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| Artwork by Tarek Chemaly |
So it all happens this year, again. Our joy of common fasting (the Christian lent and the Ramadan fast are happening concurently) was short lived. Shiite families are now packed on the corniche and in downtown Beirut and whatever school yards available, war is escalating, and all this on the backdrop of people disoriented, numb and extremely tired from all the traumas that have been accumulating since 2019 back to back with no respite.
The above artwork is actually a real slogan from a war poster originally signed by the members of the Christian resistance - namely the Phalangists (Kataeb), the National Liberal Party (Ahrar), the Guardians of the Cedars (Horas el Arz), and Al Tanzim (a coalition of Christian Lebanese politicians). The slogan for all those non-Francophones goes: Do a realistic pilgrimage - this Easter visit Lebanon. The poster I have is undated but it might be late 70s judging by the logos - because the Safra massacre which saw the Phalanges fight the Ahrar as of yet for the hegemony of Christian dominance had not occurred yet..
If you ask any Lebanese, and yes Shiites included, no one wanted to be uprooted in the middle of their Ramadan fast, to go live on the Beirut corniche or in the middle of Martyrs' square or in some classroom in a closed school. And still, Easter is coming, Eid which marks the end of Ramadan is coming too, and war is here already waiting for both, and us as well.
All of this on the backdrop of economic hardship, or a faltering economy, of 50% of people already below the poverty line and no one able to access their bank accounts since 2019. And to quote Al Moutanabi "Eid, and in what a deplorable way you came back oh Eid".