This is Aleppo: In A World Where Doctors Have Become Martyrs & Hospitals Battlegrounds

A post by a Lebanese blogger about the bombing of a hospital in Aleppo. A heartbreaking but important read…

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Tucked in the lower floor of a building was Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo, Syria, a small 34 bed facility in the Sukkari neighborhood. Its windows and entrance were fortified with mostly sandbags for extra protection despite the many buildings around it that, in theory, protected it from being attacked.

The hospital was not a rebel-run hospital, despite it existing in a rebel-controlled neighborhood. It was a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and International Red Cross affiliated institution with an emergency room and an 8 bed pediatrics ward. It was as fully equipped as a hospital in times of war could be.

In the rules of warfare, horrifying as such a notion’s existence is, and as dictated by multiple conventions, notably the Geneva ones, attacks on medical institutions by any side of a conflict is considered a severe violation.

A few hours ago, a fighter jet, flying at low altitude, charged…

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Beirut in a Snapshot: Garbage, Glitz and Refugees

I got a fancy single lens reflex camera for my birthday, and am so excited to be learning how to use it. My goal is to take better and better images to accompany my writing. I’ve done some traveling lately both in and outside of Lebanon, which has given me lots of opportunities to practice, but I also wander around Beirut from time to time, camera in hand, trying to capture moments.

Not far from my house, I saw these overflowing trash bin – which were really not that bad by current Lebanese standards, given that the country is in the midst of a garbage crisis. What struck me about these bins in particular was the billboard behind it – an advertisement for a summer concert by AVICII, the world-famous Swedish musician known for his club music. The juxtaposition of glamour and grunge. As I was clicking away, a Syrian refugee holding her child walked into the frame. And there I had it – garbage, glitz and refugees – the complexity of Lebanon encapsulated in a single frame.

Lebanon’s garbage crisis is fading from international news, but the stench of rotting garbage wafting through the air every day doesn’t let the locals forget it. Solutions are possible though, and I hope that more politicians will find inspiration from the transformation of Saida’s notorious mountain of garbage..

image from http://www.saidadays.com

into a city park.

(c) UNDP Lebanon

International experts were brought in, and under the supervision of UNDP Lebanon, the garbage was carefully processed, properly disposed of when possible, contained and buried when not. A lovely public park was built over the space.

There is a nice launch video here (there are some subtitles in English partway through) that gives a good idea of the enormity of the project and all the work that went into eliminating this mountain of waste.

Of course, this park didn’t get make nearly as much news as the garbage disaster preceding it. I know about the project because my husband helped support it through his work for UNDP.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s hope the Saida transformation can inspire more change.