See Augustus Norton’s reaction to a recent CNN documentary on Hizbullah.
Tag: lebanon
Appeal from American University in Beirut
I am passing on this appeal from the AUB for donations to help the refugees from South Lebanon. Not that long ago I was walking through its beautiful campus…
Also take a look at this interview with John Waterbury, AUB’s dean, who says “We may be looking at a situation where we have to write off the last eight or nine years.”
An appeal from the American University of Beirut to its alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students
July 23, 2006Facing the Challenge The American University of Beirut is once again at the forefront of efforts to care for those who are suffering in Lebanon. Along with other NGOs, the men and women affiliated with AUB and its hospital are providing critical services to those in need. We will do everything we can to take care of those who need our help. We have done it before. Our commitment to do so is just as strong today.
We expect, however, that the demand for AUB’s services will continue to grow as more and more families seek refuge in and around Beirut. Today, more than 500,000 men, women, and children have been displaced as a result of the conflict.
New Lebanon pics on Flickr
More pictures have been posted to the Flick account. As always, be warned: some of the pictures are extremely graphic.
You should also check out the Save Lebanon group on Flickr, which I have just joined. They have a lot more pictures.
Incidentally, I’d like to thank the person behind Shootin’ the breeze, a photography website, for having donated a Flickr Pro account after seeing the picture. It will really help with the traffic the account is getting. And I’d also like to thank all the Flickr viewers who have emailed to express their dismay at the pictures. But the real hero of this story is Hanady Salman, the As-Safir newspaper editor who is sending the pictures. Let’s hope he and his family stay safe.
Palestinian boys sleep next to mock graves of Arab rulers during a protest in Rafah refugee camp against the lack of Arab support for Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon July 23.
An injured woman from the village of al-Titi in South Lebanon.
Another innocent Lebanese victim.
Reem Shahrour, 18 months old, Rashidieh
ME Politics 101
Here’s an AP story building on the recent news reports about a new initiative whereby Egypt and Saudi Arabia would intervene to try to sway Syria away from its alliance with Iran and Hizbollah–in an very classic exchange for a promise from Washington not to give them any headaches about this annoying democracy thing.
Though the AP story was good quality reporting, the title was rather funny: “Moderate Arabs look to curb militants.� “Moderate Arabs�? AP’s standards for political “moderation� seem to lie in how close the regime is to DC. One regime may sodomize dissidents, the other beheads them, but still according to AP they are “moderates.�
Though the AP story was good quality reporting, the title was rather funny: “Moderate Arabs look to curb militants.� “Moderate Arabs�? AP’s standards for political “moderation� seem to lie in how close the regime is to DC. One regime may sodomize dissidents, the other beheads them, but still according to AP they are “moderates.�
Moderate Arabs look to curb militants
By Steven R. Hurst and Salah Nasrawi
CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt and Saudi Arabia – both with strained U.S. ties – are working to entice Syria to end support for Hezbollah, a move that is central to resolving the conflict in Lebanon and unhitching Damascus from its alliance-of-convenience with Iran, the Shiite Muslim guerrillas’ other main backer, Arab diplomats and analysts said Sunday.
The two Arab heavyweights were prepared to spend heavily from Egypt’s political capital in the region and Saudi Arabia’s vast financial reserves to rein in Hezbollah as well as the Hamas militants now running the Palestinian government. In return, Washington would ease pressure on its moderate Arab allies for broad democratic reform, the diplomats and analysts said.
Bombed on the road to safety
A shattering story of a Lebanese family fleeing for safety, only to meet the Grim Reaper on the road…
Blasted by a missile on the road to safety
Family ordered to flee were targeted because they were driving minivan
Beirut help needed to save archive
Arabist reader Zazou has passed on a call for help to save important academic archives in Beirut:
If you know anyone (preferably British) who is in Beirut, and who is about to be evacuated, would you please see if they are willing to help save a very valuable archive of Palestinian oral history?
– BACKGROUND
Diana Allan, an anthropologist at Harvard, has worked with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, particularly Shatila, and collected precious oral testimonies of 1948 survivors. She has hundreds of hours of testimonies, comprising of 750 DVD’s. Needless to say, this is a major treasure for our community and, as far as we know, nobody has done this work as extensively and thoroughly as Diana has.
– SITUATION & NEED
We need to salvage this valuable archive by getting it out of Beirut asap, preferably with foreigners being evacuated. The evacuees are only allowed a small bag, but the British embassy has agreed to let this be carried and not count as part of someone’s baggage allowance, but conditional on having someone to carry it and take responsibility for it. It is 15 kg. So… if you know anyone (preferably British, otherwise they would need to be willing to carry it at the expense of their personal belongings) who is trustworthy and willing to take this… please let us know right away!!
– CONTACT
Please contact Diana at dallan AT fas.harvard.edu.
I also have a phone number in Ramallah for anyone who might help, just leave a comment or email issandr AT arabist.net
Latest developments
Latest death toll is 362 (most civilians) in Lebanon, 34 (most soldiers) in Israel. From Reuters:
July 22 (Reuters) – Here are developments in the Middle East on the 11th day of Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon.
* Israeli soldiers oust Hizbollah guerrillas from hilltop village of Maroun al-Ras, a stronghold just inside Lebanon, where six Israeli commandos have been killed this week.
* Israel says no full-scale invasion set for now.
* More than 40 rockets fired by Hizbollah hit towns across northern Israel, injuring 16 people, damaging three houses and setting cars ablaze.
Baheyya on Their Majesties
Check this…
Black tide in Beirut
On top of it all, there is now an oil slick on the shores of Beirut:
Beirut Mayor Abdel Monem Ariss, who toured the area, has stated that the source of the diesel oil could either be the heavy traffic of ships and boats that have come to Lebanon to evacuate foreigners, or the Israeli warship that was hit by Hizbullah rockets. The warship might have had to empty an extra load of oil, Ariss said.
Via Nur al-Cubicle.
The revolt of the frogs
It is said when you throw a frog into boiling water, it jumps out right away. But when you put it in warm water, then heat the pan increasingly till the boiling point, the frog will not take notice, till suddenly it’s faced with a boiling situation and dies. The learned wisdom, the frogs have to revolt now, coz they have nothing to lose but their boiling pans.
With those words activist blogger 3alaa starts a funny posting titled, “Boiling the Frogs between Cairo and Tel Aviv,” where political activism meets his cyber-humour. Behind the cartoon and the Egyptian street slang humour however, there lies a lot in 3alaa’s message.
3alaa, an independent leftist, shares a belief upheld by many on the left in Egypt today: the local is connected to the regional. A blow struck against autocracy in Cairo, solidifies the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, and vice versa.
During the 15 July demo in solidarity with Sharqawi and Sha3er before their release, 3alaa and his fellow bloggers were distributing a statement, brilliantly written in my view.
The statement affirmed the leftist bloggers’ support for Hizbollah and Hamas in their fight to liberate the Lebanese and Palestinian detainees, but drew the attention to the Egyptian fight to liberate our own detainees in the regime’s prisons. The statement is only available in Arabic, and could be found here. 3alaa did not forget to add his own humourous touch to it, signing the statement in the name of “30th of February Organization,” the name activist bloggers are jokingly referring to themselves by.
In his last posting, you can see a frog chanting against Mubarak, saluting the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, and stating that “boiling” will not deter dissent.
