Illustration by Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today.
This piece was originally written one week before the Israeli army carried out a bombing campaign targeting at least a dozen areas in Beirut's southern suburbs, including a strike on Hezbollah headquarters that killed party leader Hassan Nasrallah.On Haret Hreik Street, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, it’s a quiet morning — well, as quiet as any day can hope to be in Lebanon at a time like this.I stop for a coffee from a small cafe. The cafe was almost empty. Rows of different kinds of coffee are on display, along with packages of instant noodles that read ‘just add water.’ I ask for a Nescafe with no sugar. I’m trying to cut down on sugar. “I make the best Nescafe in the world,” the middle-aged store owner assures me. “It’s a small cup, let me make it my own way. The sugar won’t hurt you.” He nods his head at me reassuringly and,...
This piece was originally written one week before the Israeli army carried out a bombing campaign targeting at least a dozen areas in Beirut's southern suburbs, including a strike on Hezbollah headquarters that killed party leader Hassan Nasrallah.On Haret Hreik Street, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, it’s a quiet morning — well, as quiet as any day can hope to be in Lebanon at a time like this.I stop for a coffee from a small cafe. The cafe was almost empty. Rows of different kinds of coffee are on display, along with packages of instant noodles that read ‘just add water.’ I ask for a Nescafe with no sugar. I’m trying to cut down on sugar. “I make the best Nescafe in the world,” the middle-aged store owner assures me. “It’s a small cup, let me make it my own way. The sugar won’t hurt you.” He nods his head at me...