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Poland and Lebanon unite in the name of “Love and Coexistence” / La Pologne et le Liban ensemble au nom de “L’amour et la coéxistence”

poster copy Poland and Lebanon unite in the name of Love and Coexistence /   La Pologne et le Liban ensemble au nom de L’amour et la coéxistence

“Love and Coexistence”, is a unique music workshop that will take place on March 16th and 17th in EM Chill.

This unique event is not only about music. It is a celebration of love and partnership between two cultures that have historical ties.

Thanks to their thirst for knowledge and creativity, Polish musicians Maria Pomianowska and Bart Palyga will do their best to transfer their musical know-how while presenting the participants with traditional and old sounds of forgotten instruments.

The two Polish artists will also compose songs blending different cultural influences, the essence of both countries’ traditions and will present it in and original and modern way in order to come up with a new form of musical expression.

At the end of the workshop, two concerts will take place. Music played during these events will be inspired by early and traditional Polish and Arabic music. All participants will have a role to play in this major performance.

The polish musicians will make use the most outstanding Polish contemporary poetry (including Nobel Prize winners - Wislawa Szymborska and Czeslaw Milosz), in order to perform outstanding bilingual duets.

Maria Pomianowska is the winner of numerous awards, not only in Poland but all over the world. During her hundreds of journeys in search for old sounds, she reached the roots of many cultures. Maria studied the theory and practice of playing many instruments. She was the first woman in the world, who was allowed to learn to play the Indian sarangy, and her extraordinary talent as a composer and discoverer of long-forgotten instruments had been appreciated by the Japanese imperial court, where she spent 5 years as the Empress’s musician.

Thanks to her experience she was asked to establish the first Polish faculty of ethnic music at the University of Cracow. There, with her passion and help of young musicians the old instruments revived and gained the voice again.

In Lebanon, Maria will direct workshops together with Bart Palyga, one of the first musicians playing Polish reconstructed instruments, comprehensively gifted instrumentalist, who performed e.g. with the oldest Polish band which was inspired to find new way of expression for folk and exotic sounds, Yerba Mater.

The two musicians create innovative sounds and compositions using classical music and folk, but enriched with experiences from Asia and the Arab World. They don’t hesitate to mix them with modern music. For the first time in Lebanon, the audience will be able to hear the sound of reconstructed Polish instruments from the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, discovered and restored to the world by Maria Pomianowska.

“Love and Coexistence” will involve the best Lebanese artists, presenting traditional but also modern music: Bassem Deaibess (vocalist of metal band Blaakyum), Johnny Girges (classic guitar), Adel Harb (classic guitar, flamenco), Ara Seferian (sounds and effects). Together, on the basis of the most beautiful Polish poems, translated especially for this event by Hatif Janabi, a poet and a PhD in Arabic literature at the University of Warsaw, they will create a unique story about love, sadness, sense of loss, but also happiness and coexistence in the modern world.

Workshops were created at the initiative of Marta Gorska, Polish journalist and cultural animator and organizers: Rabih Aouad (owner of the EM Chill) and Moustapha Yamouth alias Zico (Zico House owner). The initiative is supported by the Polish Embassy in Beirut, Association of Polish Community in Lebanon and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

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« L’amour et la Coéxistence » est un concept inédit venu de Pologne, proposant aux Libanais, en hommage à la rencontre culturelle des deux pays, un workshop musical et deux concerts, qui auront lieu, les 16 et 17 mars prochain à EM Chill et au Zico House.

Cet événement unique n’est pas seulement une histoire de musique. Il célèbre l’amour et la coopération entre deux cultures, fortes d’un lien historique.

Grâce à leur soif de connaissance et de créativité, les musiciens polonais Maria Pomianowska et Bart Palyga auront à cœur de transmettre leur savoir faire musical aux participants, en leur faisant découvrir d’anciennes sonorités traditionnelles d’instruments polonais oubliés.

Au cours du workshop, inspirés par différentes influences culturelles, les musiciens composeront des morceaux imprégnés par l’essence des traditions des deux pays. La création sera présentée, dans une manière originale et moderne pour donner vie à une nouvelle forme d’expression musicale, lors de deux concerts inédits. Tous les participants auront alors leur rôle à jouer.

Les musiciens polonais feront appel à la plus remarquable des poésies contemporaines polonaises (notamment les lauréats du Prix Nobel – Wislawa Szymborska et Czeslaw Milosz) pour exécuter des duos bilingues exceptionnels.

Maria Pomianowska est lauréate de plusieurs récompenses en Pologne, mais également à travers le monde. Grâce à quelques centaines de voyages en quête de sonorités anciennes, elle est arrivée aux racines de multiples cultures. Maria a étudié la théorie et la pratique d’instruments variés. Elle a été notamment la première femme à obtenir la permission d’apprendre à jouer le sarangy indien. Son talent de compositrice et de « découvreuse » d’instruments longtemps oubliés, lui ont valu, par ailleurs, l’intérêt de la cours impériale du Japon, où Maria a passé cinq ans comme musicienne de l’Impératrice.

