hazmieh te komen voor een BT bruiloft??
Anonymous Y
Ja, die kinderen kunnen inderdaad wel op de lijst van "America's Most Wanted."
Dimphy
Hazmieh is altijd veilig, zou ik denken. T'is maar hoe je er over nadenkt. Rond Nahr el-Bared vind ik het eigenlijk ook wel veilig. Maar Hazmieh, tja, denk het wel. Ik zou wel gaan, als ik jouw was. Libanese trouwpartijen zijn altijd reuze leuke affaires!
Post a Comment