kunal

Dear Reem,

How are you? How are your family, friends, and loved ones? I have been keeping abreast with everything going on in the region, and am absolutely flabbergasted at the media's portrayal of the conflict. I know that this is a very difficult time for you, but am so proud of you for the strong stand and proactive approach you are taking. You have shown that you are not helpless in this, however terribly despondent this situation is. And we are garnering strength from your resolve to do everything possible to help the people of Lebanon. I promise you that I am doing all in my power (however small it may be) by donating, educating and convincing people of the atrocities taking place in your country. It's really upsetting when people over here blindly shrug this aside, saying "this is war, things like this happen." Forget politics and warfare for a second, first and foremost we are people, individuals, human beings. We have a moral responsibility to stop wrongdoings befalling others, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, beliefs.

Please let me know how I can continue to help in any which way, shape or form.

Be strong for yourself, be strong for your family, be strong for your people. Take care of yourself, your family and loved ones.

Sincerely,

Kunal.

shireen t

hi hayati--

good to hear you're safe in amman (?) well, jordan anyways. IsZeina in Beirut too? I totally feel the same way-- oscillating betweensobbing at work and getting so angry i HAVE to go to the demonstrationsbecause if I don't let it out by screaming I'm going to assault someone. Idon't know what to do with this anger and dispair. I don't know where to putit. It's impossible to place. I'm sure you've heard from a million peoplehere all doing the same, trying to generate donations, going to protests,writing to representatives. trying to humanize our pain to those who wouldrather turn the news off than realize that each person the missiles killhave hopes and dreams and favorite colours and painful memories and trueloves and bad habits...they're us. akh. I tried to promise myself that todayi would not be addicted to the news during work so I could actually getthrough work without having an internal breakdown because nobody at workknows what this is like and offer trite, genuine, but trite, platitudesabout my family. MY FAMILY is fine, hamdillah-- it's the country the landthe IDPs the poor poor poor wretched people of the south who are sufferingunbearably that tears at my heart. I am sad for Nana to have to go throughthis, again, for all my friends. But i know we're resilient and we shouldn'tHAVE to rebuild, but we will do it again. we have to. Israel cannot destroyus and our lives. They cannot. we won't let them...that's what i have tocling to these days. otherwise, what else is there? miss you, hope you'redoing alright. you're totally in my thoughts. if you have any reallycreative ways to raise money, PLEASE pass along. Nissan (yeah, the carcompany) donated $200,000 to relief...how amazing. a corporation doingsomething good for us. made me happy.

xxx
love wa salaam.
shino