la vie en rose.

the most shocking issue was the mentality of the lebanese. while hitchhiking to beirut we crossed a few islamic countries, and lebanon was not like any of them. people there were quite western except that they had lived through so many wars that it affected their personality in a way that is very similar to the israeli mentality. the same sense of humor, the same sense of living the moment (cause it might all be gone tomorrow), the same sort of escapism (to forget reality for a moment)... both sides seem to be aware of the fact that they’re enemies because of their history and the political context in which they live.

lebanese and israelis share much more then just a coastline.

life = ...

in the end there’s no right or wrong. wars are fought for reasons the majority of people don’t even know about. but it’s exactly those people that suffer from it... on both sides.

we, europeans, are in no place to judge. we say the ‘situation in the middle east’ is a threat for world peace. but we are part of that threat, by what we’ve done in the past, the way we behave right now... and probably because of what we’ll do in the future.

it’s easy to say that the palistinians, the israelis, the lebanese and so many others should handle things in a different way.

but who of us really knows what it feels like to be born a palestinian, an israeli or a lebanese... who knows what it feels like to be hated because you’re a muslim or a jew?

so please don’t judge.

the least we can do... out of respect for those who have to bear the consequences of their culture, their history and their race every day... is to shut up.

introduction to war.

before leaving to lebanon i had lived in Israel for over a year. israel (and palestine) had been an amazing experience.

i had lived in many countries before moving to israel, but nowhere i clicked so well with the people. their live-challenging sense of humor and their explicit honesty made up for the weight of history they carry on their shoulders. many people there are still my friends and i love them.

so when seeing the destruction of war, a destruction ‘they’ had caused, i went through many different stages: shock, approval, judgment, denial, disappointment, grief, despair, numbness, sarcasm... i even felt indifferent at some point.

many israelis i knew were send to lebanon to fight in that last week before the ceasefire. one of them was a close friend of mine and i just didn’t know what to feel anymore...