Lebanon’s Hara-Kiri

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Art by Mouna Bassil Sehnaoui (Instagram @sehnaouimouna)

A few things I've learned in this crazy experience called being a Lebanese. One, it's common practice that we glamorize our resiliency. What we refuse to acknowledge is that we are resilient to a fault. And when that's the case it becomes less about resilience and more about being submissive. It's still confusing what we fall back on. To this day, it isn't clear. When a two-bit politician tried to impose onto us a 6$ Whatsapp tax, we were ready to burn the whole country down. How dare he? But when the currency balloons up to 10,000LL for a dollar, it's dommage.

Two, we've become numb to reality. We drank, and got drunk, off our own mystique, and beauty, that we became negligent, and idle, to what has been unfolding around us. Yes, we're 30 minutes away from snow and ski, and 30 minutes away from the sea. But we're right next door to pollution, we're right next door to unfair wealth distribution, and we're right next door to corruption. It's no longer about our cup being half empty or half full because today our cup has runneth over.

Three, Lebanese seem nonchalant, almost indifferent. We've surrendered and accepted that this is our fate. Our very own Lebanese Tragedy. What a bizarre species us Lebanese are. Even when swimming against the tide, we tend to go with the flow. Imagine a man, being brutally beaten. He does nothing; he is submissive. This man's abuser decides to up the ante and begins to beat him with a metal rod. The man begins to plead, “stop it stop it, enough of the stick, go back to beating me with your fists!“ This is the case of Lebanon and its people's submissive mentality. 1,500 LL for 1 US dollar was always a LARGE figure. But we accepted it as it offered a means of living. Now the exchange rate has changed to 10,000 LL but our acceptance has remained the same. We are as submissive today, as we always were towards all the horrors that we've endured.

Even when swimming against the tide, we tend to go with the flow.

Four. Our history of war and our fear of repeating it stifles our will to act for justice. But history also shows that total destruction and chaos is the most effective way to achieve radical change. So we can either watch our country wither away or we can burn it down ourselves.

It is an abnormality. One that even a highly trained eye can't breakdown and explain.  In Lebanon, everything is the worst kept secret. We air our dirty laundry with our fresh ones, hanging them out to dry on our balconies. In a country where everything is well known, everybody acts like they know nothing. Out of sight out of mind. We tend to be the loudest in small isolated social gatherings, always weary of big brother. We speak of change as if it's a dream and not a reality. Is this a personal opinion or a well-known consensus? Is the lack of protests and mobilization evidence to the fact? Do local powers prey on our naivety? Do foreign ones?

I guess the larger question would be, why is the country of resilience so hell-bent on witnessing it’s own demise?

Writers Note: I hope you’re all enjoying the content. As always I try to keep it diverse. I’ve strayed away from discussing politics firsthand and started to write more about our social fabric, our society, and basically what makes us us. As always your support and feedback are appreciated. I enjoy writing, but I enjoy it, even more, when it's for someone who enjoys reading. When people sometimes tell me “I haven’t read your writing” I always joke and say, “I write for people who read”. Anyway, again thanks for tuning in. If you like the content don’t forget to share it on your social media. I recently found an article of mine being shared on Reddit and I don’t use Reddit at all, so to the Reddit user that shared my work, Thank you! You are well appreciated. As always hit the subscribe button below to stay up to date with my posts and everything I upload to the site. And don’t forget to follow my Instagram @_thewritewords.

P.S. how many of you Googled the meaning of Hara-Kiri?

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2 thoughts on “Lebanon’s Hara-Kiri”

  1. I enjoyed reading your post 🙂
    I am a lebanese living in Europe. unfortunately, I came to a belief, after seeing the manners and principles that europeans have and live by, that in Lebanon the major problem is us and no one else. It all boils down to how we conduct our day to day life, how we treat each others, and how eventually we treat our homeland. Lebanon is a democracy, and to some extent, the government is a reflection of the voting majority. The reflection is not perfect but it is still a reflection. We cannot hope that things get better if we dont want to become better…unless suddenly we get a merciful dictator, the situation will loom.

    I didn’t have to google Harakiri btw😊

    1. Hello

      I'm glad you liked the article! I hope I keep posting relevant content that you can relate to. Also, my appologies for the late reply. And I'm glad you didn't have to Google HaraKiri!:)

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