Only In Liban....Again!

It was Friday afternoon, and I was on the Beirut-Tripoli highway trying to get me back home. As you all know, the highway suffer an unbelievable traffic jam, especially trying to go to North on a Friday afternoon.

I left Achrafieh round 3:00 pm. It took me more than an hour to reach Jounieh, and I just was able to pass after "Halat Bridge" conversion, so I was glad that finally I'll be able to drive my car a little bit faster as normal people should on highways.

But, and since it is Liban, you can never ask for normality! And so, my hopes were crushed near "Barbara Bridge", where there was an unexplained traffic jam. I thought to myself "God help us, I hope it is not an accident". Then I saw the "Lebanese Red Cross" flag on the highway, which made me almost sure that a huge accident just took place, and that we're stuck for good.

15 minutes later, the picture became clear. NO, it wasn't an accident causing the traffic jam. NO, it wasn't the Red Cross personnel trying to help someone that is causing the traffic jam. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the real reason, it was just...I don't know what to call it actually....

Red Cross personnel were cutting the HIGHWAY, and asking people for donations! In Europe, people pay MONEY so they can use the highway to get to their destination FAST, and here in Liban, we cut the highway for donations! As if all the usual everyday traffic jam is not enough, and as if having to spend two hours to get from Beirut to Tripoli (77 Kms in two hours!!!??), now we have to tolerate getting in traffic jam for donations!!!!

Don't get me wrong here, the Lebanese Red Cross is a great institution in Liban, and the job it's doing is enormous. And we should ALL help it, and make generous donations so that they can continue doing the great job they are doing. But it is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO CUT THE HIGHWAY, on Friday afternoon, so that you ask for donations. I mean COME ON!!!!

But again...only in Liban would such things happen....