Saturday, January 21, 2006

Dispatch from Hummus Square in Beirut: My friend S. sent me this from Beirut:
"Yesterday, S. and I went to Sahet el-Hirriyyeh to attend a concert in support of siyadeh, hirriyyeh, isti’lal. There must have been around 400 people only, and the average age must have been 17. It was pathetic. The main reason we went was because S. wanted to see Sami Clark, “al-mutrib al-romansi” as he was introduced. The loudest slogans were “Abu Baha’, Abu Baha’”. The whole thing was downright stupid. They announced ‘El-Dactore Wadi’ ess-Safi’ was going to sing, and when the time came for him to appear, only his mule of a son showed up and started to bray like a donkey. After the romantic Sami Clark, we left and drank for five hours."