Not hearing any mention of electricity on the news I assumed the problem is solved.
A phone call to Beirut informed me that the situation is still the same, in some regions almost 12 hours of total blackout.
I am amazed at the silent acceptance by the Lebanese who register one the highest rates of posts on social media and are taking to the streets and engage in the practice of road blockages for many a cause.
I am more amazed because now that the weather is less hot the power consumption from air conditioners must have dropped dramatically with no change in power supply!
I am extremely amazed to hear the people of Gaza complain even though they had a destructive war just a month ago and the people of Lebanon are shutting up!
The reason it seems is that the ingenuous Lebanese have taken on themselves to step in and find solutions to the problem:
These fumes contain Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and some sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
We are poisoning our children and hindering their growth.
Don't you notice the increase in pulmonary problems and cancers around the country?
Yet I do not hear any ecological NGO or movement post about the problem and hold vigils or demonstrations. This is an easier problem to solve than many they are campaigning for.
I wish our lovely citizens come to the amazing conclusion that Christians, Sunni, Shiite, Druze, Maronite, Orthodox, Armenian, and all others breath the same air.
Yes believe me they do!
I will not lose time mentioning the extra costs to each and every citizen. They pay the regular electricity bill that seems to stay the same whether the supply is 24 or 12 hours a day??
In addition and depending on your standing in the community you must pay fuel for the building generator or electricity subscription "istirak", or for UPS replacement batteries, or for some miserable candles. And I am not accounting for electrical appliances that seem to get strokes and sudden death syndrome due to the electricity current see sawing.
Accounting is not a popular Lebanese sport.
Men and women alike spend what is in the pocket and what they expect to have in the pocket.
A crazy puzzle that summarizes the state of a country that is as Ziad Rahbani sang
A phone call to Beirut informed me that the situation is still the same, in some regions almost 12 hours of total blackout.
I am amazed at the silent acceptance by the Lebanese who register one the highest rates of posts on social media and are taking to the streets and engage in the practice of road blockages for many a cause.
I am more amazed because now that the weather is less hot the power consumption from air conditioners must have dropped dramatically with no change in power supply!
I am extremely amazed to hear the people of Gaza complain even though they had a destructive war just a month ago and the people of Lebanon are shutting up!
The reason it seems is that the ingenuous Lebanese have taken on themselves to step in and find solutions to the problem:
- Many buildings in Beirut have common generators that kick in when the power supply is disturbed. These are the lucky ones, they do not have to climb stairs or sit in darkness for hours.
- Those who are not so lucky but are lucky enough to be able to buy electricity from a nearby privately owned generator can watch TV and power the refrigerator, but they still have to climb stairs, sweat when hot and freeze when it is cold as these "ishtirak" do not usually exceed the 10 ampere which is not enough for a full household normal power supply.
- Then there are the unlucky ones who have to rely on UPS and APS power supply which is the least to say inefficient.
- And the most unlucky are those who cannot afford any of the above because they cannot pay the costs of two electrical bills, so they stay in the darkness of candles and in summer end up with gastroenteritis due to food that went bad as there is no refrigeration.
Fine to be resilient and clutch to a semblance of normalcy.Do those engaged in ecologic campaigning understand the consequences of this aberration? Thousands of generators are churning for at least 9 hours per day their fumes close to the ground, near the windows of each and every woman, man, child, and baby in Beirut.
BUT
These fumes contain Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and some sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
We are poisoning our children and hindering their growth.
Don't you notice the increase in pulmonary problems and cancers around the country?
Yet I do not hear any ecological NGO or movement post about the problem and hold vigils or demonstrations. This is an easier problem to solve than many they are campaigning for.
I wish our lovely citizens come to the amazing conclusion that Christians, Sunni, Shiite, Druze, Maronite, Orthodox, Armenian, and all others breath the same air.
Yes believe me they do!
I will not lose time mentioning the extra costs to each and every citizen. They pay the regular electricity bill that seems to stay the same whether the supply is 24 or 12 hours a day??
In addition and depending on your standing in the community you must pay fuel for the building generator or electricity subscription "istirak", or for UPS replacement batteries, or for some miserable candles. And I am not accounting for electrical appliances that seem to get strokes and sudden death syndrome due to the electricity current see sawing.
Accounting is not a popular Lebanese sport.
Men and women alike spend what is in the pocket and what they expect to have in the pocket.
A crazy puzzle that summarizes the state of a country that is as Ziad Rahbani sang
Haydeh mush balad! haydeh urtet nas majmou3een
This is not a country, it is a bunch of grouped people
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