CINA

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STATE RACISM IN THE EU

When the European Union(EU) isn't able to repel potential immigrants from the so-called "Third World" to reach its soil (every year THOUSANDS of potential immigrants are dying in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic on their way to flee poverty, civil war, any kind of discrimination.., just for to reach the coasts of the EU - the "empire of freedom and prosperity") the rulers in the EU search for other ways to "solve the problem of migration by the poor". For example to lock up immigrants in Ghettos..

Here is one of the latest examples for the inhumanity of EU's "immigration" policy:

Ring of steel locks in immigrants (Times, 8.11)

A city famed for its beauty has turned to an ugly answer to drugs and violence
 
 
PADUA in Italy is renowned for its ancient university and medieval frescoes by Giotto. Yesterday, however, it acquired a less attractive claim to fame: a steel wall, 84m long and 3m high, blocking off a run-down housing estate with a high immigrant population and a reputation for drugs, violence and prostitution.

The wall was erected overnight by the local council around a cluster of run-down apartment blocks housing 1,500 people that is known as the Padua Bronx. A police checkpoint has been set up to control access to and from the estate. The council said that the wall had cost €80,000.

Some reports said, however, that the operation — including the installation of CCTV — costs as much as €270,000. Italian newspapers said that “a new Berlin Wall has gone up — this time in the heart of Italy”.

Il Giornale compared the Padua wall to the fence dividing Israel from the West Bank. La Repubblica ran the headline: “Padua is divided in two.”

Police said that the flats — on what is officially the Serenissima (Most Serene) estate — had once been occupied by students, but over the past decade had been taken over by immigrants from Africa, including the Maghreb, Asia and Eastern Europe. “Many of them are illegal immigrants,” a police spokesman said. “There is a serious drugs problem .”

Police raided several flats at dawn yesterday, arresting ten clandestini (illegal immigrants) and seizing hundreds of grammes of cocaine. Last month police used teargas to quell street fighting between nearly 200 Nigerians and Moroccans, and confiscated weapons including machetes and meat cleavers.

The wall was condemned by Giancarlo Galan, the centre-right President of the Veneto Region, as a “policy of despair”. He said that it amounted to an admission of failure by Padua’s centre-left council.

Signor Zanonato said that he preferred “enclosure” to wall. “People are comparing us to Berlin, or even Beirut,” he said. “But there are 20,000 immigrants in Padua. My task is to do what is possible to integrate them. But this enclosure was requested by residents near the estate, to stop drug dealing.”

An Italian voice about this case you can read here:

PADUA: A 3M "WALL" AROUND VIA ANELL

(Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, 8.09)

Four millimetre thick steel panels are being used to construct a 80m long "wall" three metres high to fence off the entire Serenissima complex on Via Anelli in order to deny people wishing to buy or sell drugs access to the "Paduan Bronx". Even though the aim is different, a "wall" is being built in Padua just like post-war Berlin. This time, however, it is the locals who are supporting the project, hoping for greater peace. Access to the complex will be restricted to its residents and a police checkpoint will be installed at the entrance. In the last few weeks, fighting was taking place at the complex for the control of the drug racket, but was thwarted by the Police and the Carabinieri. The wall will have new security video cameras installed for surveillance and should stop the easy escape of the criminals that are putting life in the entire neighbourhood at risk. In the meantime, police operations continue. At dawn, some houses were searched and over 40 people were registered, about ten of whom are being subject to expatriation procedures by the Police. The operation has also confiscated hundreds of grammes of cocaine.

Residents there, according to a report of the German state broadcasting station ZDF, called it "the Guantanamo of Italy... a prison for immigrants".

****

But actually this kind of state policy isn't so new in Europe, not really.

Of course everyone knows about the ghettos for Jews in the (by the Germans) occupied territories during WWII!?

After the collapse of the East Block in cities of the Czech Republic, for example, like in Usti nad Laben(in the north, near the German border) the municipalities ordered to build walls around residential quarters of local Roma communities(a.k.a. Gypsies, a national minority in the most of the east European countries).

