Global citizenship!

Though there isn't any official document that says that you are a 'global citizen', you know it when you are one. This citizenship, unlike the other official ones, can be acquired whenever you desire and gives you only one advantage: a chance to get an enormous amount of varied life changing experiences. Rather than going into too controversial details of whether this citizenship comes for free or no, I'd prefer discussing its interesting aspects!

Globe-trotting through different non-touristic, unconventional parts of the world can bring you exceptional experiences. The moment is priceless: when you are alone, completely lost and trying to find a way back to your new home, you tearfully and reluctantly take a turn to find your destination right in front of you! (Google maps are helpful only if the 3G network is working!) Such small achievements boost your confidence and make you forget how fed up you were with such new beginnings a moment ago. I have had numerous such occasions where I have wandered along the unknown streets of cities thinking about how fairy-tellish is this to see the ruins of ancient Greek temples or luxurious seaside resorts or a hidden museum. The realization of how certain undreamed dreams actually come true is wonderful. Every new city talks to you through many channels and if you open your eyes and ears you will be surprised by the fascinating stories it has to tell you! Here in Beirut every time I step on the street I discover a new thing, I hear a new sound, I see a new aspect. Now I am used to seeing the Army tanks right in the middle of the street, the gun shots, the inquisitive looks etc. etc. What I love the most about Beirut is its starry nights. You can clearly see the stars at night despite the eye-blinding hoardings that adorn almost each street of the city. When I look up and see these stars I feel a certain calm and I think about all my friends and family who are scattered worldwide because at the back of mind I feel that only these stars are the connecting points of our worlds.  I know it's too Bollywoodishly-romantic, but that's how I feel!

Then you meet people from different parts of the world who have lived in many other diverse places and have had their share of experiences. Every time you meet these people, who usually themselves are global citizens, you can feel that despite the fact that you come from different countries you all share one common global fear: whether integrating into the new city, new culture would be easier. This holds true every time you move to a new place irrespective of  the number of years you have been on the move. Everybody talks about their homeland, their friends and family traditions and those unspoken sighs indicate that we all miss our homes pretty badly. You are torn between the new tempting horizons and your home-sweet-home that you have left behind. Everyone fears the possibility of becoming an outsider...to your own people and home. Because while you are playing your Columbus, you miss out on an awful number of birthdays, weddings, family dinners back home. Life goes on without you and you realize that so much has changed that now you  have to try to fit in in something of which previously you were an inseparable part. At no fault of theirs, people learn to live without you and you just have to deal with it!

Of course, this continent-hopping teaches you a great deal about yourself. I have surprised myself at times by reacting in completely different (and better) manners to certain situations. This self-discovery is the best part of this global citizenship. It makes you extra alert and teaches you not to take things for granted! You learn to have dinners, walks alone. You enjoy building your new life from scratch through a new language, new culture, and new people. The joys of visiting a local market, bargaining with the vendors and not getting ripped out, learning to cook a local dish and succeed in it, taking a decision of which bank to choose to invest your money etc. are not to be found in your own protected homeland. It makes you extremely strong when you deal with your long distance relation and its realistic yet unpredictable end. You see your heart shattered all over but like my dad says when you are so far away from home, only you can help yourself and this, my dear friends, is true! Such coming-overs are extremely hurtful but relatively shorter and you are surprised at how quickly you can move on; something that would never happen at home where you are surrounded by your best friends and family and are pampered with all the pep-talks! But though hurtful, it is a very important experience and usually a life-altering one! This independence and self-reliance are too precious to lose, yet at times, it makes you wonder that the price at which it comes, is it really worth it.

Once you settle in and the initial adventures of discovering a new place are faded away, you start forming unbreakable bonds with this new-but-now-not-so-new place. Eventually, you do get integrated with its people and culture and you start feeling at home. The best part is you can be whatever you want to be and nobody really objects. You get the satisfaction of the fact that you did get a chance to evolve and that you succeeded in this self-imposed challenge of adjusting to new, uncomfortable environments. Nonetheless, at the back of your mind, you always long to back to where you came from. You do want not to feel 'ex-pat' for some time because being exotic can be exhausting! Living in a new place is quite exciting and thrilling and you learn about your own strengths. But this learning is not free. You need to accept the fact that you can't be in two places at the same time. So you will find yourself awake at odd hours thinking about what you must be missing out on in that other time zone. The opportunity costs of making certain choices can be really expensive...

