Growing up during Beirut’s civil war, in the 1970s and '80s, you quickly learnt that silence can come in many forms. The most common version we experienced, relative quiet, often accompanied the anxiety felt before a battle that could erupt at any moment, but also the opportunity to breathe and check in on loved ones while it was still possible.
Silence could also be tense, signalling a readiness for the next round of violence. It could be scary, as it was when everyone hunkered down in shelters. Silence came before the battle, but also after, as a moment of respite. As teenagers, we sometimes tried to drown out the silence at home with music blaring from our radios – an effort to pretend the war was not raging.
In recent months, silence has seeped back into the everyday lives of those living in Beirut, in the form of pauses. These are the pauses we take when we think how to answer a mundane “how are you?”. There are pauses before deciding to take or leave an item in the supermarket, given the loss of purchasing power.
In recent weeks, foreign embassies have asked their citizens in Lebanon to evacuate and European airlines have cancelled their flights, meaning silence has also expanded to cover the sadness when loved ones depart early or cancel their annual trip to Beirut because of the looming threat of a wider war.
In recent days, it feels like silence overwhelms Beirut, covering its neighbourhoods with a cloth of wariness and fatigue. Silence sets in as Israeli warplanes sow fear with mock raids and sonic booms above the city.
Israeli politicians have threatened to turn Beirut into another Gaza. Silence is loudest when Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah is about to speak, and his followers and haters alike tune in to their televisions, all hoping his words will help them predict what the coming hours or days will bring.
Despite these shared silences, there are no collective or co-ordinated strategies or responses to these threats. If the 2019 uprising among the Lebanese people briefly promised a shared belonging for the battered nation, the failure to impose accountability on the corrupt elites who have captured the state since the end of the civil war has eviscerated these aspirations.
There is little that most of Beirut’s residents can actually do to prepare for the war they are being promised
Protests and mobilisation have largely ended, and efforts to secure accountability against the theft of wealth at the hands of the banks that were trusted to secure people’s life savings are limited to a few individual hold-ups that end with isolated negotiations. A feeling of helplessness has solidified over the four past years since the Beirut port explosion as the judiciary was reshaped to secure impunity and protection for suspected criminals rather than pursue justice.
Consequently, Beirut’s residents – young and old, Lebanese, visitors or refugees – await another round of violence largely through ad-hoc and grassroots responses. They do so as families, sometimes as neighbours, perhaps as friends, but nowhere in concerted action under the guidance of a competent public agency.
I say await, and not prepare, because there is little that most of Beirut’s residents can actually do to prepare for the war they are being promised. National bankruptcy has meant that even basic precautions, such as stocking up on canned foods, are only possible for a minority. According to a recent World Bank assessment, 80 per cent of Lebanon’s population lives below the poverty line, and most in the cities have no savings.
When it comes to access to essential services, Beirut’s residents have largely fended on their own for several years now; any “plan B” drawn up to secure basic needs is already in place. Water and electricity are secured through informal, mafia-like suppliers for modest households or, for the better-off, by direct generation at the building level, the national grid having supplied a maximum of three hours of power a day for the past four years.
Moreover, the fact that housing was the quintessential financial asset used to attract foreign capital in the past three decades means that property prices are well above almost everyone’s means. Research from Beirut Urban Lab estimates that the cheapest apartments in the city cost well over 1,000 times the minimum wage before 2018; its surveys found more than 20 per cent of city apartments are empty, held by absentee investors as financial asset for future gains.
In earlier wars, as during the 2006 Israel assault on Lebanon, people fleeing the violence were able to rent temporary apartments in other areas of the city. However, things are more complicated this time around since not only are people poorer and apartments more expensive, but the city’s sectarian divisions are also more pronounced. Indeed, in response to the financial meltdown, the mafia of warlords and bankers that has controlled the country since 1990 doubled down on divisive sectarian and anti-refugee discourses to redirect attention from their direct responsibility for bringing about the unfolding impoverishment.
The failure of the popular uprising mirrors the dismantlement of shared forms of public governance. A decade ago, planners were still drawing plans for a bright, unified future for Lebanon’s once-prosperous capital. However, today the concerted effects of overlapping crises, and the tensions and divisions associated with each of these crises, have pushed away even the semblance of a city government.
Torn by the internal rivalries of the political factions that have appointed them, members of the Beirut Municipal Council have not met for months if not years. A timid Facebook post indicates a preparatory meeting in the city governor’s office, but everyone knows there are no evacuation plans or emergency response schemes. If the war were to start, relief would be delegated to international humanitarian agencies and it will result in further weakening the fabrics of state governance and local solidarities.