****

BTW.. it's very interesting that only a few bourgeois European media were reporting about the case of the Padua Wall.  

German f.. disgusting report about the Padua Wall (ZDF, 8.16)

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Hezbollah's Reconstruction Role - From Combat Troops to Charity Battalions
 
Armed Militants Helping Lebanon Rebuild

From rockets to reconstruction: the Islamic militant group Hezbollah has quickly switched its priorities from fighting Israeli troops to helping with reconstruction efforts in southern Lebanon. Hardworking, well organized and not about to disarm or retreat, they are impressing local residents.

The orders from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah were very clear, but militia commander Suliman couldn't carry them out this time. The head of the Shiite extremist group told his fighters by radio on Saturday that as part of the cease-fire agreement starting this week they were to switch from military camouflage to civilian clothing. Suliman would have gladly obeyed, but there was just one problem.

"Unfortunately I only have one pair of trousers," says the Hezbollah veteran while grinning embarrassedly. "What can I do?"

So even though the guns have fallen silent, Suliman still thoroughly looks the part of militant fighter. He has a pistol stuck into his camouflage pants, a crackling radio peeks out of his pocket and he says he's rarely managed to take off his combat boots in recent days. The gray-bearded man is surrounded by his younger fighters, all of whom are still heavily armed. Normally forbidden to talk to journalists, they appear uncertain. But the 46-year-old commander has given his approval.

Suliman eagerly tells of how his troop fought Israeli forces until the last moments before the cease-fire. "I gave the order before we brought down the helicopter on Saturday," he says pointing to a spot somewhere in the mountainous region near the border. "It was an uplifting feeling." The Hezbollah commander even claims there are still plenty of dead Israeli soldiers in the hills. "They're afraid to recover them."

Of course, it's far from certain whether Suliman's 40-man unit actually shot down an Israeli chopper. However, all of Israel's heavy ordinance couldn't dislodge them from the village of Beit Lif, only three kilometers from the border. If Suliman is to be believed, he didn't lose a single man to the bombardment. "Up till the end we fired dozens of rockets in Israel's direction," he says. "We still have a few in the depots."

But today Suliman has different orders. Together with ten of his fighters he is gathering dead cows scattered around the 2,500-person village with a backhoe. Another four men are using a bulldozer to remove rubble from the streets. "We still have a lot to do," he says while looking at his watch. "We want to start with the rebuilding soon."

Beit Lif suffered considerable damage in the month-long conflict and Hassan is happy to show a destroyed farm as part of a tour of the village. The 34-year-old is a teacher from Beirut, but he's also part of what could be considered Hezbollah's militia reserves. Bragging about his fighting skills and how many Israelis he killed in a rocket attack on a Kibbutz in the nearby hills, he says he will now help with the reconstruction efforts before returning to the Lebanese capital to teach children English.

Hezbollah's reconstruction helpers are everywhere in southern Lebanon right now. Those men fighting in the port town of Tyre only days ago are now the ones clearing the streets, raising electricity masts and offering aid to local residents. The quick reorganization from combat to relief help made it possible for many refugees to return to their homes. Nasrallah even claims Hezbollah will rebuild the country on its own.

More than a fighting force

The militant group has always supplemented its fighting and terrorist operations with humanitarian efforts including supporting clinics and schools -- partly explaining its broad appeal with many in Lebanon. But now Hezbollah is hoping to gain popularity by rebuilding after a conflict that many blame the militants for starting in the first place. But in the bombed out town Qana, it's clear who's to blame. "We Will Rebuild What the Murdering Jews Have Destroyed," reads one banner.

The group certainly won't have a problem coming up with money for aiding reconstruction. Since the latest conflict broke out, Hezbollah's charitable foundations have been swamped with donations from throughout the Arab world. The images of destruction caused by Israeli air strikes have made heroes out of Nasrallah's outgunned men. And now they will show they care about the Lebanese people's plight as much as they hate Israel.