Therefore, if you are thinking of taking up this citizenship, my only advice would be to think twice.
But, only twice!

Hijabs and skirts...

For me, it is just unfortunate that the reason for which the 'International Women's Day' was introduced still holds true, even today, after a century. It's just detrimental that we have to celebrate 'International Women's Day' like we celebrate 'International Labor day' or 'World AIDS day', to spread awareness! Have we really become so insensitive towards women; half of the world's living population, that we need a day to tell the world to be aware of our existence and respect us? Why can't this happen naturally? We don't have any 'International Men's Day', do we? So in short it looks like that with the so called (materialistic) progress the problems that women faced have now just altered their form and are on all time high! 

However I must confess that being in the Middle-East has helped me to understand the dire need for such special day for women and though reluctantly, I am glad that there is one of its kinds. Let me give you one of the many examples which make me think this way. An international organization had arranged a marathon to be held next month in Gaza. But it has been canceled because... any guesses... no? Well because the Gaza authorities have declared that no women can participate in this event. I mean, come on! Why can't a woman run in the marathon that was supposed to raise the money for children? Of course, the decision to cancel the whole event is, in its own way, a protest against such an unreasonable decision which has not only insulted the women all over the world but has also deprived those children who, now, might not be able to go to school or get the required medical treatments...

Well for Beirut, it has a very curious mix of women. Most of them wear a hijab and full-length body covering clothes and are usually very traditional and religious. These are working women but with many social restrictions. However, a large number of women do not brandish this religious sign. These are generally the women of high-class families and are busy getting their physical appearances fixed so that they are all dolled up for we all know what. They are dressed in animal print short tight skirts, high heels, over blown-up hair, the fake China made branded handbags with all botoxed physical features. (of course, there are exceptions!!) But such dumbing down makes me wonder if it is really worth the men for whom it's done. Because unfortunately most of them they don't really care! Most of the men here can marry up to 4 times, by law! I had never imagined that such things were real, but now I can say that, yes, they are and I actually know a few of them!  But this also implicates that there are far too many broken hearts...

Even sadder part is that just being a woman doesn't really mean anything here. That's not sufficient! You need to be associated with a certain religion, ethnicity, profession and what not to be worth of receiving better or worse treatment. Racism exacerbates the situation. While teaching French at a local NGO I get to interact with different migrant female workers who have come here from remote parts of Africa, leaving their families behind. Each of them has a unique story which eventually reiterates the fact that they go through all this discrimination shit just because they are women and that too of a different race. Notwithstanding the deplorability of needing a special day for women, it's a really good idea to have one to make everyone aware of their existence and problems. 

It's definitely shameful that a woman who is a mother, daughter, sister, wife, girlfriend, niece, aunt etc. has to face all the said discrimination and put up with it. She is hardly ever spared of the snide comments, lustful looks, unwelcome touching, the dumbing down etc., regardless of whatever she might be wearing; a hijab, a skirt or a sari. All this boils down to the fact that she is a woman and hence she should face the consequences! (??)

An 'International Women's day' certainly gives a hope that soon the other living half of the world will wake up and give us, the women, our rights to live a fearless and tranquil life! Withal it is high time that this idea gets into concerned people's head and that they treat women with care and respect. And I really hope  that there won't be any more need for objectifying women as if they are some cause which needs awareness. It might sound euphoric in current circumstances, still I do hope that any special day dedicated to women only won't be required in future and the acceptance of their being will just be as natural as breathing!

I can't wait for the 'International Women's day' to be removed from the calendar! 

It's Lebanon!

Today it's been exactly two months that I am in this lovely, interesting and intriguing city of Beirut. With each day posing different challenges I have kind of become fond of this place because it's making me stronger than ever. Its people, its culture, its weather and its food have certainly influenced me. I have started appreciating the positive aspects of my life here and also trying to ignore the negative ones with utmost care whilst getting accustomed to 'it's Lebanon' attitude! 

