Quick update
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Marlies
14 Juni 2013 | Libanon, Beiroet
Hi all,
Its’ Friday night and I am still at the office. Not working at the moment as I use this time to write my blog (hope my employer will not read it…)
Last month I was in the Netherlands for a vacation. It was very relaxing and it’s so nice to see everyone again. The weather was very cold compared to Lebanon, but also fresh, and now that the temperatures are rising here I wish I could enjoy the Dutch breeze again.
It seems that with the temperature the tension is also rising in this country… You might have seen it on the news. Lately I have been getting more emails and messages from friends and family asking me if the situation in Lebanon is not becoming too dangerous for me. Therefore I wanted to write a blog telling you a bit more about the situation here. Unfortunately, I cannot write everything I want on a public blog, so bad luck for you. You’ll have to read the news, carefully, and draw your own conclusions. Let me know the outcome. It is fascinating to read the world’s news about the situation in Syria and Lebanon. Especially what they do not write or highlight….. But that would be another story.
Let me just get to the point: I am fine. I am safe and I am not leaving. (Unless my boss reads this and fires me…. Though I do not think 18:30 PM can still be considered working hours….;)
Anyway, despite localized fighting and clashes in this country, I did not face any security problems. My work is more interesting, and at the same time more depressing, than ever before. The large group of refugees you read about in the paper I see every day. I see them in their improvised houses by the side of the road or in the fields. I see them begging for food in the street. I see their children running through traffic, risking their lives trying to sell gum or flowers. I see them in our office, waiting patiently. This might sound as if it is one big group of desperate people, but this is not true. Maybe it is for some of them, but not for all. The Syrian mothers who fled their home, their country, arriving with their children in Lebanon with only the clothes they wear, no news about the father or the rest of the family… They are strong. They carry on. It is a situation I (and most likely you too) cannot imagine, even though I see it with my own eyes.
This description might sound a bit depressing, and sometimes the misery around me gets me down, but despite everything I try to eat, pray, laugh like I did before. It helps me to know that I am doing something helpful for these people through my work.
And now it is time to go home. More work will wait for me in the weekend, but no more tonight.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
Marlies
Its’ Friday night and I am still at the office. Not working at the moment as I use this time to write my blog (hope my employer will not read it…)
Last month I was in the Netherlands for a vacation. It was very relaxing and it’s so nice to see everyone again. The weather was very cold compared to Lebanon, but also fresh, and now that the temperatures are rising here I wish I could enjoy the Dutch breeze again.
It seems that with the temperature the tension is also rising in this country… You might have seen it on the news. Lately I have been getting more emails and messages from friends and family asking me if the situation in Lebanon is not becoming too dangerous for me. Therefore I wanted to write a blog telling you a bit more about the situation here. Unfortunately, I cannot write everything I want on a public blog, so bad luck for you. You’ll have to read the news, carefully, and draw your own conclusions. Let me know the outcome. It is fascinating to read the world’s news about the situation in Syria and Lebanon. Especially what they do not write or highlight….. But that would be another story.
Let me just get to the point: I am fine. I am safe and I am not leaving. (Unless my boss reads this and fires me…. Though I do not think 18:30 PM can still be considered working hours….;)
Anyway, despite localized fighting and clashes in this country, I did not face any security problems. My work is more interesting, and at the same time more depressing, than ever before. The large group of refugees you read about in the paper I see every day. I see them in their improvised houses by the side of the road or in the fields. I see them begging for food in the street. I see their children running through traffic, risking their lives trying to sell gum or flowers. I see them in our office, waiting patiently. This might sound as if it is one big group of desperate people, but this is not true. Maybe it is for some of them, but not for all. The Syrian mothers who fled their home, their country, arriving with their children in Lebanon with only the clothes they wear, no news about the father or the rest of the family… They are strong. They carry on. It is a situation I (and most likely you too) cannot imagine, even though I see it with my own eyes.
This description might sound a bit depressing, and sometimes the misery around me gets me down, but despite everything I try to eat, pray, laugh like I did before. It helps me to know that I am doing something helpful for these people through my work.
And now it is time to go home. More work will wait for me in the weekend, but no more tonight.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
Marlies
-
14 Juni 2013 - 18:30
Berthe:
Hoi Marlies,
Fijn weer wat van je te lezen, hoewel Juul me ook goed op de hoogte houdt hoor.
Je was jarig de twaalfde, nog heel hartelijk gefeliciteerd hoor!! Hoop dat je een mooie dag had.
Het is mooi dat je nu zo direkt met vluchtelingen kunt werken, je echt wat voor ze kunt betekenen.
Wat hebben wij het dan goed in ons veilige landje, terwijl om ons heen in de wereld en in jouw wereld zoveel gebeurt. We denken vaak aan je!
Ben blij dat het goed met je gaat en dat je in Beiroet kunt blijven.
Veel liefs van Berthe en bert -
14 Juni 2013 - 18:39
Tinus:
Hai Liesje,
Goed om weer even wat van je te lezen op deze manier :-) Ik volg het nieuws, maar vind het ook lastig om te volgen omdat de situatie zo ingewikkeld is en het mij ook wel angstig maakt om jou. Maar gelukkig zeg je zelf dat je veilig zit waar je zit :-)
Heel veel zoenen voor jou!!
Tinus -
14 Juni 2013 - 22:54
Mam:
Lieve Liesje,
Ik ben trots op je!
Hoop snel weer met je te skypen en liever nog je te omhelzen in Nederland.
Maar we zullen zien...
Dikke kus, mam -
15 Juni 2013 - 01:31
Hilde Hoogewoud:
Lieve Marlies,
Het is fijn om te lezen dat het goed met je gaat. Hartverscheurend, de beelden van bedelende kinderen. Zou niet zo mogen zijn. Kinderen moeten spelen en leren, meer niet. De kracht van vrouwen, moeders, in onmogelijke situaties (her)ken ik. Waar die kracht vandaan komt snap je niet, maar het is er, blijkbaar universeel. Of vrouwen nou dagelijks kilometers met een kruik op het hoofd water halen in Afrika, de situatie die jij beschrijft, of, zoals in het Westen, werken, voor kinderen en hun ouders zorgen, het is ongelooflijk. Ik denk dat het de kracht van Liefde is.
Lieve groet,
Hilde
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
