Late Thursday night I put a post on my Facebook wall which simply said “Missing Beirut a little bit right now…”.  I left Beirut about 4 months ago and even though not every day was easy there, I have so many things that I do miss about that city.  So I casually threw up that post and headed to bed.

I woke up the next morning to see that someone had added a comment on my post saying that the city had just sustained a major car bomb explosion that took 8 lives with it. I was worried and saddened waking up to this news. Not only for the destruction and lives lost, but also for possibility of further retaliatory violence that many fear will follow.

The bombing took place in Achrafieh, a popular neighborhood in the Christian section of Beirut.  A place not 10 minutes from where I lived this summer and where I often went to shop, to get lunch or to sit with a cup of coffee.  Ironically the main square close to where the bomb went off had hosted an anti-violence festival earlier this summer where I participated in a Capoeira performance. I always felt safe in this part of town so its hard for me to imagine that this area has sustained such devastation. 

Scene after the bombing on October 19, 2012 (credit: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

There was a tiny cell phone shop in that same neighborhood where I purchased a phone a few days after I arrived in May. The store was so narrow that I could stand in the center, extend my arms to the side and touch both walls. The older gentleman that worked there was very kind and helpful even though I only bought a cheap phone from him.

During the following weeks I stopped back into the shop a few times to ask questions about the phone and phone service and he was always so willing to help. One day he even let me borrow his phone to call my mom on Mother’s Day because I wasn’t able to get through to her on Skype.  I have no idea of this man’s name or even the name of his shop, but it’s innocent people like him who may be seriously affected by other’s violent agendas.  I can only hope that he and his business are doing OK after last Friday’s incident.

Sign at the entrance of the American University of Beirut

Luckily all of the friends I’ve checked in with are doing OK and were not harmed in the blast, but it seems that there is a common concern about what might happen next. Will this incident be isolated or is it leading up to something else? As I heard many times while I was in Lebanon “Everything here is just fine…until it suddenly isn’t.”

Sunset over Beirut

I know it may be hard for many people to understand why I have such an attachment to the city of Beirut and the country of Lebanon as a whole. I have only visited twice and certainly have a lot to learn about the culture, history and language(s) of this country. Still I have found a bond with this place and despite the situation there at the moment, I have every intention of going back again.  I continue to speak highly of the Beirut and always encourage people to go when it is safe to do so.  If you’ve ever thought about visiting Beirut (or even if you’re realizing for the first time how much it has to offer after reading through my blog) please do keep it on your list of places to experience.