Rahbani's History Repeating Itself

The following is a translation of Rahbani's "History Repeating Itself. However, to really understand it, and to feel the saddening humor behind it, you do have to listen to it in Arabic. There are phrases that cannot be translated, and for some of these, I have left them "as is". Besides that, this is basically a work in progress ... so let me know if things should have been translated differently.

History Repeating Itself

They say, that at times, history repeats itself. But our history, I don't know why, always repeats itself.

Now it does happen at times that history repeats itself. But our history, I don't know ... I don't know why, it always does repeat itself. And it has become sick (Oo balashet til3i nafso)

And if it keeps on getting sick, our history will throw up.

I know that a long time ago, Fakhredin was content with Balouneh and it grew, today Kamel El-Ass3ad is there and it is shrinking. And history repeats itself, and is becoming sick of itself.

Our history is unbelievable. It always repeats itself. But for how long?

Till when will it keep repeating itself? Maybe our history has been punished - they've given him a 100 lines, they've given him a sentence to write out a 100 times. A government of heros, a national unity government, national peace, peace between the country's zuama.

He has to write it a 100 times. Our history is unfortunate (m3atar). He begins to say something else, he starts to do something different, and then he just begins to repeat himself.

Whenever the oppressed in Lebanon try to come together, they find a hundred ways to cluster, the Muslims alone, the Christians alone. So these unfortunate are influenced by the game, and history repeats itself.

Yaami if history is repeating for us, tell him thanks but that we've memorized it. We always insult them, and everyone joins against them, but when the elections come, we have to run and catch people so they don't vote for them. And we can't get everyone, people always slip out to vote for them, and they get reelected.

The Lebanese have a very special talent - they forget. They always forget, and what can history do if they forget? So history begins to repeat itself.

Every time a new hero arrives, these oppressed come up from their dark corners, they look at him, and say this is him, they run towards him, and have the smallest hope. Then, he either goes up to Bkirke, or goes to Aramoun. And history repeats itself.

We always get a strong hero, and is all for the people's needs, the poor leave their clothes behind and follow him. Again they follow him. And then news comes out that he is embezzling from some place, or that he has secret agreements.

And this, it's not that its dissapointing, it's not that its surprising or shocking. No, no because the people are used to the shocks. This has actually become boring. It is tiring. And history repeats itself, and still hasn't gotten bored. It hasn't become tired. I don't know how he has the patience to repeat himself this much.

Everytime somethings comes up that might spart a revolution, a church burns, a mosque is attacked, and the strings of ignorance are unraveled, and people take advantage of what they can, and George grabs Mohamad, and Ali attacks John. And they become a team, and someone prophecizes, and there is always someone who prophecizes that "We are all brothers".

And history repeats itself.

Damn it. As if it has nothing else to do. The deprived in Lebanon need only a quarter of an hour. They only need a quarter of an hour to meet somewhere, without anyone noticing them, without anyone knowing that they had met, without anyone talking to them, without anyone telling them what they should do. They only have to meet once. Meet. Look at each other, at each other's clothes to see that they are the same. To see that poverty is the same. That poverty has no religion. And that the religion of poverty is poverty. To see that the caloused hands are all the same. But history repeats itself, and they have never met, not even once.

The history of 6 and 6 repeated (siti wa siti m'karrar) never let them meet, since it repeats itself so much. Our history is 6 and 6 repeated.

At the end of every school year, we have a group of students who know French history, and another group who know Arab history. And no one who knows Lebanese history. And Lebanese history, at the end of every school year, repeats itself. When students revise before the exam, they revise others.

Some french history, others arab history, and our history itself.

Every time a war starts in Lebanon, sectarianism comes in and transforms it. Some go with this transformed war, and others don't. And there are people, like us, who complain that sectarianism is muddling the true war. And there are people who listen to this, and are convinced, and nod their heads and say you are right. And they are sorry. And history repeats itself.

Ya akhol shliteh ya tarikhna.

Ya akhol shliteh ya tarikhna, I know all our zuama are part of you (dakhlin feek). And all of us are part of you. Bas ya akhol shliteh ya tarikhna.

Where are you from? Wlek what's your nationality. What are the days that pass through you?

Bas lek, look at me good, I'm talking to you. There isn't a person who doesn't understand, there are people who take time to understand, sometimes he takes a very long time, but then he does understand. And there isn't a nation who won't come around. There are people who take a long time to come around. At times they'll take a very long time, as much as we have, but eventually they will finally wake up.

posted by Lazarus, 10:53 PM