Lebanon: 2020-21 like living in Juliana Seraphim painting

Untitled - Juliana Seraphim 1980 (source)

There, this is the best metaphor I can give: In Lebanon, 2020 and 2021 were like living in a Juliana Seraphim painting. To be living the surreal as if it was a day to day occurrence, some Gabriel Garcia Marquez magical realism. Honestly how can one explain that Covid is not even in your top 5 of problems? The banks, the money or lack of it, the fuel or lack it, the meds or lack of it, the Dollar or lack it, and the list goes on. Did anyone notice I still did not go to the covid situation? I am twice vaccinated but missed the last marathon to get my booster - living outside of Beirut, I need to organize myself well before stepping out of the house (a small calculation led me and my cousin to average 500,000 Lebanese Liras as a budget for any out of home excursion!). I said it before, despite all this, I was one of the privileged one that managed to have a Christmas of some sort (nephews got a gift), the table was not exorbitant but at least present. 

But truth be told, it is difficult to live by comparison. I think in all of 2020 I clocked like 5 nights of sleep. Insomnia was a daily thing, and no sleep would come before daylight for a meager couple of hours. The stress level was off the chart, and the only thing that stopped my mind from going off the rails was working on my "Simulacra and simulation" video about the Lebanese collective memory. Was 2021 any better? Well, to begin with, sleep came back at some point. No, work was not much better (I left university lecturing at end of 2019 due to inflation because I was keeping a lousy sum of money in my pocket at the end of a teaching day!), and projects have been too far and in-between. 

Weirdly enough I have not been pursuing work in full force. Maybe I am still traumatized for having worked for fiercely for several years and lost all the money I put aside in the current financial crisis. So to start anew with the same vein at my age (note, I was born in 1974) is not really palatable. My current plan is simple: Salvage what can be salvageable, play a long game, and not plan much - the last time I planned is precisely what got me into the place I am in right now. 

So here we are, little or no logic, all shapes are distorted, "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" as the side-mirror engraved words so philosophically say. I suppose like everyone else, these two years seem both very fresh, haunting but also in the rearview mirror all at once. I did say that during lockdown, time is elastic. I guess for 2020-21, outside of lockdown too.

Nissan - flattening the curve in a smart ad.

Very smart and very minimal.

Says everything without saying anything all at once. Talks about its brand's usefulness yet still does it sleekly. And could perhaps be too sleek, too blink-and-you'll-miss it in a world of flashy ads. But still is a major refresher of a well-done ad looks like (even if, it could be too smart for its intended audience).

Ladies and gentlemen please meet Nissan Lebanon's own "flatten the curve" ad. It is lovely to see such ads approved, again, in the plethora of brands trying to outshine one another with very striking ads as they compete for the customers' and people's eyeballs, but personally I love that the ad was approved (and that even got created!).

Here's to more of this, perhaps Nissan would end up swaying a new breed of buyers once the pandemic ends - designers, architects, Mies van der Rohe fans....

Waiting for the vaccine is like waiting for Godot.

The famous "lakohou atfalakom la yanfa3 el nadam" slogan as rendered by Tarek Chemaly

Well, here we are - am waiting for my vaccine turn to come. To begin with, it seems a lot of people are not taking the vaccine. And here am talking about  many people I know, educated, smart, who read daily, but who still will not take the vaccine. I heard all kinds of reasons (will not say excuses as not to appear judgmental). A lawyer says she has allergies (which are actually some of the reasons listed not to take the vaccine), a biology major is not convinced of either of the currently available vaccines, a management consultant thinks we are being tested as guinea pigs, a science teacher is convinced vaccines are not effective and people are dying because of them, and a math teacher says that the vaccine leaves the mark of the beast on the body once taken.

Now being diabetic and having lived in a snood (because I wear hearing aids there is no more space to store anything behind my ears in a conventional mask) about all of 2020 and having reduced my outings to about once a  month (usually combining supermarket and bank trips at the same time), I honestly long for the pseudo-normalcy of a life considering that the rest of the conditions are far from ideal in Lebanon (devaluation of 78%, lack of access to our bank accounts, an explosion I have survived twice and the list goes on!).

But hey, Mario Abboud (the journalist) nailed it on the head with his "bala mokh" (figuratively "lacking brains") comment in his now infamous TV journal intro. The other day, right smack in the middle of the Joyce storm, someone knocks on our door. It turned out to be a neighbor who was back from her job at a bank and who wanted to pay us a visit. I mean seriously, she must have interacted with God knows how many people, when we are hunkering at home (me diabetic and mother elderly), but she still found it a good time for a visit.

