Bachir Ramadan plays the drums like a demon, only now, he uses his ferocious sounds to keep his nightmares at bay.
The Lebanese musician and drummer for regional metal powerhouse group Nervecell has been sitting behind the kit at home almost daily, pummelling away the trauma and anxiety of the past 12 months.
A victim of the August 4 Beirut port explosion, Ramadan says he's lucky to be alive.
His office, located within a four-storey building in Lebanon's capital, was only 800 metres away from the blast, which eviscerated the area, killing at least 190 people and wounding more than 6,500.
Ramadan remembers a blinding light, before emerging from the wreckage dazed and bloodied.
He spent three days in hospitals, where glass was removed from his face and eyes, and he was treated for several skull fractures and some nerve damage to his hands.
Playing through the pain
Ironically, Ramadan credits his daily regimen of jamming along to the thunderous sounds of Slayer and Rivers of Nihil for speeding up his recovery.
“After all the treatment in the hospital I had to go to physical therapy three times a week for about a month and a half to treat my hands," he tells The National.
“The fact that I was also playing at home for stress relief accelerated the recovery without a doubt. I am back to my full ability now, which is awesome.”
While Nervecell fans will be happy to hear that, the news marks only a small moment of optimism in what has been a torrid year for Ramadan and his fellow Lebanese citizens.
For one thing, those drumming sessions have occasionally had to take place in the dark or under natural light, because with Lebanon suffering a crippling economic crisis, Ramadan’s home only receives up to four hours of electricity a day.
Coupled with the crashing value of the Lebanese pound, which has rendered staple food items unaffordable, and the current lack of official accountability for the explosion, the mood in Beirut, Ramadan says, is grim.
“It is teaching me something about the recovery process in that is not a straight line and that it stops and starts,” he says.
“And that is especially the case here in Lebanon as there is always a new obstacle thrown at us to stop us all from healing. There is an anger in the streets in that no one is taking responsibility for what happed at the port.
“People don’t understand how important that is for those who suffered directly and the country as a whole to heal.”
Sharing stories
Post-traumatic stress is palpable in the streets, Ramadan says, but with the explosion affecting all facets of society, citizens are freely sharing their own experiences for comfort.
He and his colleagues often share stories from that day as they work from their new office, now located a 30-minute drive from Beirut port.
“In that sense, that has brought a lot of people together here in Lebanon,” he says. “And it’s not like a lot of us are scared to talk about it or we are skirting the issues.
“We accept what happens will be part of us for ever. The conversations are not easy, but they help.”
There are some things it's too soon to confront, though, he says. He admits that seeing the gaping hole that was once the port on the drive to work can trigger bouts of anxiety.
That said, he has found solace and comfort from friends and family.
The international metal community also rallied in support of an injured comrade. “Man, I can’t tell how emotional it was to get all these messages from artists and people who I don’t know. I mean, this is what the metal community is all about,” he says.
I am living proof that death metal is good for you
Bachir Ramadan,
drummer of Nervecell
“I remember I got a message from [US group] Overkill, who Nervecell played with some time ago in Bangalore, India. They reached out to me and even posted on their page what happened and I was really blown away.
“I also received messages from bands in Greece who offered support. Some of these groups that reached out I am a big fan of and grew up listening to, so the encouragement meant a lot and really motivated me when it came to recovery.”
With Nervecell back on the bill for music festivals next summer, Ramadan plans to get gig-ready by continuing to thrash away at the drum kit at home.
“It keeps me healthy physically and mentally,” he says. “I am living proof that death metal is good for you.”
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Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The five pillars of Islam
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Match statistics
Dubai Sports City Eagles 8 Dubai Exiles 85
Eagles
Try: Bailey
Pen: Carey
Exiles
Tries: Botes 3, Sackmann 2, Fourie 2, Penalty, Walsh, Gairn, Crossley, Stubbs
Cons: Gerber 7
Pens: Gerber 3
Man of the match: Tomas Sackmann (Exiles)
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
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- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
