My friend Aline greeted me at the airport this afternoon with a big hug and immediately asked me if I had heard the news. After a frenzy of packing in The Hague and many hours of travel and transit, the last thing on my mind was the news. Apparently there was a big bomb blast in one of Beirut’s Christian suburbs, which killed the army successor of the potential new president. Lebanon has been stuck in a political impasse for weeks, unable to come to a compromise and select a new president—and this attack has pushed any imminent solution out of reach.
While it certainly unsettled me, the bombing didn’t really scare me. The sense I am getting from most Lebanese people I have talked to today is that they are saddened by the assassination, but ultimately blasé as these types of things have been happening with regularity for nearly 2 years. More than once, they simply said, “welcome to Lebanon!” Others told me that the bombs are well targeted, killing the intended victim and the people in his immediate entourage. They are not random suicide bombings in which the maximum civilian casualties are sought like in Iraq. I am not sure how comforting this line of reasoning is, but I did decide to come here knowing that the security situation is unstable. I don’t feel like it’s completely out of control, though I will remain cautious during my short placement here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment