protesting again in beirut

Good morning world and welcome to my life. Today was the start of another protest and already, since it was bright enough to see into the morning, they have succeeded in blocking the road to the airport by setting a whole bunch of tires on fire and you can see groups of them pulling cement dividers in the middle of other roads. Though, as much as I would just love to go down and get my own personal photos to document such a thing, I do have my children to think about and you know how it goes with an angry mob. You just never know when it will get out of control. Usually no one is hurt during the protests but they have already started by blocking the way to the airport. I know a lot of you might say, "Why do you live there?". America is much better, we don't have to worry about such things etc. Truth be known, even in America these things happen daily, we are just too focused on our own lives to really be able know all the goings on around our country.

Lebanon is a very small country. Very small so if something happens in one area, you can bank on it that people will be related to or know someone from that area and it will be a struggle or topic of discussion. It is very political here…most people are this way because of the war that took place here for several years. A country gets occupied by the enemy for long enough all you get to listen to or read about are the politics about the whole thing. I feel for my husband, who is the same age as me, because while I was riding my brand new bikes and playing with the next door neighbor girl outside with our Barbie's, he was listening to a radio wondering if he would even get to go to school that day, wondering if he would be able to go outside to get something to eat and so on.

Too often we forget that others suffer because we become wrapped up in our own problems which if we look at them, I bet most of could say, "Someone else in this world has it harder than me today." People are often blinded to the fact that there is a rest of the world out there because we are so busy. I bet is some of us took the time to research how all of this got started instead of accusing entire groups of people and their faith, one may be able to see just how wrong a lot of things truly are. Hey, one may even become an advocate for the people in the Middle East and then again, maybe not. But from my own personal experiences, most that venture to this side of the earth usually end up leaving with quite a different view than they had when they first came here.

I know a lot of people who chose to stay here because they know how wonderful and true a lot of the citizens here are. How much they genuinely care about the welfare of you or your child. It's not saying that there are not people or places like this in the US. It's just saying that the common opinion of people over here is a very uninformed opinion. Though I don't agree with some things and can't for the life of me understand why a whole city has be put on standby because of a few people wanting yet another protest, I am starting to understand a bit where they are coming from. It's a tricky kind of thing to be in charge of this country. So many variables. Sorta like being President. You would think that he had the final say but really he does not. At any rate, I decided that I wanted to research a bit more about the problems over here and in order to begin that, I know that I will have to travel back many years in order to find the starting point of where it all went wrong. I am sure there will be posts that some of you do not agree with and you are entitled to your opinion just as I am entitled to mine. Look past my veil and see me for what I am.

I am just an American Citizen with a view. And, that view, from where I live and sit now, is probably a lot better than most that have never ventured outside their local news casts let alone country. It is not a statement of arrogance more than it is a statement of how I feel now, once I took that first step and got on the plane to venture to Africa, my eyes would soon be open to the perils of the rest of the world. An opening that would have me evaluating what I felt was so dang important and why I couldn't see past the tip of my own nose. You can not help but become political to a degree when you are actually living in such heated areas of the globe.

So for now, in between the praises of accomplishments of my cute little guys and my beautiful little girl, I will put bits and pieces here and there about the struggle of Lebanon and other Middle Eastern Countries. I venture an guess that you will find and see, just as I have, that our own country, in some way or another, plays an important role in a lot of the happenings in the rest of the world.

*Photo Credit: Daily Star Lebanon, 23 January 2007*