It was a month-long leave between Beirut, Madrid, Granada and Amman but on the beaches of Beirut and in the markets of Spain I was constantly reminded of Iraq.
Beirut felt like Baghdad minus the miles of blast walls, foreign troops and regular car bombings. The city is plagued by the same sectarian tensions.
The Sunni and Shiite areas are delineated by the posters on the walls and in the lobbies of apartment buildings throughout the city.
In the Shiite areas posters of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, the Shiite political party and militant organization, drape the walls. In the United States it may be considered a terrorist organization but in poor Shiite areas and many upscale areas of Shiites they are considered heros.
Inside the Kodak studios you can buy Hassan Nasrallah's 2008 visage for a few thousand Lebanese Pounds.
In Sunni areas Saad al Hariri's smiling face drapes the walls, sometimes accompanied by that of his father, Rafiq al Hariri, the former prime minister who was assasinated in 2005. Saad al Hariri leads the predominantly Sunni Future Movement.
A Shiite friend of mine just bought an apartment near Hariri's home. She lives near the airport now _ a mostly Shiite zone. But soon she will move away from what she's come to see as a comfort zone, a place among her own. She worries that if things go south she'll no longer be welcome in her new million-dollar apartment building.
It all sounds familiar to me. The richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor were forced from their homes because they no longer belonged. The sect that dominated their neighborhood no longer welcomed the other. It could happen in Lebanon as well.
I went to have my hair and nails done before a friend's wedding. Outside the salon a green chalkboard that usually advertises specials on beauty packages read, "Thank you for not talking about politics."
The owner of the salon moved her shop to a Shiite area after being harassed by young Sunni men in another neighborhood following a spate of violence between Hezbollah supporters and government supporters in May.
A young woman in her 20s and still unmarried was asked by her aunt when she would marry. "Sunnis are forbidden," to marry she was told.
The dividing lines are even being drawn on the internet.
On Facebook, a social networking site, groups were formed to boycott Shiite stores. I don't know how Lebanese fashoinistas will stay away from European stores like Zara, Mango and Bershka.
The groups have hundreds of people and are named things like "I swear I will never buy from Shi3a stores anymore."
One page explained "I ask the help of all members in indicating the shops of ‘Shias’ on these Maps. I’m sorry for this racism act, but be sure, it is not an action taken by us, it is reaction of what had happened to Beirut these days, AND WHAT IS STILL HAPPENING!"
In response another forum was formed. On the page it states:
"Join this group to tell the future movement that we don't give a flying &*%*# if you boycott us or no. We will stay ballin' and we will make 10 times more money than you and we will WORK for our money but not STEAL.
----------------------------------------------------
"...THANK YOU FOR MAKING A LIST OF THE SHIITE STORES, MARKETS, CENTERS, STORES AND COMPANIES, BECAUSE NOW WE WONT BUY ANYWHERE BUT THEM! ;)"
In the middle of my break I flew to Spain away from the Middle East, away from the sectarian tensions and the battles for power between local, regional and international players. I walked through a tourist market in Granada and heard the sound of Iraqi Arabic wafting through. Iraqis spoke Spanish to their customers as they sold overpriced trinkets from the town, but to each other they spoke in the language of their home.
"I live in Baghdad," I told them.
"Oh my God," the merchant told me. She hadn't been home in six years.
"Is it still beautiful?" she said.
"Not like it once was I'm sure," I answered.
"It was so beautiful I wish you knew it then," she said. "I miss my home. Say hi to Baghdad for me, say hi to Baghdad."
I stepped off the plane in Baghdad and I passed on her greeting.
welcome back! you were missed. I checked every day for your posts.
when I don't see baghdad based correspondents posting I worry -- even when the site acknowledges that you're on leave!
salaam alaikh'!
Posted by: dwg | July 24, 2008 at 05:03 PM
Welcome home! You were most definitely missed. I have the feeling you missed Baghdad, too; your article's tone is so poignant. Thanks for coming back.
Posted by: Laura | July 24, 2008 at 07:54 PM