Naeem Mohaiemen: Artists as Chocolate after War
Excerpts from various notes I posted on SHOBAK during the invasion of Lebanon.
August 11, 2006
Those Left Behind
I woke up this morning wondering what will happen next. When war ends? Peace breaks out? Or reap the whirlwind? Will it take forever to heal the anger?
Will people still wonder "Why Do They Hate Us/US?"
Fareed Zakaria will probably still be around to explain all this to us. Look for the anniversary NEWSWEEK cover story any time now.
Robert Fisk predicts: " A terrible thought occurs to me - that there will be another 9/11".
For some reason, a penultimate sentence from Bret Easton Ellis' wilfully meta novel LUNAR PARK (an elaborate mea culpa for AMERICAN PSYCHO) is stuck in my head:
"From those of us who are left behind: you will be remembered, you were the one I needed, I loved you in my dreams."
August 8, 2006
Henri Levy & Rockets
War is settling into a nice comfortable groove. A double shot of espresso please. Tired of rapidfire news updates, endless UN resolutions, US arm-twisting, vapid platitudes, impotent OIC maneuvering, street rage, intense blogs. As if anything moves the dial.
Bernard-Henri Levy loses the plot in this weekend's Sunday NYT Magazine. Forget the pain of others, Levy thinks the world is actually biased in favor of Arabs.
Here's the clincher:
"Maybe we shouldn't say "rocket" anymore. In French, at least, the word seems to belittle the thing, and implies an entire biased vision of this war. In Franglais, for example, we call a yapping dog a rocket, roquet; the word conjures a little dog whose bark is worse than his bite and who nibbles at your ankles. ... So why not say "bomb"? Or "missile"? Why not try, using the right word, to restore the barbaric, fanatical violence to this war that was desired by Hezbollah and by it alone? The politics of words. The geopolitics of metaphor. Semantics, in this region, is now more than ever a matter of morality."
"a little dog whose bark is..."
Oh Bernard...what twists and turns
July 28, 2006
Lebanese Artists As Chocolate
I've been thinking about last year's Home Works III show in Beirut. From the generosity of Ashkal Alwan, and Lebanese artists like Walid Raad, many of us were able to present work here. There was a frenetic buzz during the week, with many European curators stopping through. But now, why such a muted (or non-) response from art players?
Emily Jacir, who was also @ Home Works, writes in an e-mail:
"I am sure there will be conferences organized, teach-ins and always the "hero" filmmaker who will risk life to make a documentary, the readings, the art exhibits, and the art world will eat the Lebanese artists like pieces of chocolate."
July 20, 2006
Apres Evacuation, Les Deluge?
Ironically, it is now the slow rate of evacuation that is holding IDF back. The US evacuation is a Katrina-like debacle, with "flee fee" (paying to leave! Maybe they can take up PayPal donations...), mimosas on cruise ships and rumors that lighter hues are being evacuated first. In 2006, there are (possibly) many more foreign nationals in Lebanon than in 1982, expanded by the huge number of Lebanese who took dual passports fleeing from the wars of the 1980s.
For foreign nationals who are trapped, it could be worse. You could be one of 80,000 Sri Lankans, 12,000 Indians or 10,000 Bangladeshis (unofficially twice that number). The Bangladeshis are really up s*** creek (what a surprise!) because at least the India+Sri Lanka is sending ships. Bangladesh, not having any ships nearby, is asking other nations to help evacuate their nationals. Yes, I am sure that will happen.
My father summarizes this help-thy-neighbour-except-when-he-is-blocking-fire-exit attitude with the phrase "I've got mine, up yours, Jack."
Or as the Doonesbury cartoon, post Gulf War One, portrayed conversation between two GIs:
Q: "Well, who's going to clear the landmines?"
A: "The Bangladeshis should be rested."
"Apres Moi, Le Deluge." With thousands of foreign nationals at risk, you can be certain Israel is holding back. What will happen after everyone leaves?
