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| Artwork by Tarek Chemaly |
So here we are, again.
Waiting, in Beirut once more.
The title of this post is borrowed from the book by David Hury and Nathalie Bontems (Nathalie is a lovely character if there ever one, and no I am not going to tell you about the state of the villa in Harissa. Sigh). You can still find their book here.
I did say it before (here for example) "A long time ago (in 2008) and in an interview with a Swedish newspaper, I said "Beirut is like a snake, it needs to shed its skin periodically" - not caring who or what it hurts in the process." But at some point - and even if the myth of Beirut having been destroyed and rebuilt seven times has been debunked and is not correct - one gets tired of being in an exoskeleton.
And now it is the waiting, once more. And this, I said, prior (here).
… And the bombings over Beirut intensified, and I found myself…
Strange how some statements seem ageless and dateless, as if their only reference is simply their own being. The above could have taken place anytime between 1975 and 1990, then sporadically – yet recurrently – after that, although choosing 1996 and 2006 would give a better statistical opportunity of be dead on. Excuse the pun. It seemed the same as saying “the sun rises”, a benign statement with no implications whatsoever in the grand scheme of things, a mechanic, repetitive act – a little like sex when the initial impulse of the discovery of the other’s body has gone.
I envy those who can still play this mental game, ad infinitum. Personally, when I add everything I am going through over and above this, I feel simply tired. If this post seems like rehashing old sayings, maybe, just maybe, because we are now in the same old places and times.