Lebanese Faces

It's Sunday, people have fun.

My room was two blocks away from the explosion, while I was in Jemmayza having coffee with a friend, Jemmeyza is three blocks away from the explosion.

The pub was considerably empty for the Northern attacks on the Lebanese Army/Nahr el Bared Camp, 47 men died, 110 injured. While we were talking, we saw people running out, the owner of the pub announced the news: "Spennis was exploded" he said. I panicked, we live there!!! "Please take me home" I said.

We paid, stepped out of the pub, saw people running, dressed up and running, all upset, scared, cell phones glued to their cheeks, heading towards their cars.

We got into the car and drove to Spennis, people were driving like crazy, or crazier, red cross cars, civil defense trunks, and as we took the turn to Spennis, we realized that it isn't Spennis that was exploded, but the parking parallel to ABC, my heart was beating fast, my sister!!!

We couldn't drive through, parked the car, we walked through the crowd.

I was walking on glasses, glasses of bed rooms, living rooms, of homes. It was so crowded, with families wearing pajamas, pink, blue, yellow, scared, panicked, I saw a guy with a wet face, and a woman grabbed my friend's arm asking him about her house, we left her.

I don't know why, but I shed a tear.

I looked at my Southern friend's face, he was in the South when Israel bombed it, he heard the noises, saw the red, all this is very familiar to him, very not to me.

I saw the fire, I saw the giant thing glowing in the panicked people's eyes, I do not know how does it feel to be Lebanese, to have a Lebanese face, I haven't lived a "civil" war, nor a terrorist war, June war. I haven't heard a single noise outside the screen, we shared history??

We made it though the crowd, I told him to leave and get home safely. I ran for my building, I saw the room's light on, a bit relived, walked down the stairs, and nervous as I was, I couldn't use my key, I knocked on the door, Nadine!! Nadine!!!

Nobody answered, I got mad, I hit hard, and shouted, Nadine!!!

Yes yes yes!!!

My sister was holding the cat, and the remote control: "dad called."

I made some tea.

This morning, i woke up unusually 8:30, called dad and couple friends in Tripoli. got dressed and took off. People were gathered to see the explosion, cars were parked over, women were crying, people were checking on the neighboring apartments: "7amdella 3ala salametkon" (thank God you're all safe).
i saw the exploded building, its front was beautiful; plants, chairs and ACs, but its back was gone, completely. People have just lost their homes.
i heard a man yelling, we looked back and we saw a police officer writing a warning for a guy whose car was parked on the line, he was yelling so hard, he is here to see, he is for he's scared, he told the officer: "how could you??!! how dare you? answer me!!!"

i guess he meant that he had the right to remain scared.