Grâce à son expérience, il lui a été demandé d’établir la première faculté de musique ethnique à l’Université de Cracovie. Sa passion et l’aide de jeunes musiciens ont permis à d’anciens instruments de musique de renaître et faire entendre leur voix de nouveau.

Au Liban, Maria dirigera les ateliers avec Bart Palyga, un des premiers musiciens à jouer avec des instruments polonais recomposés. Instrumentaliste talentueux et complet, il a entre autre joué avec le premier groupe polonais ayant cherché une nouvelle manière d’exprimer des sonorités folkloriques et exotiques, Yerba Mater.

Les deux musiciens élaborent des sonorités et compositions novatrices, déployant une musique classique et ethnique revisitée aux contacts d’expériences tirées d’Asie et du monde Arabe. Un savant mélange qu’ils n’hésitent pas à mixer avec de la musique moderne. Pour la première fois au Liban, le public aura la chance d’écouter la mélodie d’instruments polonais du XVIème et du XIXème siècle, retrouvés et restaurés pour le plaisir de nos oreilles par Maria Pomianowska.

“L’amour et la Coéxistence” impliquera quelques uns des meilleurs artistes libanais, garants de la musique arabe traditionnelle mais également moderne: Bassem Deaibess (chanteur du groupe métal Blaakyum), Johnny Girges (guitariste classique), Adel Harb (guitariste classique et de flamenco) et Ara Seferian (ingénieur effets et sons).

Ensemble, sur la base des plus beaux poèmes polonais, traduits spécialement pour l’occasion par Hatif Janabi, poète et docteur en littérature arabe à l’Université de Varsovie, ils composeront une histoire unique autour des thèmes de l’amour, de la tristesse, de la perte, mais également de la joie et de la coexistence dans le monde moderne.

Cet atelier a été créé à l’initiative de Marta Gorska, journaliste polonaise et animatrice culturelle, des organisateurs Rabih Aouad (EM Chill) et Moustapha Yamouth alias Zico (Zico House). Le projet est soutenu par l’Ambassade de Pologne à Beyrouth, l’Association de la Communauté des Polonais au Liban et de l’Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

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Women are human beings and an integral part of the Lebanese society

When I wrote about rape a few months ago, a myriad of mixed reactions and even all sorts of threats fell upon me.

Some guys accused me of lies and “black marketing”; saying that I was scaring tourists off Lebanon (R.I.P. freedom of speech) and that people who wrote like this deserved raping.

They showed exactly what I was talking about. These guys are the same one who embrace violence and pretend they care… schizophrenia at its best! This is a personal non-political blog. Thank you.

Rape, domestic violence, verbal and sexual harassment are still considered as “sensitive” subjects. Parents throw the responsibility for sexual education on schools…some schools either don’t have enough budget or the right personnel to do something about it. So what happens is that students only get 2-3 hours of sexual education during 12-15 years of schooling. Some parents even raise their girls in the “Whatever happens to you is your mistake.”, “If you get raped, I will kill you.” and “It’s your husband; deal with it.”

When a rape happens, a heavy weighted silence is imposed on the girl because the family has a reputation to maintain and can’t “deal with the shame”. The girl is either given away for a quick marriage or taken to “reconstructive surgery”. In the event where a girl does report the rape to the police it is treated in an ill manner: They make her repeat the story a million times, tell her things like “you must have wanted/looked for this to happen”, give her personal contact to the family’s rapist, attempt to make her give up the case in exchange of money, leave her with no assistance nor protection etc..

In the workplace, it is sometimes worse: Some managers in some companies should be placed in mental institutions. Their criteria for hiring women are questionable, they give less to a woman than a man doing the same job, verbally and sexually harass women employees who have no one to turn to and family to support…  Some sick managers even base their promotions on sexual favors.

We consider ourselves a “modern” society? Reminder: Women are HUMAN BEINGS and an INTEGRAL part of the Lebanese society. It took a man AND a WOMAN to make you.

Abuse happens when there are no CLEAR laws and penalties that are written to protect citizens. This has to STOP!

Everyone needs to be aware and trained on how to tackle these issues including company staff, police etc…

On Saturday, 14 January 2012, at 12 pm,  Nasawiya is calling for a march from  the Ministry of Interior in Sanayeh to the Parliament in Downtown Beirut.

“We, the women who reside in Lebanon, excuse ourselves from playing the decorative role that has been imposed on us.

We take to the streets today to say that we are aware and knowledgeable about the methodical war that state and society have waged on our bodies and our safety through their political parties and leaders.

From now on, we will not accept empty promises that are heaped upon us every time we call for our rights.

We will not give in to patience. We will not bite our wounds and postpone the battles of today to tomorrow.

Our voices will be louder than the bickering between your parties and your sporadic yet connected wars.

