Between cluster bombs and my childhood

a warning sign for cluster-bombs in my fields

I am on holidays in Lebanon
in my hometown of Bhamdoun.

I go down the hill terraces to pick up
the grapes and the figs,
for which Bhamdoun always was famous.

In 1982 and 1983 the Israeli army occupied us
with the help of the fascists-forces (so called-Christians)
and after Israelis left , they handed it over to the
other fascists-forces (so called-Druzes).

The result was a whole scale massacre in
my hometown........
That is history now, .............I hope,

Nonetheless I pick up each sunrise my fresh grapes
among Israeli-cluster-bombs.

We own a small vineyard ,
in front of which are the cluster-bombs (still to be removed)
and behind it is a villa built by a Kuwaiti rich-man......

This seems as an absurd and surreal picture,
but it is true and I am standing in the middle of it.

The Israelis have left 4 million cluster bombs in the Lebanon
and about a couple of hundreds are still in my hometown-vineyards.

Raja
on vacation....in my Paradise
15.09.2011

PS :
Since 2006 about 400 victims lost their lives because
of those left over cluster bombs.....all over Lebanon.
That is 7.5% of the victims of 911
If you add the other victims of the 2006 war,
the total would be 50% of  the 911.....