Election mania

Did I tell you about all the old men presenting themselves for the upcoming elections?

This is in Tripoli, North Lebanon. I count sixteen of them in one street.

Know your constituency...

In less than one month there will be elections in Lebanon, and there is no escaping the electoral campaigns. Posters for candidates/parties running in the different districts are literally everywhere, usually with either insanely stupid or offensive slogans, or just plain old ‘n’ boring faces of (old) men. But then there is Michel Mouawad. He is the son of MP Nayla Mouawad and former president René Mouawad, originally from the town of Zgharta. Michel himself is therefore running in the district of Zgharta, but I guess he spends most of his time in Beirut, considering this poster from his campaign:

We see a girl with one Lebanese flag on her cheek and one in her hand, presumably at a ‘pro-government’ (March 14) rally, on the left, and a guy with a gun and a yellow flag next to him, so presumably ‘opposition’ (March 8), on the right. Himself part of the March 14ers, Michel Mouawad’s question to his constituents is: ‘Who resembles you more?’ Keeping in mind that the last time a popular politician from Zgharta (Michel's rival Sleiman Toni Frangieh) became a minister in the government, the following party erupted in his hometown to celebrate his new position…

… I guess Mouawad either doesn’t know his people, or he’s appealing to a small minority of Zgharta’s voters. Neither of those is a very smart election strategy, if you ask me.

Closed Zone

Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement calls on the State of Israel to fully open Gaza's crossings and to allow the real victims of the closure - 1.5 million human beings - the freedom of movement necessary to realize their dreams and aspirations.

For more information visit their website: Closed Zone
(Thanks to Lenie for sending me this.)

Ondertussen, zo’n 200 kilometer verderop...

Vandaag is het Hariri-Tribunaal begonnen in Den Haag (of, om precies te zijn, Leidschendam). Het is te hopen dat de rechters, advocaten en aanklagers een betere topografische kennis van Nederland hebben dan de journalisten die vanuit Libanon zijn overgekomen om de verslaglegging te verzorgen:

Dat vierkante tekstwolkje zegt ‘La Haye’: Den Haag. De laatste keer dat ik in Nederland was, heette die stad nog Maastricht...

Gaza