BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Michel Hayek, Lebanon's most famous psychic, predicted an Israeli incursion into the south -- and since the fighting began, he's been fielding calls from frantic Lebanese and Arabs asking how long the conflict will last, if the economy will crash and if they should leave the country.
Hayek tells his callers they have to make their own decisions. But he also said he is not fleeing Lebanon.
"That reassures them, and many have decided to stay because I'm staying," the tall, dark-haired, 39-year-old psychic told The Associated Press Monday.
Skeptics may shrug off Hayek's predictions as nothing more than pure chance. But it's not the first time he's been right. Hayek said he gets his visions by tuning in to "the billions and billions of vibrations in the sphere."
In his annual TV appearance on New Year's Eve in 2004, Hayek said a huge attack in the capital would disrupt life in downtown Beirut. Six weeks later, a car bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He also warned that anti-Syrian lawmaker Gibran Tueni would be targeted for assassination. Tueni was brutally murdered Dec. 12. Hayek says his prognostications cover 18 months.
Magazines later reported more of his predictions from that Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV appearance.
The April-May 2005 issue of Al-Hadath Al-Arabi Wal Duwali reported that Hayek predicted a massive Israeli offensive and incursion would occur in Lebanon, and that Beirut's airport would be touched by an incident.
Beirut airport has been a target of Israeli bombardment during the offensive.
The Feb. 7, 2005 issue of Al-Shiraa magazine listed two of Hayek's other predictions:
* We will see piles of garbage in Lebanon.
* Accidents will be reported in Israel's air force.
Garbage is indeed filling Lebanon's streets because the offensive has prevented garbage collectors from doing their jobs. On Monday, an Israeli Apache helicopter crashed near the Lebanese border while last week two Apache attack helicopters collided in northern Israel.
Since that set of predictions, Hayek has kept a low profile, saying he does not want to be the bearer of bad news. Plus, he was getting threatening calls and faced accusations he has privileged access to information because he works for the secret service, a charge he denies.
"My kind of fame is a headache. I need special skills to deal with it," Hayek said.
What does he foresee for Lebanon's future?
Hayek said Lebanon will thrive in the long term and he senses something positive about the economy that he may soon announce.
"While everyone is talking about the destruction of the infrastructure and the economy and while everyone is taking stock of the losses, I see progress instead of decline and I see the glory of the economy preparing to shine over all of Lebanon," Hayek said.
* __
Some Lebanese are working out their war tensions at the gym. Others are venting by spending money.
At a fancy boutique in a popular mall, saleswomen attend to customers as a Christian Mass blares from speakers instead of the usual Western pop music. Prayers, one saleswoman said, were more appropriate than music while fighting rages in the south between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
Business is brisk, said 34-year-old Gigi Gibran, who works at the boutique, because the store has slashed prices by 70 percent.
"Plus, people are fed up with watching the news on TV," she said.
Many Beirut stores have been sending cell phone text messages to their clients, wishing them well and informing them of bargain sales that normally take place at the end of summer.
Gibran said that while some stores are doing well, the mall's cafes have been largely empty.
"People are so nervous they don't want to loiter," she said. "They come, snap up bargains and then go home to eat."
But not everything is on sale.
There were no "for sale" tags on a row of fancy suitcases and carry-on bags that stood in the middle of a department store.
"This is the stuff that's going fast," said one saleswoman. "We're not reducing their price."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... &cset=true
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
