Another Assassination

I didn't hear the bomb yesterday - it was about 2.5 miles away from us, along the corniche, near where I go running (and walking) a couple of times a week. An MP, his son, his bodyguards and a few passers-by were killed. The MP, Walid Eido, was an outspoken Anti-Syrian MP and a member of the March 14 Future Movement, headed by Rafik Hariri's son, Saad.

Lebanon is in a real state. As a result of the recent bombs and the fighting in the north, and even before yesterday's assassination, the majority of people were not going out, or, were going out for an early meal, and then back home. Economically, this is crippling bars and restaurants and the tourist season looks set to take another battering this year. In a country where dining out and going out for drinks until late in the evening is part of the cultural fabric, the recent attacks have left many businesses in dire straits. Schools are also affected. Many parents have taken their children out of school early, and some schools have already closed for the summer (most usually finish next week, I think). This, of course, affects the children, who don't have the stability of a full school term, or the company of their peers.

The fighting in the north still continues, and probably will for a few more days, although the Lebanese army seems to be making progress. The protestors are in Downtown, although their position looks increasingly untenable (they are associated, in the minds of most people and in reality, with the Syrian regime), but to leave now would be an admission of failure, and there is no way that they would do that, so some sort of compromise needs to be brokered.

So it's all a bit of a mess. I am off back to London for a few weeks tomorrow - we've got a trip to Scotland, a wedding, and general family catch-ups to do. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, but am worried about what I may or may not come back to. I can't say it enough times, this is a fantastic country, with a warm, generous, fun-loving population. It seems so unfair that some people are determined to wreck all of this.