Along with money, Hezbollah seems to have everything else it needs for large-scale relief efforts: heavy construction equipment, building supplies and plenty of manpower. Until international aid arrives, Hezbollah will have finished much of the most pressing work. The extremists' own TV station, Al-Manar reported that hundreds of pre-fabricated houses were already being delivered around Tyre.

Even those unsympathetic to the Islamists are willing to accept their help right now. Fatma, a 34-year-old woman who is six months pregnant, has returned to the almost completely leveled town of Siddik to stand before her destroyed home. Two bombs turned the house her husband built for $150,000 into a large crater. She is angry at Hezbollah for sparking the fighting by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers.
 
"They've destroyed our lives with their nonsense," Fatma says while looking around to make sure there aren't any bearded militia members driving bulldozers nearby. "Everyone knew that Israel would attack."

But when asked who will help Lebanon pick up the pieces now that the fighting was over she falls silent at first. "The first help will come from Hezbollah," she says. "Then hopefully Europe will help." But her opinions are not widely shared in a region laid to waste buy hundreds of bombs. And Hezbollah's speedy response is likely to only strengthen the group's roots in the local population.

And that could make the mission of the Lebanese army and a United Nations peacekeeping mission to southern Lebanon more difficult. Suliman and his fighters certainly have no intention of laying down their weapons and demobilizing. "If Hezbollah left, the region would be completely empty," says Suliman grinning. "That can hardly be the goal of the UN, right?"

(Der Spiegel, Germany, 8.16)

Hizbullah set to rebuild Lebanon (Guardian, UK, 8.17)
 

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JEWS AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL

..haehae~ it's not a joke!!!

When I was living in Palestine - in Silwan/East Jerusalem - daily I met/saw hundreds of orthodox Jews. Many of them were dressed in clothes which were used in the 17th and 18th century by Jews in east Europe(Poland, Russia..). The males wear long beards, temple curls and fur caps.

Later, from my Palestinian comrades I learned that many of them are members of the Jewish sect Neturei Karta (N.K. www.nkusa.org). I was learning that they are, because of their religious believe complete enemies of the State of Israel.

They were/are calling themselves "Jewish Palestinians". As I know they're living in the region(especially in Jerusalem and Safed) since the 17th century. They don't speak Hebrew(only in the synagoge or for praying, in the public and privat they speak Jiddish), they don't join the IDF and they usually refuse to use the Israeli ID card. Since the 70th of the last century they are supporting - some of them actively were/are joining - the PLO. They have their own department in this organisation.

Actually I complete reject any religion but in this case I said that its ok, if they use this only for their privat life and don't try to make trouble for their non-jewish(Arab) neighbours. (Of course their kind of Jewish religion is very strange, or better said reactionary, but if they use this just for their privacy... it's their own problem..).

Beside N.K.'s opposition against any kind occupation of Gaza, West Bank and the Golan Hights they were strong opponents of the war in Lebanon.

But now I doubt about their "mental health"(well, to much praying, definetely, makes SICK!!, aeh, it's just MY opinion..)..

Please, just check out following article by Yedioth Ahronoth:

Neturei Karta rabbi to Iran newspaper: Israel will cease to exist

Rabbi David Weiss says: Israel was established in the name of Judaism but is impure and Godless 
 
In an interview with official Iranian newspaper, IRNA, Rabbi David Weiss, of the Neturei Karta movement, said "Israel was established in the name of Judaism but is impure and Godless. We are sure that it will cease to exist."

Neturei Karta is a small group of Ultra-Orthodox Jews who reject all forms of Zionism and oppose the existence of that state of Israel. This stems from their belief that Israel can only truly be reestablished with the coming of the Messiah and, subsequently, that any state of Israel prior to this exists in violation of divine will.

Anti-Zionist Rabbis 
 

In an interview with an IRNA journalist, in New York, Rabbi Weiss stated that "We don't know how much blood will be shed until the state of Israel will cease to exist, but we pray to the Creator that it will happen with the minimum amount of loss and bloodshed."