As the 'discovery phase' is almost over for me, now I have become a pro in my daily adventures and I am happy about it. With my little Arabic I can now convince the taxi drivers that I am not a fool ajanabi that they can charge more and so even have had pretty smooth taxi rides since past month with fewer questions about my ethnicity and my profession.

However, I must tell you this: the obsession of Lebanese people about categorization is astonishing. They need to know where the person is coming from, his/her profession and, if possible, financial status. They will scan you from toe to head and start their silent or at times verbal judgments about your dressing. I had never experienced this before and so when I asked around my Lebanese  international friends about it, they said it's for one simple reason that they do it: they need to know that they are in some way superior to you especially if you are a brown woman. At times, the eyes of these people give away what they are thinking and I have kind of started enjoying that monumental shift of regards when I reveal that though I might resemble their maid, I am not one and that I work at the UN...

The external appearances sadly seem to have a higher value here. Even in the Fashion Capital of the world, you can wear whatever you want and not care about it, but not here as it's Lebanon! The society demands the superficiality. The increasing percentage of cosmetic surgeries among women makes me wonder if they will ever see beyond make-up and will ever reach the heart. Are they so afraid of being natural? Frankly speaking, these women flaunting their nose jobs and boob jobs completely screwing the definition of 'beautiful', look all the same to me! It's so fake! These (outer) image-conscious citizens here are even supported (?!!) financially by Lebanon's National bank which gives loans amounting to approximately 5000$ when the majority of Lebanese people struggle to meet ends and should be supported for that. Completely messed up priorities? yes, because sadly it's Lebanon. 

So as you must have guessed it rightly 'it's Lebanon' is an excuse here. For anything that's not working, for anything that's weird and for anything that's below normal acceptance levels! Most of the times this motto is used as a pretext to back up the inefficiency of the political leaders, public services, administration and etc. etc. For example, if there is load shedding every day for three to six hours it's not because the Electricity board is inefficient and that there is a lot of corruption, but because 'it's Lebanon'. Any sane person would wonder why this beautiful country doesn't use its terrific natural resources such as sea, water, wind and sun to produce the electricity and light up the country! When complained to about the bad connectivity, our Internet guy actually said that the situation is same all over Beirut and as 'it's Lebanon' it won't change in the near future! I cannot tell how frustrated I get every time I need to recharge my phone because the telecommunication is so darn expensive! 1 dollar for three minutes of local call?! And mind you, though hardly anybody actually earns in dollars, people here spend in dollars. 

The mentality must change drastically in a positive direction. A fresh example: this evening when I was on my way to meet some friends, I saw three kids playing football on the road. When I walked past them one of the kids came and touched my behind, just like that. Obviously, I wasn't going to accept such a crude behavior and that too from a 10-year-old kid. I did the needful scolding and when later in the evening I discussed it with my landlady she said, to all my indignation 'it's Lebanon' and such things are normal here! I mean, come on! How can this be normal? If such small kids are indulging themselves in these acts what can you expect from their elder brothers, uncles, and fathers? It is all very infuriating and, unfortunately, I can't do anything but to say 'it's Lebanon'.

Even so, the country definitely has a lot of potentials. Slight changes in policy and decision making could take Lebanon on a completely higher and different scale than its neighbors. And then the helplessness behind 'it's Lebanon' will be replaced by pride. I think the problem here is that everybody takes everything for granted and has accepted that this is how things are supposed to be. They believe that somehow the problems will be solved on their own. Ha! If only that was true! Though the whole civil war period wasn't really glorious for Lebanon and it traumatized its people, now it's time get past it and look at the future which can be bright. 'It's Lebanon' should be something they refer to proudly.

The awesomeness of this place kind of fades away under these negative things. But like every black cloud, this one also the silver lining. Though racism is a part of their daily lives, Lebanon is the only country in the region that is tolerant of various sects and religions. The biggest mosque and the biggest church in Beirut are situated next to each other and to me that's fantastic! People are generally welcoming though they first might scan you with their judgmental goggles. The freshness and quality of fruits and vegetables are incomparable! Seeing pine trees on sea shore is a miracle for me! Food is exquisite and delicious! This, too, is because it's Lebanon!

I hope I will remember this place for its good aspects and that the negativity won't affect me much! After all 'it's Lebanon' and I am proud to be here!