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Thinking of Lebanon and its People
In the aftermath of the explosions in Beirut, my thoughts are with the people of Lebanon.
It was a sunny day in May 2015 when I received my plane tickets to Beirut in the email. I was working as a writer for the short documentary ‘Finding My Lebanon,’ and its older brother, the full-length documentary ‘Growing Cedars In Air.’ The journey of the crew involved in the project was to be as much challenging as beautiful and personal.
As soon as I landed on the Beirut International Airport, I was immersed in a completely different reality from the one I was accustomed to within Europe. Although well past midnight, I glanced out the window of our car, speeding on the highway, and absorbed the dark blue of the sea on the left, the contour of the mountains on the right. Every hour spent in Lebanon brought on a new experience, a new story, a new taste or texture. From dining with our toes tickled by the sea to being surrounded by cedars on top of the mountain, from the chaos of traffic to the trueness of people’s hearts, Lebanon welcomed me into a trance of love for a culture that was an experience in itself.
I learned how to bargain for the first time in an ancient Phoenician port, Byblos. I walked on the corniche in Beirut, at sunset, watching people with different beliefs blending and laughing together. I learned what living in the moment…