According to Weiss, "The creation of the state of Israel does not conform to Jewish law and, actually, is contrary to it. Jewish rabbis around the world fear to express their opinions because of the intimidating atmosphere creating by the Zionists."

Weiss addressed UN Security Council resolution 1701 and said: "I oppose this decision because it does not touch upon the demands of the Lebanese or Palestinian people."

"We believe that the day is close at hand when Israel will lose its strength. The Torah says that whatever exists in opposition to divine will cannot continue. As I understand it, things are changing every day and we are sure that Israel will cease to exist."

'Problem today is Zionism'

Weiss discussed Israel's weakening hand in the war on terror and said: "In 1967, if you would have said anything about giving away part of the Gaza Strip to Palestinians, people would have killed you. Now we see that, after more than fifty years, Israel is trying to defeat Palestinian resistance, but is not succeeding."

Regarding the demographic problem, he said that "The Muslim population in Israel is growing rapidly and, in the upcoming years, most of the state will be Muslim."

"As long as Olmert and his government are weakening, so much the better, but we would prefer a general revolution in Israel. Olmert expected a miracle but Lebanon showed him the opposite. In the Torah it says that an illegal government of Jews is considered a revolt against God and, therefore, God will not help them," he continued.

Weiss was asked what solution he suggests to Muslims, Christians and Jews in order to live in peace and security, side by side. In response, he answered: "We and the Muslims lived side by side for hundreds of years with no problem. At that time, there was no UN and no human rights. The problem today is not religion, but rather Zionism. Zionism takes advantage of religion and sees all of its opponents as anti-Semitic."

"The solution is for Muslims to invest primarily in global PR. Muslims must show the world that, in the past, Muslims and Jews lived side by side with no problem."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3291956,00.html

BTW.. even N.K. strongly supports a Palestinian state in the entire territory of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank Palestinian "resistance fighters" had no problems to commit - at least one - suicide attack in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim residential quarter, where the majority of the N.K. people are living.(harrharr..)

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THE LAST DAYS OF THE LAST(??) WAR..

..seen by two (still alive) Lebanese citizens

night to 8.15.. and a bitter taste in the mouth.

...

we are waiting. WHAT? and until when?

de-construction games, 8.13

8.11

8.11

2006.8.10

For more impressions from Lebanon please check out(for example):

http://www.laureghorayeb.blogspot.com (Laure Ghorayeb)

http://mazenkerblog.blogspot.com (Mazen Kerbaj)

"Sky Pilot" by E. Burdon & The Animals (1968)

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8.13 MTU RALLY AND DEMONSTRATION

Source of the docu: 이주노동자방송국   

Yesterday once again a MTU(Migrant Workers Trade Union) rally and demonstration took the streets of Seoul to express their oppositon against the EPS, the daily policy of crackdown and for the struggle for legalization of migrant workers in S. Korea. Among migrant workers, activists from KCTU, Democratic Labour Party, their youth organization "All Together", activists from the people who are defending their homes(against the government and construction mafia/전절연, see the 2nd pic) and even from Australia partizipated.
 

A report in Korean you can read here:

'단속추방중단,노동권 쟁취,전면합법화' 이주노동자대회
이주노조와 시민사회단체연대회의 등 참여, 고용허가제 실시 2년을 규탄해

Source of the pics: 다함께

More pictures you can see here:

http://migrantsinkorea.net/webbs/view.php?board=migphoto&id=102&page=1

and here:

[8.13]'고용허가제 2년', 단속추방 중단·노동권 쟁취·전면합법화를 위한 이주노동자 대회

("All Together"/다함께)

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Get our fields back, that is peace

빼앗긴 들녘을 되찾는 것, 그것이 평화

The documentary I found today on:

www.stopcrackdown.net

Source of the pic:

http://blog.jinbo.net/didi/?pid=27

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Israeli activist shot in Bil'in(West Bank/Palestine)

Last Friday an Israeli activist got shot in the head by a rubber bullet during a non-violent protest against the Israeli occupation and the wall around the West Bank territories. He will suffer serious lasting brain injury from his wounds. At this moment he's in an hospital in Tel Aviv for brainsurgery. Here follows a report on the demonstration. 