We call on Parliament to:

  1. Pass the draft law for Protection from Domestic Violence as it has been written and with no delay.
  2. Intensify punitive measures against rapists and those who attempt rape, amending the respective law. 
  3. Treat verbal harassment as physical harassment, especially in the work place, making it a crime subject to judicial penalties. 
  4. Deal with complaints related to sexual violence with rigor and consistency. We call on the Interior Ministry and the Municipalities to also apply those measures. The three bodies should work to make our streets and neighborhoods safe, especially during the night-time, by ensuring proper street-lighting, and permitting us to carry tools of self-defense, like taser guns and pepper spray.

We extend this invitation to all women and girls who have been exposed to rape or attempted rape or harassment in all its forms, to all so-called “housewives” that have been subjected to beating and verbal abuse, to all those employees, teachers, activists, workers and union leaders who experience sexual abuse time and time again, and to all those who feel the injustice and lack of equality. [...]

We women no longer possess anything but solidarity with one another. We must stand shoulder to shoulder and unite. What lies before us is the last of our battles: the defense of our rights, bodies and security.

We have nothing to lose but our chains. The time is now.”

demo banner blue Women are human beings and an integral part of the Lebanese society

More about this event on Facebook.

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Homemade Holiday Cake

Remember these?

461148950 Homemade Holiday Cake

470790577 Homemade Holiday Cake

It’s the holiday cakes’ season! Actually, they are so yum they can be made all year round with different shapes.

We’ve gone all festive this year making holiday cakes and distributing them since a lot of people loved them.

DSC 6279 Homemade Holiday Cake

Homemade Chocolate Holiday Cake: 30cm. No buttercream. No gluten.

Cakes serve 10 to 12 people. If you would like to put an order, have specific preferences (Smarties, White chocolate etc.. you name it!), ask about prices or any questions, please contact me. (We will stop within 10 days.)

Why do they taste so good? We only use fresh ingredients. We decorate with them too. No buttercream. No gluten. We grow our strawberries. Cakes are made during the same day of delivery. It’s not the regular commercial cake found in the market.

Ameena Homemade Holiday Cake

Homemade Holiday Cake 300x185 Homemade Holiday Cake20111222 153032 2 300x180 Homemade Holiday Cake20111222 141300 2 300x180 Homemade Holiday CakeHoliday Cake 4 300x180 Homemade Holiday Cake

 

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Where to search for New Year’s Eve events in Lebanon?

It’s getting closer and closer. People start asking “So, what are you up to this up coming New Year’s Eve”? Some will stay home while others will spend the night someplace else.

It was always hard to look for offers. I mean, you either have to stick with places you already know or wait for some print or TV advertisement to have an idea of what is going on.

Yesterday, I found out about a cool website that made the search much much easier: New Year in Lebanon.

It’s pretty user friendly, straight to the point and it’s also adapted for mobile users if you are on the go. Personally, I thought it was a good idea to have everything in one place; it really saves time.

Places can post about their event for free. It’s win-win for everyone!

So what are your plans for this New Year’s Eve?

nye 2012 Where to search for New Years Eve events in Lebanon?

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BSP TURNS ONE: Anniversary Photo Event!

BSPTurnsOne BSP TURNS ONE: Anniversary Photo Event!

Join us in celebrating a year of street photography with BSP and plenty of other fun activities on Tuesday November 22. The event will also mark the opening of BSP’s first exhibition of street photos and the winners from the “My Street” contest at Tawlet.

Winners for “My Street” street photo contest will be announced and receive valuable gifts courtesy of Taswir. Be the first to see their photos!

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: EpiSode will be performing selected songs from their upcoming album just for the occasion!

TICKETS: 25,000 LL – includes Saj fresh from the grill, plenty of little bites by Tawlet and drinks (2 soft drinks or beers per ticket OR 1 alcoholic beverage of your choice). Limited tickets!

Full proceeds from ticket sales will go towards raising funds for BSP’s upcoming activities for the year 2012.

Tickets will be available starting next week.

ADDRESS:
Tawlet – Souk el Tayeb
Naher Street
Chalhoub Building
Mar Mikhael, Beirut
Tel: 01 448 129

SPONSORS:
Taswir
http://www.taswir.com/

EVENT PARTNERS:
Tawlet
http://www.tawlet.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Tawlet

PERFORMANCE BY:
EpiSode
http://www.facebook.com/episode.band

Interested in donating a gift for the raffle or covering the event? Contact us at beirutstreetphotographers@gmail.com

PHOTO CREDITS:

B – Nadim Kamel
S – “Street Kids” by Lindsay Manzella
P – Loryne Atoui
T – “Keep Walking” by Soha Menassa
U – Karim Mustafa
R – “Crossed before Crossing” by Thomas Leuthard
N – “Do not abandon me… As worn out as I am, I can shine even more” by Lara Khatchikian
S – “Fall, starting $19.99″ by Fadi BouKaram
O – “A Fishermen’s Walk” by Imad Daou
N – “السيرفيس” by Farah Al Hashim
E – Imad Haddad

// Design by Loryne Atoui

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