People in Beirut face the threat of war as individuals and families, but they do not face it equally. Indeed, the surge in conflict is only the latest of a series of disasters, each of which has reorganised the city’s social and spatial fabrics into an incoherent patchwork of buildings and blocks.
Torn by the internal rivalries of the political factions that have appointed them, members of the Beirut Municipal Council have not met for months if not years
Take the neighbourhood of Hamra where I live. High-end, multi-storey residential buildings that have their own water, electricity and security systems share walls with dilapidated structures where the refugee population and the most destitute Lebanese families often share apartments. During summer, many have taken to just sleeping on the streets, which are less congested than the one-room apartments they rent for two or three families.
A handful of districts cling to life by drowning the silence with an active nightlife where loud music from restaurants and pubs signals the emptiness of residential apartments above street level. This is particularly the case of the areas immediately affected by the 2020 port blast where the bruises of the explosion are still raw. Other neighbourhoods have become eerily silent after sunset since they lost electricity in 2020.
The differences are even wider at the scale of the greater city if one recognises the southern suburbs of Beirut, or Dahieh, as an integral part of the city’s urbanisation. Here, relations with south Lebanon are stronger as most residents trace their roots back to that part of the country. The south was also traditionally a weekend escape from the dense city, particularly in the hot summer months. But even before the unfolding war, the rising cost of fuel had curtailed the customary weekend escapes.
This area has suffered two Israeli strikes since October, but there are precedents. The location of Hezbollah’s headquarters and the strong association of the neighbourhood with the party resulted in its the full destruction by Israel in 2006. More than 20,000 residential units were destroyed, but Lebanon’s regional allies helped and it was possible to rebuild.
As the next war looms, and save for a small percentage of residents whose personal means allow them to rent apartments outside the targeted areas, most have resolved themselves – in line with their relatives in South Lebanon – to “die in their homes” because they cannot afford to rent a place elsewhere. Anxiety about possible destruction is particularly high since everyone doubts there will be sufficient international solidarity to rebuild next time.
Despite this unco-ordinated response to a looming crisis in a splintered city, most residents share similar fears; Beirutis hold their breath in unison. They may disagree on the best way forward, or what strategies they will have to adopt, but no one is preparing for the war to come. The war is here and Beirut faces it with divided positions but a common realisation is that Israel does not want peace. As long as the West supports Israel’s predation and supplies it with weapons, most of us can only hunker down and wait anxiously, in silence, without the protection of a state, like we did so many times before.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicola%20Coughlan%2C%20Luke%20Newton%2C%20Jonathan%20Bailey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Diaa%20Jubaili%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Deep%20Vellum%20Publishing%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
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THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
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Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Fixtures
Wednesday
4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)
6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)
8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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%3Cp%3EThe%20influx%20of%20talented%20young%20Afghan%20players%20to%20UAE%20cricket%20could%20have%20a%20big%20impact%20on%20the%20fortunes%20of%20both%20countries.%20Here%20are%20three%20Emirates-based%20players%20to%20watch%20out%20for.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHassan%20Khan%20Eisakhil%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Nabi%20is%20still%20proving%20his%20worth%20at%20the%20top%20level%20but%20there%20is%20another%20reason%20he%20is%20raging%20against%20the%20idea%20of%20retirement.%20If%20the%20allrounder%20hangs%20on%20a%20little%20bit%20longer%2C%20he%20might%20be%20able%20to%20play%20in%20the%20same%20team%20as%20his%20son%2C%20Hassan%20Khan.%20The%20family%20live%20in%20Ajman%20and%20train%20in%20Sharjah.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMasood%20Gurbaz%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20opening%20batter%2C%20who%20trains%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Academy%2C%20is%20another%20player%20who%20is%20a%20part%20of%20a%20famous%20family.%20His%20brother%2C%20Rahmanullah%2C%20was%20an%20IPL%20winner%20with%20Kolkata%20Knight%20Riders%2C%20and%20opens%20the%20batting%20with%20distinction%20for%20Afghanistan.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOmid%20Rahman%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20fast%20bowler%20became%20a%20pioneer%20earlier%20this%20year%20when%20he%20became%20the%20first%20Afghan%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE.%20He%20showed%20great%20promise%20in%20doing%20so%2C%20too%2C%20playing%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20senior%20team%E2%80%99s%20qualification%20for%20the%20Asia%20Cup%20in%20Muscat%20recently.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
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RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