The Israeli "left-liberal" daily Haaretz wrote following report:

Activist shot in head with rubber bullet at Bil'in 
  
A Border Police soldier shot a rubber-tipped bullet at an Israeli demonstrator Friday at a protest in Bil'in against the separation fence. In violation of military regulations, the gun was fired at close range, from between ten and 20 meters, wounding attorney Lymor Goldstein in the head. The Israel Defense Forces prevented Goldstein's evacuation for more than an hour. He later underwent surgery to remove the bullet from his brain.

The shooting occurred during the weekly Friday afternoon anti-fence protest at Bil'in. On Friday the IDF Spokesman's Office said that Border Police forces threw stun grenades and fired rubber bullets after protesters threw rocks at them, but video footage of the incident clearly shows the Border Police commander instructing his soldiers to shoot rubber bullets with no warning and before any rocks were thrown at his forces.
 
The footage shows soldiers aiming their weapons at shoulder height and firing at the protesters. At one point a soldier can be seen pointing his gun at two protesters searching for cover and then firing at the head of one of them. IDF regulations permit the firing of rubber-tipped bullets only at a distance of at least 40 meters, and only at the legs of the target. What are called "rubber bullets" are actually plastic-coated lead bullets, and they can be deadly when fired at certain areas of the body.

"After they started shooting we tried to find cover," related the demonstrator who was next to Goldstein when he was hit. "I was standing with my back to them and then I saw Lymor fall. I'm trained as a medic so I tried to stop the bleeding from his head. I shouted at the soldiers that someone had a head wound but they kept going and paid no attention. One of them cursed us."

The video shows the soldiers walking past Goldstein without stopping. When demonstrators asked the commander to evacuate Goldstein, he responded, "I don't have an ambulance." One soldier said the injury was "unimportant." It took 15 minutes for a medic to arrive.

The demonstrator, who asked not to be identified, said that even after the medic arrived Goldstein's care was delayed and it took a long time before he was evacuated by an army truck. "Another medic, who went with him, told me she had to hold Lymor's head with her hands because of the rough ride. The IDF medic hadn't stabilized his head. The driver went really fast even though she begged him to slow down."

Goldstein was eventually evacuated to Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. According to hospital officials he arrived at 3:30 P.M., almost two hours after he was shot. He was operated on Friday night. Yesterday Goldstein was awake and alert, but he may have sustained permanent damage to his vision or other faculties.

Jonathan Pollak of Anarchists Against the Wall says he is convinced that the decision to use rubber bullets Friday was aimed at taking advantage of the situation in Lebanon to silence the West Bank protests using force.

PS.:

When I was the last time in Palestine, 1988 during the Intifada(some are calling this the "1st Intifada") I visited also hospitals where many palestinans were treated for injuries they got during demonstrations against the occupation. There I was able to see not few children with the so-called rubber bullets in their heads/brains. I saw also x-ray pictures/radiographs from some of this children with partially three or more of this bullets in their brains.

This so-called rubber bullets are metal bullets - with a diameter from around 1 centimeter - with a very thin rubber skin. Actually this so-called rubber bullets are metal bullets and especially for children and younger people potentially deadly projectiles.

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Oops.. instead of three hours I needed THREE DAYS.. but here, finally it comes ^^:

Already nearly 5 years ago, during and short after PIFF 2001(this was my 1st time in S.K.), I heard first time about Jeongdongjin Independent Film&Video Festival(jiff). At that time a jiff activist indeed adored about the next festival in the coming year(2002) and because of this, especially because of her(the activist’s) impressive and beautiful ideas for the event, I decided that I really MUST participate at this event.

So when I came the third time to S.K. – during the second time, I was staying about three month there, I got no possibility to contact the jiff activist – I decided to go alone to the coming jiff. But just coincidentally at that time the activist contacted me and we went together to jiff.

