Beiruti
September 22nd, 2006, 05:35 AM
Hanging on to life, the Lebanese way
http://www.lebaneselobby.org/picture/leb%20people/live%20in%20style.jpg
09/15/2006
By Mohammed Al mezel,
Associate Editor
Beirut: Not long after the guns fell silent in Lebanon, nearly one month ago, the Lebanese capital went back to do what it does best; living in style.
Parisian-style terrace cafes, in the downtown area, were bristling with customers smoking shisha or having the famous Lebanese mazzas.
Others were just walking around the nearby Place d'Etoile, the landmark Parliament square, where a picture exhibition has been set up by the Hezbollah scout organisation, Risalah, showing images of children killed by the Israeli bombs during the 33-day war.
"We are a people who refuse to die," says Elie, a restaurant manager in his fifties. Over the past 30 years, he has seen it all, he boasted.
"I witnessed wars, invasions and destruction that was much more painful than the recent one," he added. "But every time, we hang on to life the Lebanese way. We love to enjoy life even during the hardest times."
He remembers that during the Israeli invasion of 1982, Beirut's famous Al Hamra's street nightclubs, cinemas and restaurants were packed with customers.
Meanwhile, for Mai, a 19- year-old college student, the recent war was the first time that she witnessed such a devastating onslaught. "But as soon as the ceasefire went into effect, I came down here with my friends. For one month, we missed the atmosphere. The downtown area is part of my lifestyle. It is the same for most of my friends."
On the Rausha Corniche, where people go to see the historic Rock, Ali was selling coffee as usual. Even during the war he didn't stop. "There were some people jogging or some lovers who wanted to watch the sunset over the rock. But they were not many. A few days after the war, business was even better than it was before," he says. He thinks it is the Lebanese way of "defying the Israeli arrogance."
Beirut is back in business.
http://www.lebaneselobby.org/picture/leb%20people/live%20in%20style.jpg
09/15/2006
By Mohammed Al mezel,
Associate Editor
Beirut: Not long after the guns fell silent in Lebanon, nearly one month ago, the Lebanese capital went back to do what it does best; living in style.
Parisian-style terrace cafes, in the downtown area, were bristling with customers smoking shisha or having the famous Lebanese mazzas.
Others were just walking around the nearby Place d'Etoile, the landmark Parliament square, where a picture exhibition has been set up by the Hezbollah scout organisation, Risalah, showing images of children killed by the Israeli bombs during the 33-day war.
"We are a people who refuse to die," says Elie, a restaurant manager in his fifties. Over the past 30 years, he has seen it all, he boasted.
"I witnessed wars, invasions and destruction that was much more painful than the recent one," he added. "But every time, we hang on to life the Lebanese way. We love to enjoy life even during the hardest times."
He remembers that during the Israeli invasion of 1982, Beirut's famous Al Hamra's street nightclubs, cinemas and restaurants were packed with customers.
Meanwhile, for Mai, a 19- year-old college student, the recent war was the first time that she witnessed such a devastating onslaught. "But as soon as the ceasefire went into effect, I came down here with my friends. For one month, we missed the atmosphere. The downtown area is part of my lifestyle. It is the same for most of my friends."
On the Rausha Corniche, where people go to see the historic Rock, Ali was selling coffee as usual. Even during the war he didn't stop. "There were some people jogging or some lovers who wanted to watch the sunset over the rock. But they were not many. A few days after the war, business was even better than it was before," he says. He thinks it is the Lebanese way of "defying the Israeli arrogance."
Beirut is back in business.