Resurrection

I wonder if anyone actually still reads this blog for I myself have almost forgotten about it. The last three (!) months have somehow evaporated – although not always at the speed this implicates. Pretty much out of the blue I had this idea to make an effort to resurrect this entire project (and forced my muse out of the closet).

In the meantime, our kitten grew into a decent-sized cat (that still behaves like a dog sometimes), I got involved in more projects at work and seemed to have done quite well on side-projects such as getting myself a new job. One that will even result in me ending this year at ten rather than twelve months.

So, what has happened in between? July and August were dull months where sitting in the office became painfully boring and I only went there to take advantage of the AC – a luxury not known in my not so luxurious apartment. How I managed to sleep at night with 35°+ outside I don’t know. I sometimes considered moving to the balcony, but the survival instinct (mosquitoes) prevailed. Plus above-mentioned housemate (i.e. Madame Kitty-Cat) would probably not have let me sleep for a second. She’s rather attentive-seeking. And not too seldom slightly aggressive (I only recently discovered that you can also cut a cat’s nails). We changed her name three times already: it went from منفوشة ("fluffy") to نمري ("my tiger") to "rabies" – don't ask, my heart still skips a beat when I think of that episode. Anyway. The sticky summer months gave way to much more pleasant times in "fall" (nights here still qualify as "tropical nights" in Switzerland, i.e. the temperature never falls below 20° - in Beirut’s case not even below °25). It also helps if you get out of the capital’s horrid breathing material (I don’t think it still qualifies as air – I sometimes wonder how many lawyers of sand/emissions/smoke my lungs have accumulated here). So I ventured further to the south that I’m supposed to according to UN security (that is further than 20km outside Beirut) and relaxed in Lebanon’s beautiful North.

In September, the "V" in my title (= volunteer) finally found its application when we were asked to help out in the preparation of the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Cluster Munitions Convention that was held in Lebanon. Organisation à la libanaise: inshallah is the guiding principle. I was asked to lead a team of seven students coming from every corner of Lebanon and assemble bags for the delegates. Let’s say our job was far more entertaining than others’. And en passant, I got another glimpse into an aspect of Lebanon: it’s (highly motivated, energetic and optimistic) youth. I couldn’t have had a better group to work with.

This experience and a recently released movie ("و هلا لوي" – "Et maintenant on va où?") improved my impression of Lebanese to a significant extent. Yes, I admit, I’m not always a big fan of this country’s inhabitants. The blatant racism between sects (official religious groups), the arrogance of Beirutis and the attempts to gloss over all the realities by applying just one lawyer too many of paint/lipstick/polish distract (often not unintended) from the underlying beauty of this country and its people. Naturality would sometimes be the better principle to adhere to. But then who am I to judge the manners people that went to horrible years of war and violence adopt to cope with the situation at hand. Lebanon is a particular case of post-conflict country though as the past is still present – only look at the politicians in charge (no, Lebanon is not a hereditary monarchy, but rather a hereditary sectarian system in which perpetrators of the gravest crimes still find a seat in government). But then I promised very early on on these pages that I wouldn’t dwell on Lebanese politics.

A promise that is difficult to uphold as much of my daily work is influenced by that topic. A factor that has often led to my frustration here was the bad reputation the UN has in this country (and the region in general). Only this week, I had a chat to a Syrian taxi driver who’s family still leaves in one of the embattled towns. I, most probably, disturbed his image of the typical Wester-UN-worker a little when lamenting that the UN should do far more to do things. Look at the organisation I work for and what they’ve achieved. I’ve never been a fan of "we condemn"-but-don’t-act policies of the blue-flag-bearers. A big reason I decided to go for a job with a new accronym.

Looking at the statistics on my blog, the likelihood of me leaving some lines in the endless universe that is the worldwide web are slight – but the good intentions are here. Or as "we" would say here – inshallah.