Actually - haha, like every year – jiff 2002 (http://jiff.co.kr/2005/page34.php) was held during the typhoon season. And the typhoon season at the East Sea, where Jeongdongjin is located, is really f.. strange. So when we arrived at the place where jiff should be held(a middle school in the small town of Jeongdongjin) the school yard was complete under water, just like a swamp.

And the activists already were on the way to prepare the open air screening, planned for two days later.

And here started the crazy, but very impressive story. For the air screen there must be a stabilization and it must be filled with water. So the organizers called the Jeongdongjin fire brigade to bring water. Harr, and because also S.K. is a service society the fire brigade came with a big truck with water. But the school yard, as I said before, was already a huge swamp. And the truck... sunk at least a half meter in the ground of the school yard. At next the organizers had to call a construction company to bring a crane to pull out the fire brigade truck. After the truck was out we had to order thousands of Kilogramm of new sand to fill out the huge holes, the fire brigade truck left over..

So finally we had many hours of really hard work for to prepare the air screen. And the next afternoon, after all damages were repaired, the air screen got holes, or whatever, and losed the air. Harrharr... many hours of f.. hard work and finally...

Anyway at that night, during the late afternoon guests(mainly movie freaks/directors/activists/ organizers..) especially from Seoul arrived, we’d a great opening party.. (with at least two hundred bottles of soju for about max. 40 people..)

The film festvival itself I could join, because of some "personal problems" I was forced to go back at the next day to Seoul.

But anyway.. this was one of my most impressive experiences I had until that time. Actually I’ll never forget this and many times I thought that it would be really great to make a (short) movie about this weekend in Jeongdongjin... (possibly a "tragic comedy"^^)

Well, I made, when I remember well, a lot of photos about this "two days of struggle with nature and technology" and somewhere in Seoul they must be still exist..??!!

Aeh~~ its just MY memory...

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DAY 31

Yesterday after exactly 30 days of the new war in the Middle East(M.E.,Lebanon/Israel/Palestine) the issue nearly complete disappeared from the headlines of the news agencies, tv stations and daily papers. It seems - even in the M.E. still many people are dying(until yesterday alone in Lebanon about 1,000 people were killed by IDF attacks) - that the "UK Terror Plot"(BBC World) is better to sell. For example yesterday's CNN news program at 1 pm(CET) not even one word were spoken about the M.E. war. Usually at least 20 Minutes or so are occupied with the issue. In today's German daily Berliner Zeitung the issue disappeared from the front page(yesterday) to page number 6.

Here the latest from the battle field:

According to BBC World "at least 11 civilians were killed in Lebanon on Friday".

Russia suggested a 72-hour truce for humanitarian actions in Lebanon, but Israel rejected it. At the same time IDF is massing about more than 20,000 troops on the border to Lebanon in preparing for a broader ground operation/invasion in the coming days. It meens Israel is preparing for a all-out war now, if there will be no diplomatic solution until tomorrow or so.

Meanwhile Hizbullah since today morning(CET) is again attacking northern towns and villages in Israel with massive rocket and missile barrage.

Before yesterday Nasrallah called all Arab residents of the northern Israeli city of Haifa to leave immediately the city(perhaps Hizbullah is planning a massacre there under the non-Arab residents?!). But, according to Israeli news papers, they refused to leave, because, so a Arab resident: "Never someone can devide us again from our Jewish neighbours".

(Haifa's Arabs: We won't leave city )

And "of course" IDF's activities in Gaza are still continuing. Until now at least 120 Palestinians were killed there.
 