>Naeem Mohaiemen
August 11, 2006
Those Left Behind
I woke up this morning wondering what will happen next. When war ends? Peace breaks out? Or reap the whirlwind? Will it take forever to heal the anger?
Will people still wonder "Why Do They Hate Us/US?"
Fareed Zakaria will probably still be around to explain all this to us. Look for the anniversary NEWSWEEK cover story any time now.
Robert Fisk predicts: " A terrible thought occurs to me - that there will be another 9/11".
For some reason, a penultimate sentence from Bret Easton Ellis' wilfully meta novel LUNAR PARK (an elaborate mea culpa for AMERICAN PSYCHO) is stuck in my head:
"From those of us who are left behind: you will be remembered, you were the one I needed, I loved you in my dreams."
August 8, 2006
Henri Levy & Rockets
War is settling into a nice comfortable groove. A double shot of espresso please. Tired of rapidfire news updates, endless UN resolutions, US arm-twisting, vapid platitudes, impotent OIC maneuvering, street rage, intense blogs. As if anything moves the dial.
Bernard-Henri Levy loses the plot in this weekend's Sunday NYT Magazine. Forget the pain of others, Levy thinks the world is actually biased in favor of Arabs.
Here's the clincher:
"Maybe we shouldn't say "rocket" anymore. In French, at least, the word seems to belittle the thing, and implies an entire biased vision of this war. In Franglais, for example, we call a yapping dog a rocket, roquet; the word conjures a little dog whose bark is worse than his bite and who nibbles at your ankles. ... So why not say "bomb"? Or "missile"? Why not try, using the right word, to restore the barbaric, fanatical violence to this war that was desired by Hezbollah and by it alone? The politics of words. The geopolitics of metaphor. Semantics, in this region, is now more than ever a matter of morality."
"a little dog whose bark is..."
Oh Bernard...what twists and turns
July 28, 2006
Lebanese Artists As Chocolate
I've been thinking about last year's Home Works III show in Beirut. From the generosity of Ashkal Alwan, and Lebanese artists like Walid Raad, many of us were able to present work here. There was a frenetic buzz during the week, with many European curators stopping through. But now, why such a muted (or non-) response from art players?
Emily Jacir, who was also @ Home Works, writes in an e-mail:
"I am sure there will be conferences organized, teach-ins and always the "hero" filmmaker who will risk life to make a documentary, the readings, the art exhibits, and the art world will eat the Lebanese artists like pieces of chocolate."
July 20, 2006
Apres Evacuation, Les Deluge?
Ironically, it is now the slow rate of evacuation that is holding IDF back. The US evacuation is a Katrina-like debacle, with "flee fee" (paying to leave! Maybe they can take up PayPal donations...), mimosas on cruise ships and rumors that lighter hues are being evacuated first. In 2006, there are (possibly) many more foreign nationals in Lebanon than in 1982, expanded by the huge number of Lebanese who took dual passports fleeing from the wars of the 1980s.
For foreign nationals who are trapped, it could be worse. You could be one of 80,000 Sri Lankans, 12,000 Indians or 10,000 Bangladeshis (unofficially twice that number). The Bangladeshis are really up s*** creek (what a surprise!) because at least the India+Sri Lanka is sending ships. Bangladesh, not having any ships nearby, is asking other nations to help evacuate their nationals. Yes, I am sure that will happen.
My father summarizes this help-thy-neighbour-except-when-he-is-blocking-fire-exit attitude with the phrase "I've got mine, up yours, Jack."
Or as the Doonesbury cartoon, post Gulf War One, portrayed conversation between two GIs:
Q: "Well, who's going to clear the landmines?"
A: "The Bangladeshis should be rested."
"Apres Moi, Le Deluge." With thousands of foreign nationals at risk, you can be certain Israel is holding back. What will happen after everyone leaves?
>Naeem Mohaiemen