That all of this is super worrying is not even worth mentioning. Because as I said earlier COVID is but one of Lebanon's problems. 

The COVAX platform is now online

And here it is finally.

The COVAX platform for the COVID vaccine is finally online.

I urge everyone and anyone to fill their data and coordinates to be able to take the shot (actually double shot in case of Pfeizer). All the necessary data are vital and yes, even your work etc is crucial in terms of classifying you in terms of priority. I was honest in all my replies so I urge you to do the same.

The information is very easy to fill by the way, but you need an email, a phone number (mobile phone) however to get the info across.

Please log in here.

Unicef - when vaccine turns to luxury

Ah here's a nice ad from Unicef - where vaccine is being dipped into luxury perfume advertising. Actually, the one in the red hat reminds me so much of Yves Saint Laurent vintage ads, but I digress. The ads actually notify governments and officials that half of the worldwide available doses have been booked by rich nations which makes the ones left quite a "luxury".

But wait, on a private level, it gets worse! How? Just look at my inbox or whatsapp, hoards of "educated" people are sending me articles (from Lord knows which websites!) which actually claim all kind of nonesense (apparently vaccines increase the level of death from Covid, apart from the two people who had an allergic reaction, and that the Lebanese are being used as a testing specimen because we had to sign that Pfeizer is not responsible for any side effects and the list continues....).

Honestly, as soon as the vaccine is here, and am allowed to get it, presto am getting it (sorry Maya Diab, and Haifa Wehbe and all the other deniers contacting me)!

In Lebanon 2021 picks up exactly where 2020 left....

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Wherever we go (and we are not going anywhere), there we are...

In Lebanon, 2021 is starting exactly where 2020 left off. 

Saluting the medical staff which is fighting covid (wait, haven't we done that enough?).

Cases of covid surging to unprecedented heights (haven't we gone to such heights before? Actually, no, with people being reckless after an original super tight respect for the law - as I predicted here - the number of cases is spiraling out of control).

We are heading towards our umpteenth total (?) lockdown with our (incalculable?) exceptions (again, haven't we seen this enough in 2020 - the best part was the nightclubs open but without dancing).

Banks are still running totally crazy. To begin with there is zero coordination between them. No bank is acting the same, and when a new policy is enacted, clients (remember it's the clients' money in there) are told after the fact not before it. Mind you all banks are acting this way, meaning, a client comes trying to withdraw money only to be told that no, this month the amount changed (usually decreased!) or what not.

We still do not have a new government (what else is new?). The political discourse in Lebanon is still very stagnant at this stage. Interestingly, everyone is waiting for outside signals to come by (mainly the US transition of presidency, which astounds me, because - in case you have not heard - the new administration has bigger fish to fry!).

The advertising scene - the focus of this blog usually alongside with communication - is still in, literally, the death throes. I recognize there are some campaigns running on billboards but this is no indicator that things are picking up. 

Many agencies are either handling their MENA accounts from Beirut (if they have international affiliations), tried to establish satellite offices somewhere in the gulf, are creating systems to avoid having to deal with banks when it comes to payments, and are trying to pick up the debris (literally) of the August 4 Beirut explosion.

Freelancers are really being hit hard. To begin with, companies are recruiting them on the cheap (very very cheap) under the guise of "fresh Dollar" (which means they are paid in new Dollars as opposed to "Lollar" or Dollar already stuck in the banking system in Lebanon) and considering the difference of value between the two, companies in the gulf are recruiting them to do work from Lebanon while abusing their need to survive here. 

Also, banks are blocking all incoming money which these freelancers have gained - the excuse is usually "fear of money laundering", and this only leaves companies like Western Union as a way of payment (the payment is deducted by 2% upon arrival by the way, unless it comes from an American bank). Interestingly, companies cannot send by Western Union, it needs to be individuals - which added a further layer of trying to jump through hoops!

If so far you are not dispirited just by reading this, try living this on day to day basis. 

Massoud "Poussy" Achkar RIP

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Massoud "Poussy" Ackhar has passed away from covid complications. He leaves behind what every Lebanese politician wishes to leave - an excellent name, a legacy unharmed by bribery or theft, and a untainted history of patriotism which no one can dispute, and better - he transcended the murky water of politics, machinations, to become a symbol everyone agrees upon across the Christian aisle. May he rest in peace.