(Credit: Makram Bitar)
Beirut, Thursday, May 1, 2025. I have a flight to Paris to catch, and most roads leading to the airport are closed for the Beirut marathon. Albert, the driver taking me is skilled and resourceful, like all local drivers are. He doesn’t seem worried about getting there on time and assures me he knows several alternative routes. He tries one route. Roadblock. He tries a second route, where again, we have to turn back at a security forces barricade. Albert concentrates, thinks, makes one or two wrong-way maneuvers, before we find ourselves, once more, at a dead end. “We have no choice left," he says. "We've lost a lot of time, and if you don't want to miss your flight, we need to take the road through Dahieh, the southern suburbs. It's the only option we have left.”I found the word "Dahieh" to be heavy, even...
Beirut, Thursday, May 1, 2025. I have a flight to Paris to catch, and most roads leading to the airport are closed for the Beirut marathon. Albert, the driver taking me is skilled and resourceful, like all local drivers are. He doesn’t seem worried about getting there on time and assures me he knows several alternative routes. He tries one route. Roadblock. He tries a second route, where again, we have to turn back at a security forces barricade. Albert concentrates, thinks, makes one or two wrong-way maneuvers, before we find ourselves, once more, at a dead end. “We have no choice left," he says. "We've lost a lot of time, and if you don't want to miss your flight, we need to take the road through Dahieh, the southern suburbs. It's the only option we have left.”I found the word "Dahieh" to be heavy,...
