A Lebanese flag flies along a bridge near the port of Beirut, while in the background the damaged grain silos are visible in front of the site of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion. (Credit: AFP file photo)
Can you miss a country you never left? The feeling is new to me. It began a few days ago, when Assala returned to Damascus. The beloved singer had dared to support the uprising against the Assad regime, at the cost of being unable to set foot in Syria again. Standing before thousands of Syrians, some in tears, phones held aloft, she was emotional, almost in disbelief that she was finally back. For her, this was about something bigger than a concert. She was coming home.Watching those images of her return, I felt something I initially struggled to name. Emotion, yes, but also jealousy. At first, I did not understand what I envied. I never left Lebanon. I know its roads, its smells, its contradictions. I know that Beirut light that somehow still manages to make the city beautiful despite everything. The sunsets that are never the same and...
Can you miss a country you never left? The feeling is new to me. It began a few days ago, when Assala returned to Damascus. The beloved singer had dared to support the uprising against the Assad regime, at the cost of being unable to set foot in Syria again. Standing before thousands of Syrians, some in tears, phones held aloft, she was emotional, almost in disbelief that she was finally back. For her, this was about something bigger than a concert. She was coming home.Watching those images of her return, I felt something I initially struggled to name. Emotion, yes, but also jealousy. At first, I did not understand what I envied. I never left Lebanon. I know its roads, its smells, its contradictions. I know that Beirut light that somehow still manages to make the city beautiful despite everything. The sunsets that are never the same...
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