Two explosions near the Iranian embassy in Beirut rocked the Bir Hassan neighborhood on Tuesday morning, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens. Why?
Why? A one word question Lebanese politicians have been answering for hours on end, for the past year, but without really explaining to the people, why?
Why did a mother lose her son today? Why did a father lose his daughter today? Why was a man’s brother severely injured today? Why is a husband not coming back home to his family tonight?
25 people lost their lives, and not one official, not one politician, not one person bothered to explain to their families why it happened.
You may go on and on about terrorism, about the Syrian conflict and its impact on Lebanon, about Hezbollah, about Al-Qaeda, about Saudi Arabia, about Israel and the US… but will this really wipe the tears off a fatherless son and a motherless daughter today? No.
All day long, I listened and wrote about politician’s reactions and their accusations against Israel, the Syrian rebels, Al-Qaeda and so on. I couldn’t help but notice that all of them were reciting the same poem they recite whenever such an attack happens in Lebanon.
They all condemn the attack, regret the loss of innocent lives… and then resume insulting each other and accusing their respective allies of being behind the attacks. Disgusting.
I even interviewed experts who explained that this attack is linked to the Syrian conflict and the fact that the regime is gaining ground. Ridiculous.
People lost their lives today, some of them if not most of them had nothing to do with the war in Syria… but somehow they ended up dying because of it.
Smoke billowed after the explosions in Beirut, and after it cleared: we found out the Lebanese capital lost… its identity.
This blog post was also published on my personal blog.
