Lebanon is my home, I love it. Now that that’s out of the way, I must admit it’s a country of contradiction, chaos, and utter madness (having said that, I think I know why I love it, it’s a lot like me).
We have “issues” in this country, and every few weeks, these “issues” surface on the streets in different forms. I don’t want to discuss these issues, I want to describe a scene I came across yesterday while driving home from work.
Since the situation is a bit unstable, the Lebanese army has been more present in certain areas of the city. As I was driving, I spotted a lone soldier, on guard duty, standing in the shade of a Hibiscus tree, with a big flower he’d picked from it in his hand. He was simply gazing at the flower…
It may seem a bit silly to write about this, but I found it very moving, in that this lone sentry was very humanly finding amusement and pleasure looking at a pretty flower in these times of uncertainty and danger. I also found it very symbolic of the role of the Lebanese army that has been reduced to policing (and not very effectively) and to civil service projects (in other words, flower picking).
Yes my Lebanon is sitting in the shade of a tree, gazing at a beautiful flower, in anticipation of what is to come…
ContraPolitica 