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| Artwork by Tarek Chemaly from the series Belvento |
Anyone who reads this blog knows I am not a big fan of the Lebanese. Although I am one. Our political system I find was always in tatters, our understanding what politics was has always been skewed, etc, etc.... And still today to give what it is to Caesar what it is to Caesar, I must admit I am - if not proud - at least I am very impressed about us. Forget the bloated NGOs, but the initiatives on the ground are mind-blowingly insane. People hosting, cooking, feeding, distributing anything from mattresses, to milk, to diapers, to medicines, some closing their restaurants and doing a common kitchen to cook. I know I know this is a short-term band aid on a huge hemorrhaging wound, but still - the scale and impact on the ground is.... incredible. As I said this is not some publicity-hungry NGO justifying its salaries, no, it is just people coordinating, volunteering their time, energy, and resources into making it happen.
Of course it is not perfect, neither should it be. But seriously, every time I turn to Instagram I cannot but try to stop my heart from being squeezed. A barber and his team went and cut children's hair in one story, this almost made me melt. Of course, you can argue till tomorrow about if this was a priority or not, but to me watching the video and seeing the kids go ballistically insane from happiness (and I measure my words), feeling "human", like everyone else, regaining a sense of normalcy as they were uprooted from their usual surroundings and homes which more likely no longer exist - was worth every iota of buzzers that was spent.
Sure sure, pessimistic/realistic me will give you a thousand reasons why this won't matter in the great scheme of things. Charles Hayek in his beautiful feed on Instagram spoke recently about al-Awneh or al-Najdeh (basically help and rescue) two virtues rooted in the culture of the Lebanese village (here). Perhaps the Lebanese village is morphing and changing, that is for sure, but what is happening in all these endeavors is the same: People are sticking to one another regardless of sect, religion, or geographical origin.
Maybe, just maybe, the Lebanese have learned a lesson after all.