We’re at the beach. My son brings a friend over. It’s kind of complicated to organize play dates these days, especially if you live in a conflict zone. Nobody wants to expose their kids to any unnecessary danger, so who wants to drop their kids off at Hamra these days? Luckily, the friend also lives in a conflict zone; he’s from Sodeco, so his parents can understand that – all things considered - it is reasonably safe in the Hamra area; no worse than Sodeco, that is.
We go to the beach, which is in a ‘neutral’ zone, but the friend cannot sleep over because ‘of the situation’.
Friend: “That sucks. Now I cannot sleep out of the house anymore.”
Son: “You didn’t tell him I got a bullet next to my bedroom window, did you?”
Friend: “Dude, I got a bullet right into my bed. The window’s gone!”
Son: “My sister got one right in the window sill.”
Friend: “The house below us, they received an RPG in the living room.”
This reminds me of a conversation my daughter (then 4) had with some friends a year ago.
I sometimes wonder, what kind of conversations will they have with kids out in the real world? (Maybe this is the real world? I sure don’t hope so.) Mine is going to sail camp in Holland this summer. I doubt any of these kids have heard a gun shooting, let alone an RPG, other than on TV or on play station.
We’re going back to work on Monday, as if nothing ever happened. This only adds to the surrealistic atmosphere of Beirut. This place is just too bizarre for words.
We go to the beach, which is in a ‘neutral’ zone, but the friend cannot sleep over because ‘of the situation’.
Friend: “That sucks. Now I cannot sleep out of the house anymore.”
Son: “You didn’t tell him I got a bullet next to my bedroom window, did you?”
Friend: “Dude, I got a bullet right into my bed. The window’s gone!”
Son: “My sister got one right in the window sill.”
Friend: “The house below us, they received an RPG in the living room.”
This reminds me of a conversation my daughter (then 4) had with some friends a year ago.
I sometimes wonder, what kind of conversations will they have with kids out in the real world? (Maybe this is the real world? I sure don’t hope so.) Mine is going to sail camp in Holland this summer. I doubt any of these kids have heard a gun shooting, let alone an RPG, other than on TV or on play station.
We’re going back to work on Monday, as if nothing ever happened. This only adds to the surrealistic atmosphere of Beirut. This place is just too bizarre for words. 
3 comments:
you always have amazing photos in your posts, can I ask what kind of camera you are using?
Sony F828. It's not the camera though, it's the photoshopping. I use a mixture of Picasa and Adobe Photoshop.
Siets
Beirut is a bizarre, twisted, surreal place. Just last week we were watching our own countrymen burn villages down, and slaughter opponents as the army stood idly by.
Today, once-rival politicians seem to love each other. Leaders who swore they'd never meet and wished death on each other sat around a table in a rich country, came to an agreement, and returned to their homeland.
Balloons in Centre Ville are flying high, restaurants that had been empty for a year (or more) are full for the first time, and people are (dare I say?) slightly optimistic.
What a weird place.
-k
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