Curse of the Achille Lauro by al-Nimer Reem

Author:al-Nimer, Reem
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cune Press
Published: 2014-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

My Life in Ras Beirut

Ras Beirut. 1980. My new life.

I rented an apartment for myself and my two children in tony Ras Beirut not too far from our family home in the seven-story Nimer Building that my father had built at the corner of Rue Sadat and Rue Hamra. Ras Beirut was situated on the bluff above the Mediterranean, a brief walk from the corniche where lovers dallied, kids kicked soccer balls, grandmothers pushed strollers, students made early morning jogs, and the under class fished with long poles and swam from the rocks as the gentle surging swells kissed the seawall. We were not too far from the American University of Beirut campus which perched on the steep hillside above the corniche and looked out on the Mediterranean as if were viewing history. AUB had emerged from the ferment and promise of an independent Arab culture under Ottoman rule. In the early 1800s Protestant printing presses came to Beirut from France and soon were cranking out inspiring cultural and political literature in addition to religious publications. A number of religious schools emerged. In the 1860s, AUB be-came one of them.

The intellectual component of the Palestinian resistance was shaped at AUB by prominent students such as Wadih Haddad and George Habash as well as professors such as Constantine Zureik. AUB students, many of them internationals, filled the many small eateries on level ground facing the university: shish tawouk, shawarma, and falafel. A few blocks away, Hamra Street featured fine dining, gold plated banks, and high end retailers.

Beirut. 1980. I enroll at BUC.

In 1980, after my divorce, I resumed my studies at Beirut University College (now the Lebanese American University). BUC was located in Ras Beirut above Hamra Street, a two minute walk from our family home. Upon graduation, I was hired by the Beirut Bank of Commerce where my father was the general manager—my second job after leaving home as an adult. Since the Civil War had intensified, the bank had left its headquarters on Banks’ Street and moved a ten minute walk west to the corner of Hamra and Sadat Streets. It took space in the ground floor of the Nimer Building. After work, it was easy for me to visit my family upstairs before walking home to my apartment nearby.

As an employee of the Beirut Bank of Commerce, I was not favored. My father treated me just like the others. I had to request an appointment in advance through his secretary, if I wanted to see him at the bank. He made sure that I addressed him properly as “Mr. Nimer,” and I was especially careful about showing up for work on time, since Rifaat Bey was very religious about punctuality. Rifaat probably leaned too far in his efforts to be even-handed. He was often more harsh when dealing with me than with other employees.

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