Where the bombs are

Found these via GulfNews --

I left Lebanon because I have three kids. I left Lebanon because I do not want them to live through wars and civil wars and death and destruction. I left Lebanon because I do not want them to hate. I left Lebanon because I do not want them to become me. I left Lebanon because I have three kids whom I love more than country and flag.

I look at them today in London and they have a smile on their faces. Their cheeks are red and their lips are not yellow anymore. No more tears or fears.
Last night, they heard aircrafts flying overhead and they did not jump out of their beds into mine, crying and worried that they might die. And when I asked my eldest daughter who is eleven why did she fear the sound of aircrafts in Beirut and not in London, she said: "the ones in Beirut are out to kill".

Beirut Notes
http://beirutnotes.blogspot.com/2006/07/i-left-for-smile.html

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I’m one of the unlucky ones. I left just as it was happening. I didn’t want to go. I had to go. I had to ensure that everything I’ve been working so hard to achieve didn’t go up in smoke. They had other plans for me. For us.

It was a normal morning. Downtown Beirut. My favorite hotel. Business as usual. Putting the finishing touches on my dream. I was scheduled to leave the next day, back to my home in exile. I was in a café overlooking the old city, the real Beirut. Having a meeting with a friend over a Turkish coffee and mille feuille when we all heard. I went numb almost immediately. I wear my emotions amongst friends.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

I told her that this is bigger than it looks. I know them, I kept telling her. I know them. Nasrallah has played the wrong card. Al Assad has played his trump card. I know them. I know them all too well.

I continued the day. Finished what I needed to. Yet I was distracted. I was making contingency plans for what was about to occur. What I didn’t realize was that Hell was already taking reservations. The grand opening was just around the corner.

The Perpetual Refugee
http://perpetualrefugee.blogspot.com/2006/07/cleansed.html