This is the Star Square, a.k.a. Saha Nijma and Place d'Etoile. It's in the center of Downtown. The beautiful European-styled Downtown that Rafik Hariri's company, Solidiere, rebuilt after the Civil War, many say with dirty, mafioso money stolen from the coffers of the Lebanese government.
Downtown has pretty much been shut down for a month, because Hizbolla has been camping out there, trying to force the Prime Minister to resign. I heard they're losing $40 million a day.
When I came back in September, these were the signs--A Plane vs. A Child. According to the BBC, 1,109 Lebanese civilians and 28 soldiers who were not engaged with Israel died. Some sources say about 1/3 of the civilians were children. Of the Israelis killed, 119 were soldiers, 44 were civilians, 19 of whom were Palestinian, according to Wikipedia.
2 comments:
how are things with the student protest?
In case you need a laugh, I thought you'd get a kick out of the two Google ads at the top of your blog today:
"Meet Lebanese Women
Find Your Arab Soul Mate Today! Search photos, email, chat and more"
[link to arablounge.com]
"Is your Church changing, doing things that are not found, or are forbidden, in the Bible?"
[link to a cult-ish "Christian" website]
Okay, so perhaps a sad/ironic laugh. But funny, nonetheless.
Much more seriously, John & I are thinking of & praying for you -- usually just when Lebanon is in the news, which means not enough -- but we do love you, Jane. I echo Christine's question & look forward to hearing your perspectives on today's news stories.
Post a Comment