Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Life here

I came to realize that we, the people of Lebanon, are being spoiled el maximum!!
We cannot live without AC if it's a bit warmer outside,
we cannot live without electricity for a few hours,
we cannot manage without water for a day or two.
We cannot clean the house ourselves,
we can definitely not raise our kids alone.
We cannot live a minute without a missed call, a phone call or an sms,
we cannot pack lunch to work, or cook a decent meal like our mothers used to.

We now have the water truck, the electricity generator, the live-in maid, the cleaning lady, the delivery even for the simple morning man'ousheh and the arguileh, the satellite dish that brings us channels from everywhere else.

True water and electricity are the basics of life, but by paying for extra help in these areas, we are definitely not helping solve the problem of being strangled by such mafias.

We pay an arm and a leg for cell phones and units, yet we cannot be separated from this nasty machine, and for what? Which emergency makes it so important to carry it so preciously?

A nanny to take care of our kids? Are we for real? How do mothers have the heart to give away that special love and bonding to a foreigner?

We cannot clean our own houses anymore? Why? Do we live in palaces all of a sudden that we need help cleaning the 38 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms, 14 salons, 9 living areas, 5 play areas, not to mention the 4 kitchens? Give me a break! The apartments are much smaller than the houses our mothers and their mothers used to care for.

All these things, except for water and electricity, are considered luxury, even in the developed countries, where the economy is 99% better than here and where the government, even if spoiled, gives the citizens their rights to the fullest.

I mean, how come we accept to live sucking pollution in our lungs from water generators, trucks, and old cars, day in day out? How come we accept that we are not covered by any basic insurance for dental care yet it's ok to have loans for plastic surgeries? How come we drive nice imported cars so proudly yet we accept that our gasoline is still not clean enough not to ruin these babies? How come we allow ourselves to drive like animals in the fields - without rules - when we are so careful about following and applying foreign fashion and "savoir vivre" (men gheyr sharr) so religiously? How come we allow ourselves to wear, eat, use imported goods and talk about the bad economy of our country?

I have more but I am tired... Just worried about my kids' future in this polluted atmosphere. Pollution in their lungs, in their ears, in their eyes, in their attitude...

Was it a curse to have lived abroad or a blessing to have known the difference between what's right and what's wrong? In any case, I'm staying, even if I keep nagging :)