English

1. 1
TWO SHORT ESSAYS
FROM WEST BEIRUT 1985
By May Haddad
Attached are two essays that describe
feelings and relations among friends
during the war times in what we used to
refer to “West Beirut”
MOMENTS TO SHARE
WEST BEIRUT AUGUST 1985
Moments in Beirut seem to have different
values, maybe because of the uncertainty that
surrounds them, which makes us live them more
thoroughly & affectionately.
It was 4:00 pm when someone knocked my door.
I knew the tune, so I didn’t bother to change
my clothes.
Najwa! May! It was a reunion after a separation
(Najwa and myself have been separated several
times because of situations related to the war
in Lebanon.
We had lots to share: experiences from 4 months
in Beirut, Greece, Syria, Nairobi and Cyprus

2. 2
Najwa enjoyed most one of my stories from
Kenya: A visit to the Masai tribe in the middle
of the jungle.
The Masai, who lost their lands and were
prohibited by law from hunting animals, made
traditional dancing their way of living. At
4:45 pm, the tour bus showed up unexpectedly
and we were asked to board. At 5:00 pm sharp
we found ourselves in gardens located in bigger
gardens. A huge villa stood in the middle. An
English lady carrying tea and biscuits came
out. To our surprise, it was the 5:00 o’clock
English tea time!
We learned later that the English family owned
the land, were shareholders in the tour company
and paid a little of their “profits” to the
dancing Masai tribe.
I liked Najwa’s story from Syria. “It is an
explosion,”Najwa was sure of the sound. All
people around her denied it and taxi-drivers
claimed they never worked that hour. An
official told the story: “Two big explosions
occurred in the city, one directly hitting an
army truck killing and injuring tens of
soldiers”. The next day, a short note appeared
in the local newspaper: “A gas container
exploded accidently and resulted in minimal
damage”.
During the days that we spent together,
we enjoyed the sincere company of beautiful
friends: Michael, Maia, Albert, Youssef,
Mohamad, Dalal, Habib, Rolan, Malek, and Aref.
Often we came back at 1:00 or 2:00 am.
No wonder that they kidnap only Christians at
this time of the day, as no one else wonders
around.

3. 3
Beirut at night is very dark and certainly
no one can complain of a traffic jam. Special
treatment is still the rule in Lebanese
restaurants: Service is quick and the food is
always delicious. Often the waiters offer you
roses or free houka!
The sea and the sun are always there: The sea
embraces you with its refreshing nature while
the sun ravishes you with its rays.
Snipers’ bullets sometimes interrupt this
romantic setting. We hide behind what we think
is a safe rock and wait.
Sometimes, fear mixes with sarcasm.
Four adjacent streets are described here,
events occurring at the same time: The first
was a battle-field for opposing militia; the
second was a totally deserted area; families
enjoying an afternoon walk in the third; the
fourth street was very noisy because of the
cars honking as part of a wedding celebration.
We also
had crazy
moments.
Have you
ever
tried 104
ways of
wearing a
kang

4. 4
3 EVENTS IN 3 DAYS:
WEST BEIRUT- SEP. 1985
You think that others are illogical, but is
your logic logical?
What makes logic logical; at times when illogic
dominates?
A search for a logical illogic or an illogical
logic that is illogic…
We learnt that two negatives result in a
positive i.e. an illogical logic that is
illogic is quite logical.
I would like to describe 3 situations, maybe my
confusion clarifies:
Excited to be in Beirut again, Raja’ leaves the
city just upon arrival! Instead of meeting her
friends, she leaves us a note expressing her
deep sorrow and the sudden feeling of the urge
to get out immediately!
O my friend, are you “insane” to go so soon, or
are we “insane” to stay?!
Dozens of pieces of evidence were accumulating:
Michael, Maia and Albert were missing!
In our eyes, we saw the fear that we suppress
all the time! We spent hours searching.
Fortunately, it was a happy ending.
However, Maia sharing our undeclared panic,
refused to admit its validity… She blamed us
for our worries and romanticized the situation-

5. 5
after all, who could kidnap three people
together?
The three, incidentally happened to be an
American, a Christian from East Beirut and a
priest! But is my confusion related to being a
“Christian”-or am I made to feel so? I wonder…
Caught in a street fighting on my way to visit
my friend Mohammed- who injured his foot in a
very non-traditional way these days “playing
tennis”- I became dominated by this logical
illogic feeling.
At his place, Tony and Samia who thought they
were to enjoy the peace of a walk by the sea-
side, were seeking refuge from stray bullets.
The feeling took over! I needed to do
something. What? Yes, leave now! Why not?
Where to? My place? Najwa’s? But logically it
was unsafe to go then.
Aref, a few blocks apart phoned. He seems
conquered by a similar feeling though
differently. He decided to spend the night at
his office, where he was, though “logically” it
was very safe for him to go out
A family seeked
refuge under
Cola bridge,
Beirut 1985