Seppe Sandra’s Reviews > Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon > Status Update

“There were no birds and almost no people. ‘This was a house of fourteen people,’ the teenager said. He had a sprouting black moustache and carried his automatic rifle over his shoulder in an easy, familiar manner. The indifferent way in which he spoke was impressive, setting him apart from the blue-suited propagandist who needed this devastation to prove his point.”

"Tea and Marlboros became the story of the Palestinian revolution. The tea was always sweet, the sugar poured into the pot before the glasses were filled. The cigarettes were always offered with a slight flourish, the packet banged against the palm of the hand to ensure that the tobacco was well packed. It was as if the guerrillas did nothing but fire machine-guns at ridge-lines, drink tea, chain-smoke and sleep."