Bearers of bad tidings

French TV journalist Wissam Sharaf is leaving France and heading back to his native Lebanon. But, he’s not heading there for some ‘get back to my root’s’ goodness. He thinks Lebabon is “gonna move” And he’s not alone. The Los Angeles Times reports on how journalists are seen as the harbingers of doom by the Lebanese population in Beirut,

“In general it’s not positive to see a lot of journalists,” says Michel Attar, who runs an antiques shop in the Hamra district. “They’re not tourists. They’re not here to buy. It’s not a good sign that they’re here.”
Recently, Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker Katia Jarjoura got an unexpected phone call from a French freelance war photographer. She didn’t even say hello to him.
“I told him, ‘It’s not a good sign that you’re calling me,’ ” she says. “He wanted to know if I could host him if he came to Lebanon, because he senses it’s going to explode.” link