NumberNineDream

Yes we should stick together

Arabic countries in General:

There's a huge difference in dialect, as actual "Arabic" is a dead language, so I can't really understand Moroccan or Kuwaiti, unless they talk Official Arabic (as in the Arabic used in the Quran). Lebanon and its surrounding countries (Syria - Jordan - Palestine) have a lot of similarities, in dialect, habits, History, food, music etc ... Arabic countries can be separated into groups, that are very different from each other. I think we can have the middle-eastern countries, the coutries of the Arabic Gulf, North East African countries, West African Countries and finally the ones in Center Africa.

Concerning Lebanon:

I guess the weather differs a lot from the other countries, I think we're the only country where it snows in the winter. We can ski in the winter and go to the beach in the summer.
Our educational system is a bit different also. Most educated people speak 3 languages, or at least understand French, English and Arabic. There's a lot of different sects, which makes it a bit hard to live, but it's always better than having one religion forced upon us. We're the only country that hasn't signed a peace contract with Israel (other than Syria, but that's another story), and also the only one without a dictator ruling us.
We don't really have a good democratic political system, but we have a bit more freedom than in all other countries.

What I like about my country:

_I think it is the easier Arabic country to live in, there's a bit more freedom to women. We don't have to wrap a towel on our head, or be banned from driving.
_There's some artists we can be proud of, and that I don't think I would be able to know if I wasn't born here.
_The people in Music and Film are part of a very small society. Which makes it much easier to know everyone in the business, and to be known in the whole country. And if you're known in Lebanon, you're known in all the Arabic countries.

My many dislikes:

_We have no decent internet connection, DVD, music or book store, and the good artists are always shadowed by fake commercial ones.
_Lebanese people tend to feel they're the higher population on Earth, which is ridiculous considering how retarded they are.
_We have no civil law, the law treats everyone considering his religion. So we're not all equal in the face of the law.
_A mother can't give her nationality to her son or husband (mostly to ban Palestinians from getting the Lebanese nationality this way).
_Gay people are considered perverts and criminals, and can be put in jail for being so.
_Everyone is born with his parents' religion, and there's nothing called "Atheist" or "Agnostic" in law. So now, I'm considered to be a Christian Maronite, though in reality I'm not. Plus, we don't have civil marriage, which makes inter-sectarian marriages even more difficult.

I guess that's about it for now.

Can I ask the same questions about your country ? As I don't really know much about it either... and we do need to stick together.

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