By Yodeni Masó and Leslie Alonso Figueroa on October 2, from Beirut
the building that held a little piece of Cuba. photo: PL/ Yodeni Masó
The US – Israeli genocidal war is getting closer to home. This morning the building in Beirut where Resumen Latinoamericano’s Middle East correspondent Wafica Ibrahim lived was leveled by the IDF; fortunately she was not home at the time. – Editorial
Beirut’s southern suburb does not have a feel of the west, it is more anti-imperialist and Latin American and now it is under intense Israeli fire.
This morning began as Israeli planes went on a rampage and dropped bombs into the void against several of its buildings, destroying homes, massacring dreams, they even dared to do so under the false narrative of aiming at military targets.
In one of those buildings,reduced to ashes, on Camille Chamoun Street, was our house, the living room that welcomed us in April 2022, the armchairs that accommodated our uncertainties, the shelter and the piece of Cuba.
With the rubble was also buried a part of us who for more than two years as correspondents in Lebanon would frequently reach the second floor to heal the absences of working more than 10,000 kilometers away from home.
Marhabá, miiin (Hello, who is it) pierced the sound of the Hadath neighborhood intercom so that the doors would open and these two rookie journalists would enter to enjoy the best conversations and coffees of the day.
There was much to understand and learn from this region condemned to live under the pressure of Zionism, but we returned home protected, from the balcony of the American neighborhood a hand waved goodbye.
Wafica Ibrahim, photo: Bill Hackwell
The apartment had an Arab living room for conversations with politicians, intellectuals, honored visitors, family parties, and another “Cuban style”, with wooden armchairs and the traditional decoration of our island, that which its owners carried with them since 1991 when they finished their 11 years of living together in the largest of the Antilles.
We never lacked the maternal love, the protection of our brothers, the affection of our uncles and aunts and good friends, nor the sorrows and joys shared after seeing the birth of little Omar Camilo and saying goodbye to young Hussein.
The uncertainty of the early days of the war, the loss of Al Mayadeen correspondents Farah and Rabih, and even our colds in the winters, were healed by the warmth of its walls and narrow corridors.
Nowhere else in Lebanon could one eat the tabbouleh and fattoush that we savored in its dining room, where we were also accompanied by friends from Latin America and the world, because it was the home of many.
Family photos, faces of loving parents who are no longer here, titles and diplomas of their children, smiles of grandchildren, medals and decorations, the memories kept for decades were pulverized by the Israeli war machine.
The history of the peoples of the global south and their culture of resistance were the decoration of their walls: the images of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, the bust of Hugo Chavez, the faces of Vilma Espin and Celia Sanchez, the embroidery of our craftswomen, and Palestine.
Israel today bombed Wafy’s home and with it destroyed a piece of Cuba in the heart of the Arab world.
Source: Prensa Latina, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English