Autonomy

So... where will this one end up?

Clean streets, a new government, a revolution or a storm in a garbage truck?

Millhouse

hose it all down with the water cannons.

DXBtoDOH

A couple million Lebanese migrants at Calais.

scrubbedexpat141

Autonomy

Really?

Have you ever been to Lebanon? Or Jordan, Yemen or Syria? Know people there?

I don't get what is funny...

Army deployed to Beirut after street protests - CNN.com
Lebanese Protesters Call for Fall of Government | Al Jazeera America
Many injured in Beirut 'You Stink' protest over rubbish - Al Jazeera English
https://news.vice.com/article/beirut...-water-cannons
Lebanon PM Hints at Quitting After More Protests Turn Violent

scrubbedexpat141

No, not been to the places. No, don't know anyone there (apart from a mate who's in Beirut at the moment).

DXBtoDOH

We're just very jaded.

A region with a remarkable capacity for *****ing itself up every few decades.

I don't know how much sympathy is left.

Autonomy

I think that was my point I guess.

I really love Lebanon, not just Beirut but Byblos, Bekaa, even Baalbeck. Sana'a Yemen was a magical place, etc etc.

So when I post about the troubles in Beirut on in the Middle East forum it's met with apathy, sarcasm and Scamp's smilies rather than a discussion which I guess I'd thought it might.

I get it, I do, but I guess I'm tired of the jadedness.

It is what it is.

Millhouse

Ok. So auto - I have also been to all the places you mention and have found the people there to be great. Especially Yemen and Syria.

Now. The lack of land fill is terrible and is actually an issue in many parts of the Middle East. What is worse is that in Lebanon people are setting fire to it and in doing so accidentally setting on fire the power lines. None of this is going to be sorted anytime soon.

Lebanon is a tinder pot - there is a risk that these protests get taken over by unwanted influence and really kick off Arab spring style. Let's hope not. The GCC are also very down on their financial luck right now to put money at the problem.

Where will it go? Well given that more Lebbos live outside of lebanon than it it, the Calais comments may not be that far off the mark. Although I suspect they will turn up in Canada delivering pizzas.

It's a terrible time to hold a middle eastern passport. My Syrian friends tell me that they never see a future for them in ther home country. Just imagine that.

Millhouse

I would also add the following. I recently asked a Syrian friend who does he blame for the mess.

He gave an honest answer that few others will. He said himself. Himself for allowing it to happen, turning a blind eye to political corruption and injustice simply because it could be worse or that there have been marginal improvements over the years. Blamed himself for not standing up sooner. Blamed himself for looking after himself and not his country and leaving when things got tough. He is honest enough to recognize it.

This sadly is the problem. They have themselves to blame and I do not see how "we" can or to be honest should help.

scrubbedexpat141

I was talking to a Syrian woman the other day who said life was better before the uprising. Stuff worked, yes it was corrupt, but you could at least get on with life.

Bahtatboy

Same goes for Egypt. Benign dictatorship (with a smidgen of democracy thrown in for show) seems the optimum solution in many countries in the region. Well, when I say "benign", there are always going to be some rough edges and compromises...

DXBtoDOH

The Egyptians seem to have realised that. Which is why the military is now back in firm control after the failed attempt at democracy that resulted in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Poor Syria. Not a clue as to how it'll pan out at the end. My sentiment is that this is going to drag on for a decade if not more.

Irishbeekeeper

Yep, totally agreed on both accounts.
Syria / Iraq / Yemen / Libya is the center of a huge power struggle in this region and I don't see an end to it anytime soon as there are SO many players with SO many agendas that the poor average citizen of these countries has no where to go but out of their respective countries. Point in case the migrant problem the EU is facing right now. They are having to deal with other peoples' mess and the resentment being shown by some of the locals there is understandable.
Take Sweden for example, the Germans are afraid that Germany will become another Sweden.

norsk

On top of that there is a huge number of economic migrants jumping on the bandwagon exacerbating the issue faced by certain European nations.

I read an article somewhere (can't remember where and can't find it right now) about how some Algerians repeatedly travel illegally into Europe even though they have secure jobs and families back home before being sent back when caught by the authorities where they end up.

This is definitely a ticking time bomb. The question in my mind is whether we have had it coming for some time. After all if most of the world's wealth exists only for a relatively small number of people you cannot really expect the ones on the who are not part of that group to just accept this...