A blog by someone new to blogging, set in Beirut, by someone new to Beirut.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Back to Reality...

It looks like Dom blogged too soon! Since he wrote that posting there has been another assassination (of an investigator from the Internal Security Forces) which killed another 3 people, followed by violent riots on Sunday which left dead. And today I am sitting indoors while a storm rages outside (although, to be fair, that isn't really anyone's fault).

So where to begin? Well, the bomb on Friday (25th) killed Capt Wissam Eid, who had been investigating many of the bombings that have been going on in Lebanon since 2005, when Hariri was assassinated. The bomb was only about 1.5 km from where I live, but I didn't hear it as I had my iPod on at the time. It was a pretty big bomb - bigger than many others, although again, it was clearly targeted.

Then on Sunday there were demonstrations in parts of Beirut and Lebanon against the cuts in electric power that happen on a very regular basis. Most parts (and more often than not, the poorer, Shia parts) of Beirut are without power for 3 hours at a time, 2-3 times a day. This has been going on for some time and, understandably, people are getting pissed off. Sadly, the demos turned nasty, and, depending on which account/biased newspaper you read, snipers fired at the army, or snipers fired at the demonstrators. Either way, seven people died needlessly on Sunday and yesterday was declared to be a day of national mourning. I'm not particularly in favour of shutting down the country every time something happens (it's mainly the schools, universities and government offices that close, private businesses tend to operate as normal), particularly as its happening all the time at the moment and children in particular need the stability of school, but when tensions are as high as they are, closing the universities is probably a good measure, especially as that is where it all kicked off this time last year.

So that is where we are at the moment. I am sure that there is a level of coordination about these disturbances on all sides at the moment (i.e. getting their people to fight, I am sure the opposing parties are not coordinating with each other!) especially as everyone knew that there was a massive storm coming yesterday and today, and that the Arab League (I think) were meeting on Sunday to talk about Lebanon. Naturally, nothing came of it.

Dom is in Dubai - he got to the airport a couple of hours before the airport road was closed by the rioters - and is most annoyed to be there. Especially as his hotel appears to be on a building site. Still, he is talking to people about 'Arab Health' - one of the biggest exhibitions in the world that takes place in Dubai. Not sure what is different about Arab Health to Everyone's Health, but I am sure marketing plays a part!

I am just taking things easy, and beginning to sort out the house for the return home (sob!). I've got some work lined up for the end of February, and we also have visitors - hurray! Siobhan and Dom's friend Jeremy in about 10 days, and then Pete and Sarah at the end of Feb. Can't wait! And just to re-emphasise... Lebanon is normally really peaceful, and has much less crime, violent or otherwise, than London. Unless you are really unlucky, it is perfectly safe to visit here - you just have to have a chilled out attitude!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The good things..

Dom reporting. There is a lot of grim news around in the Middle East (see Fi's bit below), and the Arab League initiative for Lebanon seems to be floundering - I am not sure if there is another initiative after that but there usually is - but there also doesn't seem to be an appetite for any violence. Probably the situation will stagger on for a while yet.

Anyway, I thought I would draw attention to some of the good things that have been going on here in the last month. Firstly the weather has been perfect - perfect that is for Brits who think that around zero degrees at night and 8 degrees but sunny by day is nice. The wind is from the north which means chilly but amazingly clear. In which other capital city can you sit outside in a warm sun by the sea and see a huge snowcapped mountain? OK maybe somewhere in south america? And Geneva is not a capital - neither is Lake Geneva a sea. And yes you can ski and it is brilliant to be able to drive 50 minutes up the mountain from your flat and be skiiing an hour after leaving the house. Fi has done a black run this year and I am still on the reds, but there is still time!
Next, the nightlife. The nightlife in Beirut is simply phenomenal and very tiring when you have to be at work at 8! We now have a new 'local' called Scotts which is about 2 minutes walk away and serves Murphys!. The main drags of Monot and Gemmayzeh are flourishing and new places are opening (and closing) every week as trends move on. Food here is also something special. Much as I love Syrian food (cherry kebabs yum), in Syria there is really only Syrian food - apart from the odd ropey Italian. But in Beirut you have Italian, Chinese, Japanese by the hundred, French, Steak, pick-your-own seafood, Parisian-style cafes, and a million franchises from Costa Coffee, Nandos, Starbucks, and....KFC (aaaargh) - all within 15 minutes walk. and of course the delicious Lebanese food too. One thing that is lacking is a really good Indian although there is a place called Maharajah which is OK. And it is all a fraction of the price of London.
Just before Xmas we went to Byblos for a seafood blowout which involves selecting fresh fish and having them cooked to order, then about half way through realising that seafood is quite filling but as you ordered it you have to finish...walk it off with a wander through the souk which is becoming slightly corporatised but in a very tasteful way (a bit lie rebuilt Central Beirut). A really nice half day out.

Although the economy here is suffering badly, it still managed 3% growth in 07 despite everything - way above all forecasts. That's more than western Europe but really it needs 8% to really create jobs. It seems the more people who emigrate to well paid jobs overseas the more money comes into the country to keep it afloat - a bizarre way to keep the country going but it keeps the wheels turning. But the brave investor is reaping rewards - like the guy who opened a microbrewery called 961 (after the dialling code for Lebanon) and is making pots of cash.

Finally it is still incredible to me how good the education is here. When 18 year old bar staff can speak 3 languages it puts us all to shame. No doubt we will really miss most of it when we go(with the exception of politicians, idiot drivers, potholes, too loud dance music in bars, lack of green space, and the symphony of car horns!).

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The Threat Widens

The number of people and institutions that are perceived to be legitimate targets by terrorists seems to be increasing. Firstly politicians, then journalists, then the army, now a car belonging to the US Embassy was attacked today. No US Diplomats were killed, but 4 Lebanese passers-by were. Some reports say that the reason that the US car (which is always massively armour-plated) was not more badly damaged is that a car was overtaking the US vehicle, and took the full force of the blast. US cars drive pretty fast at the best of times, so goodness knows how fast the poor occupants of the other car were going.

US Embassy security is Alcatraz-like. The Diplomats there are only allowed out two or three times a week, they have to be back in by 2am, they have a security team case the place they are going to beforehand, and they are always, always accompanied by a bodyguard and have an armoured vehicle with them. Obviously, this makes them pretty easy to spot, and it's a hobby for many Lebanese to spot the Diplomat. The sobering thought is that even with all this security, they are not safe and if people want to get you here, they will.

It's too early to try and imagine where all this could lead - this attack could have been a message to Bush who is in Saudi at the moment, I think. I saw him on TV with a ceremonial sword in his hand and for a minute I thought he was offering to carry out a public beheading. There are rumours here that the politicians were ready to announce a compromise solution the other day, but held off because Bush was in the region and they couldn't stomach him taking any of the credit. I think the next (14th?) meeting will be on Monday... we'll see what's announced then.

In other news, we had a fabulous and chilled New Year in Aleppo, caught some crusader castles, ate loads of food and stayed in the Baron Hotel, in TE Lawrence's room! Photos to follow...