"Hal Balad" is the most bitched about thing around here. This expression is always used in a culpatory tone. Whenever you need to highlight a flaw in this country, and we have a handful of those around, you blame it all on "Hal Balad."
You cant' find a job in "Hal Balad."...People in "Hal Balad" are full of crap..."Hal Balad" is all about corruption...The humidity in "Hal Balad" is unbearable...
I hate thee people that use this expression. Not because of your incessant whining, nor because of your criticism of my beloved country, but for the helpless guilt free victim image that you have of yourself.
"Hal Balad" is nothing but a reflection of your sorry ass. You pass your sense of irresponsibility to those you empower to roam free with no worry of accountability.
Then there are those who romanticize "Hal Balad" and fantacize about"Hal Balad" from afar. Sure you all love "Hal Balad", the summer vacation one night stand kind of love, that is why you abandon it at the drop of a Dirham. "Hal Balad" is not your Balad. Your "Hal Balad" is a farce.
"Hal Balad" today is bleeding, almost dead. I say we finish it off and bury it deep. Let's build our Lebanon instead.
23 comments:
You're a great writer, Jamal.
You should try to publish these posts.
afham shabb bil balad..seriously
"hal balad" saret no3 men el TESHBE7 iza fina n2ol.sar kil wa7ad bye7ki,mish 3ashen ydefi3 3an mabda2o,bas kirmil ysami3 sawto el feregh.
Lebnen 3am yemrad yom ba3d yom,
wledo 3am bizido etten balleh,
w kil wa7ad 3am bighani 3a mowelo.
Jamal, that sent shivers down my spine. You have a great style. And you are right on, as usual.
well said ya jamal.
Jamal
this blog keeps getting better and better.
Wow.
hal balad is a pervert ... (reflection to my sorry ass :P)
kidding...
anyway great post jamal as usual.
Allah y zeed min amthalak bi hal balad
great one!
Yalla, when do we start?
How about creating some sort of group that targets elementary school students (flexible and not yet narrow minded) and gives talks covering subjects like, yes, we can acutally do something and make a difference instead of throwing our hands up in the air and saying 'shou feena na3moul ne7na?!'
Namely, stop taking sides in a country that can't afford to be split into a million factions, electing representatives who are less corrupt and have the interest of the country at hand rather than their pocket, that every little action helps, that being united doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with everyone's opinion but joining together under a single red and white flag with a tree in the middle... etc...
Too naive?!
Fantastic post!
I completely agree. I hate the whiners, and I hate the people who can't stop crying about how much they love the country.
What really pissed me off were all the "I love Beirut" stories. They all had the same crappy anecdotes with the same whiny lamentations about Beirut being so perfect, but always being destroyed for no reason.
BEIRUT WAS BARELY TOUCHED IN THIS CONFLICT! Stop whining about Beirut and start worrying about LEBANON.
Oh wait, the bombed areas are primarily Shia areas. Oh, we better just keep on crying about poor Beirut because we don't give a damn about them.
Yeah, I've got a lot of anger.
Amazing post..a good dose for my withdrawal!!
I second Charles Malek, I am sick of people who whine and whine..
By the way, Anan insulted us big time..He ignored putting flowers on the graves of the innocent civilians who died (not even a symbolic gesture), but why am I surprised about Anan when our own beloved mas2ouleen did not bother to comfort those poor souls..
same thing, who cares they are poor Shia!!! (
Charles I got alot of anger too.
but makes me feel a bit better that I am not the only angry person.
What is just as sickening is to hear people whin about the whiners.
Post jamil ya Jamal ;)
I've been wanting to say this for a while now: to everyone uttering this same curse over and over again:
"*(&%^$#@! 3a libnen w ^$(^&$%#@! hal balad"
inno iza mish 3ajbak habibi, sta2il min el jinsiyyeh el libneniyeh birtei7 w bitrayye7"
great post J.!
"Hal Balad" is nothing but a reflection of your sorry ass. You pass your sense of irresponsibility to those you empower to roam free with no worry of accountability.
WOW! Quotable quote.
Hamid-Liban,
no i don't censor any ideas, i just delete copy and pasted SPAM. Any RELEVANT and ORIGINAL thought of your own is welcome no matter how much i disagree with it.
well....baddi erja3 3ala "hal balad....mni7a heik?"
agree ya Jamal....the expression is be3asseb...
Yeslam timmak ya jamal. Wou inshallah not all of us who left will keep fantasizing about their country from afar. Any road I take is one that leads me back to the land of my fathers, and the land of my children to be...
Is thie where all the cool kids hang out?
nice to be able to leave you comments again ya jamal. this was one great post and im very happy to see you keep it up, despite the obvious sadness and anger in your tone. I hear you man. I am not "min hal balad" but love it more than some people in it i guess. i saw the same attitude in my students last year and we had many hated debates about what they can do to make things in the art world much better and how they should not conform because its the only way to make moneyin the balad.
miss you and hope you are well, i will be seeing you all soon and cannot wait!
Post a Comment