Here the latest by M.E. and int'l news papers/agencies:

Israel pounds Beirut as truce rejected (Al Jazeera, 8.11)

Israel Delays Northern Push in Lebanon (AP/Guardian)
Rockets fall on north  (ynet)

Truce draft doesn't call for disarming of Hezbollah Military chiefs strongly oppose cease-fire terms (Haaretz)

IDF wants to 'move, fight and attack'  (Yedioth Ahronoth)

Here the very latest news:

IDF ordered to move up to Litani (ynet, 11.08, 6 pm/CET)

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz give green light to army to capture southern Lebanon territory stretching up to Litani River as US-French truce deal said 'very, very close'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Friday gave the Israel Defense Forces the green light to widen operations in southern Lebanon and capture the territory situated south of the Litani River.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3289808,00.html

Following report, from the same battle field in Lebanon, but from a "complete other world", was published three days ago in the German magazine Der Spiegel:

Drowning out the Bombs
 
Nightlife and Rattled Nerves in Beirut

By Ulrike Putz in Beirut

Beirut is famous for its cosmopolitan inhabitants and roaring nightlife. But even the city's modern youth can't escape the current conflict. Whereas they used to go out to amuse themselves, they now spend their nights in clubs and bars where the loud music drowns out bombs exploding nearby.

The war for Fanny and Ernesto disappears each day for four hours. Late each morning, the power company cuts electricity in their building and the television, with its constant broadcast of images of destruction, goes dark. It's then that Ernesto gets up to make brunch consisting of an omelet, grapefruit juice and bread.

For four hours the couple from Beirut will be shielded from the fighting that has come to Lebanon. But eventually the power will come back and they won't be able to escape the scenes of chaos and violence that they can't keep themselves from watching.

Until war struck, Fanny and Ernesto were the kind of people who represented the new face of their country to the world. They belong to the segment of Lebanese society -- young, modern and cosmopolitan -- that helped lead the so-called "Cedar Revolution" after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

Both Fanny and Ernesto were there every Monday as thousands of Lebanese demonstrated against Syrian influence in their country. Like countless others, they thought that the summer of 2006 would go down as one of the best in the history of Lebanon. The Syrians pulled out their troops amid international pressure and an unprecedented number of visiting, cash-rich Gulf Arabs were coming to fill hotels and holiday villas. But then came July 12 -- the day the Islamic extremist group Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and the bubble of well-being popped.

"The war is the ransom for democracy," says Ernesto. "Lebanon was becoming more open and more liberal. Syria and Iran could no longer stand by and watch that."

Such views are becoming more widespread among Lebanese youth these days. The fighting has less to do with Hezbollah and Israel and more with totalitarian Islamic regimes hoping to see a tolerant and cosmopolitan Lebanon go down in flames.

As the fighting began, Fanny and Ernesto reacted the only way they knew how. Ernesto stocked up on a month's worth of Cuban cigars -- a natural response for a man whose devout communist parents named him after Fidel Castro's companion in arms, Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Fanny stocked up on spaghetti at the supermarket and painted her fingernails red to brighten things up a bit as the days became dark.

War and unpaid holiday

Fanny is a 29-year-old architect in a small and exclusive Beirut office. Her mother is French and her father a doctor. She makes around $1,200 a month. Ernesto is a 25-year-old cineaste and philosophy student, who before the current conflict used to make $1,000 a month with DJ sets in the city's hippest clubs and bars. Both are from Christian Lebanese families, but religion doesn't play a dominant role in their lives. Ernesto's last ex-girlfriend was a Shiite.

They might be an exceptional pair, but they represent what many in Lebanon are now going through. They are experiencing war from the second row: fortunately none of their friends or family have been killed and they've been able to stay in their apartment. Fanny also has the luxury of holding a European Union passport, which means she can still get out of the country if worse comes to worst. For Lebanese living in the capital, the biggest problem right now is money. How long will their savings last and what comes next?

Both Fanny and Ernesto know that the few thousands they have in the bank won't last forever. Like the majority of Lebanese, they have been forced to take unpaid holiday. As the bombing started they worked a few days as interpreters for international news organizations for $150 a day. But now the TV teams have moved south and they are left to while away their time at home and in cafes. As more time passes they lose hope of a quick resolution to the crisis and their faith in the West.

