More bombings

The Corniche
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

I got home from dinner at Rola's, teary-eyed, not knowing when I'm going to have to leave. I hadn't checked my e-mail in about 5 hours. So I got on the computer and kept the balcony door open so I could hear if anything happened.

When I got to Rola's, they bombed Manara, Ein al Mreisse, on the corniche in Beirut. There's a picture of me there from last year. I feel guilty for feeling more upset about hitting the "nicer" parts of the city, when they've destroyed the southern suburbs where many of the poor, Shia live. But I guess it's more, metaphorically, closer to home.

My mom called about half an hour ago, about 1:15 a.m. my time. And as I was standing on the balcony, talking to her, I heard planes fly overhead and three loud bombs. Mom heard one. My balcony shook for all three. But I couldn't see anything. I was looking for the red flash/star.

And then I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out, the city was black. I don't know if they hit a power station.

I found out that I couldn't get in touch with Rabih and Randa all day because when they took out the bridge next to their house, they got a communications tower. So none of the phones in their village get reception. And I heard that the MTC Touch tower was taken out. But I have the other company (it's a sick duopoloy), Alfa, so I've had reception all day. But of course, the circuits have been busy all day. Mom was trying to call me for hours.

So I'm feeling upset and pissed. And I'm annoyed with all the Druze people I talk to who keep saying that Hassan Nasrallah is a sick freak and it's all his fault and inshallah bemoot "hopefully he dies". And I'm like, but it's Israel that's destroyed your country. It's Israel that's going to trap you in your villages and neighborhoods with no supply lines in or out.

Who's going to stop these animals?? Israel has a right to defend itself. What is Hizbollah? It's a resistance organization. A bunch of poor Shia people who had to fight the illegal occupiers that were taking their young men and throwing them in jail and using medieval torture devices on them, in the year 2000. Did you see my blog on Khiam? Go to the July 2005 archives, right under the Walid Beik article.

Don't forget--Israel is the 51st state. They get more foreign aid from the U.S. than any other country, $500/per year/per person.

And all these Druze people keep saying, hopefully your country will come in and help us rebuild. . . .Is it an Iraq situation? What is this about?

Damn--that was a big one. I felt that inside my apartment. Now my heart's starting to race more. My mom says this isn't good for me psychologically. I kind of don't want to fall asleep so I can watch the show.

Neda got a show on Thursday. She lives in Chouefeit and saw them take out the runways at the airports. "It was like a movie."

The lights are now on in Beirut.