Tastes odd

" Nahr el Bared is a horror story for all concerned. The refugee camp has been totally destroyed, and its 30,000 or so Palestinian inhabitants have been displaced yet again, with little chance of resuming a normal life anytime soon. Nearly 140 Lebanese Army soldiers have been killed and many others wounded, as have a similar number of militants. Rebuilding or moving the camp elsewhere will rekindle Palestinian-Lebanese political sensitivities. Only suffering, death, political discord and disjuncture emanate from Nahr al-Bared. You hear the explosions as you drive by.

The mortars pounding Nahr al-Bared contrasted sharply Sunday with the large stone-carved mortar in Ehden's central square in which Susanne Doueihi was pounding raw meat, spices, onions and cracked wheat into kibbeh nayyeh, or raw kibbeh. She was one of a dozen contestants who entered 15 different kinds of kibbeh into the tasting contest. She was also the only person who made her kibbeh nayyeh on the spot in the traditional hand-pounded way. Other contestants produced 15 different kinds of baked or fried kibbeh, in two other judged categories - flat kibbeh in a pan, and rounded balls of kibbeh."

Rami Khoury mixes tragedy with raw meat. I'm not sure i like the taste.