"What frustrates me the most is our complete failure of ethics and morals," says Fanny. With "our" she means Europe, to which many of Beirut's young elite feel strong ties. "We Europeans always hold up human rights so high, the Geneva Convention, the laws and rules of what is allowed in war and not. But this war shows clearly that we're prepared to forget all that when it's in our interest to do so. It's all bullshit." She's angry that no one will hold Israel responsible for what its military has done after the conflict is over. Not for the dead Lebanese civilians, nor for the fact that the country has been bombed back 20 years. "That can be done to Slobodan Milosevic, but not with Israel. It's untouchable."

Ernesto gets agitated when asked how things will continue after the fighting stops: "Why do you think that this is the end?" Lebanon has dealt with war for 30 years almost on a daily basis and the country will continue to limp along in the future. "My concern is university. I just need one more course, but if the refugees continue to live in the campus buildings I won't be able to finish my studies," he says. But his self-serving optimism isn't totally convincing. Fanny and Ernesto continue to discuss if they should go to France, Germany or Canada. But they'd have to marry since only Fanny has a European passport. So far Ernesto says he isn't interested in tying the knot.

"I wonder whether I really want to live in this country," says Fanny. She studied in Paris and consciously chose to come back to Beirut. "I love this city, but it's impossible to plan a life here." Like much of the younger generation that missed much of the worst of Lebanon's vicious civil war, they didn't believe their elders when they warned that peace wouldn't last. "I only realize now that they were right. This land is made for war," Fanny sighs and lights another cigarette. "So I can't live here; I want a future."

Life in Limbo

Their lives now are in a bizarre limbo. When the pair step into an elevator so they can take a walk outside, Fanny suddenly remembers the danger of a power outage. "If the power goes out, we're going to be stuck here for four hours," she says. "Well, that's plenty of time to try out a few Kama Sutra positions," Ernesto comments, dryly. Grinning, Fanny says the only good thing about the war is that it has enabled the couple to move in together. In Lebanon live-in relationships out of wedlock are strictly frowned upon. "But hey, this is war, and our neighbors have better things to do than to get upset about that."
 
Even in a town where it's easy to drop $300 or $400 a night in chic clubs and bars, the youth of Beirut refuse to save money at the expense of going out. Last night Fanny and Ernesto were in their favorite bar Torino until 4:30 a.m. -- it's the only place that hasn't closed its doors for a single day since the fighting began. "Why should we sit alone at home and moan," asks Fanny? "Everything is easier after a few drinks, even war." The fact that they stayed out so late is no coincidence. The really loud Israeli bombardments usually hit southern Beirut around 4 a.m. "So we sit in Torino and the music drowns out the detonations."

Then comes morning. During the day, people living in the parts of the city that have been spared the worst of the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah try to maintain their gentile façade -- some are even showing a sense of humor. Souvernir shops once stocked with hand carvings and the country's national symbol, cedar wood, now carry t-shirts with slogans like "Don't Shoot, Press" or "Hot Vacation in Beirut 2006." But the cracks are showing. As the sun sets on the Beirut's famous beachside promenade, people jog and families gather near the seaside. However, as the first explosions are heard in the distance, those remaining in the city race to their cars and speed away -- even to places that aren't any safer than where they were. People's nerves are raw.

"The war is inside us," says Fanny, back in Torino to drink a cappuccino. She and Ernesto are planning to head out of the capital to a resort along the coast. "Come along, a few cocktails poolside make the whole world look a lot friendlier!" But in the following night, Israeli jets bombard the coastal road leading northward out of Beirut. With the last major route out of Lebanon cut the way to Syria is blocked. And so to is the way to Fanny's poolside resort.

"Now we're trapped in Beirut," she writes in a text message. "What will come next?"

  

Drawings by Mazen Kerbaj, Beirut, Lebanon

http://mazenkerblog.blogspot.com

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harrrrr~~~ it seems that I'm some days to late^^

http://www.jiff.co.kr

More about it a short while(about three hours) later..

Thanx for your patience!^^