From a distance...

My apologies for not posting any news on the blog for the last week, but I am currently in The Netherlands for a small operation. This gives me the opportunity to be on the outside looking in…and that’s not easy at all. Strange as it may seem, but being in dangerous Lebanon is by far better than being in safe Holland.

It’s the same feeling expressed many times by people who left during the July War, namely that in hindsight they preferred to stay in Lebanon. Anxiety runs much higher when you’re away: Information is sparse and you miss the feeling of control over the situation. Especially in my case it’s tough because my wife and daughter are in Lebanon. You wish you could do more, but all you have left is to read the Internet (long live blogs! They truly have the most information) and to thank God or Allah for Skype.

What’s even more unreal is watching the news in Holland. The top story last week was a monkey called Bokito who severely maimed a female visitor. She was quite a fan of the gorilla since she visited him at least 4 times a week for a couple of hours. See the video where she’s almost French kissing Bokito, were it not for the glass. Immediately, the question arose if the woman had not somehow contributed to her misery by seeking such close contact with the monkey. Tons of experts gave their opinions and lots of blah-blah-blah.

At times like these you realize how blessed the Dutch are, and the whole western world for that matter. While the Lebanese are deciding if they should send their children to school the next day, the Dutch are analyzing the ins and outs of the gorilla’s behavior. Like anybody cares!

Ah well, I am "comfortably numb" on pain killers to really care right now. Once the initial discomfort wears off, I’ll blog again from abroad. It shouldn’t take too long, so stay tuned:-)