Beirut, Lebanon – As Israel bombed southern Lebanon, nobody was within the temper for a full-scale celebration of Christmas regardless of the spiritual, emotional and financial significance of the season.
Regardless of the hardships, some folks nonetheless tried to have a good time. Cafes had been bustling with guests, and the winter site visitors was very a lot current on Beirut’s most important streets. However these scenes hid the truth of many Beirutis and the complete spectrum of the Lebanese inhabitants’s experiences.
Such jollity is normally centred in just a few Beirut streets whereas the streets round them mirror a pointy financial distinction.
After the civil conflict resulted in 1990, reconstruction started in Lebanon, specializing in bringing luxurious actual property to downtown Beirut and growing the service business. However the initiatives by no means made it out to many of the streets across the centre, which was a part of a vibrant market by the port that served all town’s social lessons.
The waterfront turned clogged by years of “development” and “reconstruction” as luxurious skyscrapers for individuals who may afford a “luxurious life” shot up and stood, shoulder-to-shoulder, with their backs to town.