I have some photos from our trip to Beirut that I wanted to post. And maybe talk a bit about our (too few) days there.
But today, the president of Lebanon has called in the army to “keep the peace.”
Today is supposed to be the last day of his term. But the parliament has been unable to agree on a replacement.
So, there is no president, legally. Is there still a constitution?
It is a very complicated system they have.
The president must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shi’a Muslim.
In addition, the parliament must be made up of so many of each, based on a census that is over 50 years old.
The Christians, who hold a majority of the parliament, have not allowed a census to be taken because they (the Christians) have not been breeding as quickly as the Muslims, and know that a new census would change the division of power.
Tonight, the streets of Beirut are dark and empty.
We managed to visit for 4 or 5 days in October. We had been trying to visit there since we arrived in Cairo, but every time that we had free time, things had seemed to heat up in Lebanon. October was quiet. The elections had been put off (again) and the entire country was holding its breath.
We were hoping to go back again sometime soon. It is a beautiful country. (Even with bombed out buildings in downtown, and long detours because of bridges that were destroyed).
I have never been accused of being an optimist, so it is no surprise that I fear the worst for Beirut and the rest of the country.
I am glad we got there when we did.
I hope we get another chance sometime soon.