Actively participating, but who would be listening! Photo (c) Ibrahim Chalhoub.
Tuesday 24 May at 6 pm in Safadi Center Tripoli north Lebanon the “Association for the Protection of the Makmel Mountain” projected the documentary “Home” about the Earth wasting its resources and the necessity for its protection.
For two hours, a zooming-in-zooming-out process exhibited nature in its micro as well as macro levels contrasting the wonderful views of nature with the disastrous effects produced by the actions of human beings disrupting the equilibrium of the essential elements of nature. Under the effects of an exalting music and a mesmerizing combination of colors the almost four dozens of participants kept listening until the end of the film, but barely one dozen was left in the hall before the programmed discussion started. Perhaps the documentary was long, but couldn’t those who waited for two hours stay for another 30 minutes period to reach the culmination of the invitation? During the discussion, the few remaining people, among whom Mr. Boutros Moawad the president and founder of the association expressed their sympathy with one of the core messages of the documentary, “earth is a miracle and life remains a mystery”. A mysterious life it is, indeed, in most of its aspects whichever way it is affected or affects human beings. Let alone accidents and genetic predisposition which are not less intertwined with nature, it remains weird why this same endangered nature particularly chooses the expression of disabilities in certain human beings.
For two hours, a zooming-in-zooming-out process exhibited nature in its micro as well as macro levels contrasting the wonderful views of nature with the disastrous effects produced by the actions of human beings disrupting the equilibrium of the essential elements of nature. Under the effects of an exalting music and a mesmerizing combination of colors the almost four dozens of participants kept listening until the end of the film, but barely one dozen was left in the hall before the programmed discussion started. Perhaps the documentary was long, but couldn’t those who waited for two hours stay for another 30 minutes period to reach the culmination of the invitation? During the discussion, the few remaining people, among whom Mr. Boutros Moawad the president and founder of the association expressed their sympathy with one of the core messages of the documentary, “earth is a miracle and life remains a mystery”. A mysterious life it is, indeed, in most of its aspects whichever way it is affected or affects human beings. Let alone accidents and genetic predisposition which are not less intertwined with nature, it remains weird why this same endangered nature particularly chooses the expression of disabilities in certain human beings.
Trying to explain to the few participants! Photo (c) Ibrahim Chalhoub.
Just like nature requiring an urgent intervention for its protection to allow it to replenish its scarce resources our fellow humans with disabilities require attention and care which mobilized the “Forum of Handicapped Association” to organize an event in Balamand University one week after the talk about nature. The 5 hour open-door occasion started with brochures explaining the role of the association as well as that of “handicapped”, a term used in the name of the association despite their disagreement with it and which they are seeking to change. Despite the fact that the two events are unrelated, in a direct comparison with the previous Tuesday, music was utilized to attract the students to the stand where members were offering lemonade to reduce the effect of the heat. It is worth mentioning, in contrast, that nature was able to gather a certain number of people at the beginning of the occurrence only to lose them sometime after, while humans with disabilities couldn’t even assemble a few to start with. The conference room had barely a dozen of youth, most of whom were the members of the association, who came to listen to the words of the president, Dr. Nawaf Kabbara. A man with disability due to an accident, Dr. Kabbara tried to approach the subject from a redefinition of disability as a form of diversity among humans, a term calling for the previous week’s exhibition of the destruction of the multiplicity of nature due to the globalizing machines working on petroleum.
Both events were very well prepared. However, the interest of people in nature or in others of the same species seems to decline in the country of Cedars, a name that should usually positively reflect on both subject matters.