Fireworks

Here is the executive summary of the oh-so complicated elections here: The biggest groups in Lebanon are the Catholic and Maronite Christians, and the Sunni and Shia Muslims. At the risk of gross over simplification, the election boils down to one side (the Shia and some Christians) backed by Iran and Syria, and one side (the Sunni and most Christians) backed by the West. So the stakes are high and Lebanon doesn't tend to breed people that take losing well. The group that could arguably make the biggest stink, Hizballah (Shia), looks like its going to have a good day June 7^th.

After the civil war ended here and Israel withdrew, Lebanon got to work rebuilding the country. The man leading the charge back to better days was Rafik Hariri, a Sunni and former Prime Minister. He was close with Saudi Arabia and talked often of reducing Syrian influence in Lebanon. In 2005 he was killed using a massive car bomb that also killed 22 of his body guards. Many think Syria was behind the hit, which may have been to teach Lebanon a lesson. For Syria, the lesson kind of blew up in their face. The people of Lebanon got pissed and threw the bums out, so to speak, and they have been trying to get back in ever since.

Right after the 2005 assassination, authorities arrested four generals and held them in connection with the murder. And they are believed to have been in cahoots with the Syrians. The investigation into Hariri's assassination is so controversial and politically complicated that it was decided that an international tribunal was needed to handle the case. Flash forward to this week, when the four generals were released by a Belgian judge due to lack of evidence. For an afternoon, the city went a little bananas. From my balcony I could hear fiery speeches and fireworks going off all over town.

The people belonging to the political groups that support Syria were very happy about the news. This includes Hizballah and Amal. Amal pretty much answers to Damascus, and even though Hizballah answers to Tehran, they still need to get their weapons from Iran, and they need to go through Syria (take a minute and look at a map) to get them. So they were all happy because one of the great hindrances to supporting Hizballah or Amal in the election is the dark cloud of their association with Hariri's alleged murderers. If you are a Lebanese, whether you supported Hariri or not, you never want another country assassinating your leaders, especially when he is playing such a big role in the reconstruction here. So for Hizballah and Amal, the news couldn't have come at a better time, especially if the release of the generals is seen as a referendum on Syria's implication in the case.

..............

I grew up around fireworks. Like most boys, I thought few things were more enjoyable than lighting a fuse on some cheaply made Chinese fireworks and watching them catch fire, fly around, or explode. The best ones did all three. In the summer, me and my dad and my brother would frequently purchase a healthy amount of firecrackers, Roman Candles, Saturn Missile Batteries, M60s, M80s, pin wheels, cakes, and mortars, and light them off where we would swear it was safe. Actually its amazing we still have all our appendages.

Anyway, so I am used to fireworks. And they are always being lit off here in Beirut. The only difference is that I pay attention more now. Whenever I hear them, I always take an extra second to make sure its not gunfire or real bombs. When an explosion is really loud, I'll go out to my balcony (eight floors up) and check things out. Eventually I got used to the reallyoud ones (where the hell are they getting this shit? Syria? New Hampshire?) and now I don't even check. That was until a couple of nights ago when there was an explosion so loud it shook my room. I was laying bed and I went out to the TV room to see what my roommate and his buddy thought, but they had gone and I was alone.

I wouldn't say I was scared, but I was definitely concerned. I even thought twice before I went out on the balcony. Once I got out there, I ran to the far end of it from where I can see the cops. A block away is the police station and I figure if anything big was going on, they would be scrambling around. So I went out to see what they were up to and I couldn't make out any immediate activity. Just then, another explosion went off from the same place. It felt more powerful than the first, but only because I was standing outside.

But that was it. No sirens, no police scrambling around, no chaos. It was business as usual. The Lebanese have the reputation of being cool cucumbers when it comes to this stuff, but they couldn't be this cool. I surmised that everything was okay and I went back in my room. It was only fireworks and nothing was awry, but just the same I canceled a trip I had planned for Dunkin Donuts that night for good measure.

I have no idea what they were using for fireworks (Symtex?), but I do know it was powerful and loud as hell. I felt the bass from it like a pimply teenager's car stereo sub-woofers with the bass turned up too high. I can't imagine what a real explosion would feel like. In 1983, a dump truck loaded with TNT drove into the Marine barracks that used to be here in Beirut and killed hundreds of Marines. A dump truck full of TNT. It must have been horrible and I hope this country never sees anything like that again, whether I'm here or not.