Weeping in the Wind — M.I. Quandour

Beirut was one of the most exciting cosmopolitan cities in the world. It was often referred to as the Paris of the East. The Lebanese, especially the Christians of Lebanon, consider themselves descendents of the French and Western Crusader cultures. But the culture of Lebanon and the Lebanese people are more complex than that.

They emerged from various civilizations over thousands of year. It was home to the Phoenicians who were subsequently conquered and occupied by the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Arabs, the Crusaders, the Ottoman Turks, and the French.

In recent years the incursion of Palestinians complicated the social fabric which had survived with a delicate formula of accommodation between several diverse segments of its society. This story specifically deals with that intrusion and its impact not just on the demographics or politics but also the social fabric of the Lebanese society.