“Bil rouh bi dam nafdik ya…” (With our souls, with out blood, we sacrifice
ourselves… Insert appropriate political leader’s name after that)
“Isn’t there anything else on TV? Give me the remote control please.”
“Bil rouh bi dam nafdik ya…” (Insert another political leader’s name now)
“Great, with all these people sacrificing their souls and blood for political
leaders, all parties must pay attention come election day: So many people
would be dead by then there’d be no one to elect them! But then, when
there’s no one to elect them they do what they do every time: Forge identities
of dead people and get them to vote! Oh, didn’t he die his hair? Yes, look.
That politician giving a speech there! Some months ago he was already gray-
ing now he’s back to black hair. But then again, I guess that’s only normal:
The pictures of him the crowds are holding date to something like two years
ago, so I guess he wanted to look like that person everyone seemed to love in
the pictures. Did you hear they were selling the international aid portions that
got to Lebanon in the supermarkets? They were doing it openly. A TV got
hold of that… What a shame! But then, what do you expect? It’s always been
like that. How are you coping down in Achrafieh?... Would you like some
watermelon?”
“Achrafieh is like one of those towns you see in Westerns, minus the dust
bowls. God, there’s just no one down there. It’s so empty. And yet, I am
amazed the real estate price has not been affected by what happened at all.
The whole market is functioning as if nothing happened. Prices are not going
down despite the fact that there are more pieces on the market and all those
people who immigrated will not be asking for apartments anytime soon! It’s
as if the laws of supply and demand do not function here. I try to look in the
classified ads on Monday morning – if I can get hold of one that is – and
people are asking ridiculous prices for whatever they are selling.”
“You still didn’t have any of the watermelon. Have one. In addition, I find
Achrafieh’s demographics changing. It is not full of people anymore. More
and more it is getting towards older couples. Their children have now moved
outside of it when they got married and have gotten larger apartments for the
same amount of money. All these new places are now full of young families.
Of course, the drawback is that they new areas are just so inconvenient. If
you forget to bring your bread or your Pepsi from the shopping list, you are
bound to go back by care for some ten minutes because that’s where the clos-
est shop is. Have a piece of watermelon. They’re good.”