Driving in Lebanon is not for the faint-hearted. Unfortunately, its not uncommon to see people driving the wrong way down streets, cutting in front of you aggressively, not stopping at red lights, and flashing their headlights and honking their horn behind you because they think you are driving too slow. Join Mariam as she takes us on a journey to explore driving in Lebanon. Don’t worry, she is a safe driver. Be sure to buckle up!
Lebanese Arabic Transcript and English Contextual Translation
1
ما جربت ولا فكرت إني أتعلم السواقة بلبنان إلا بعد ما توظفت وصرت قادرة اشتري سيارة، لأن مخاطر السواقة بلبنان خلتني اتجنب فكرة إني استعير سيارة أهلي ولو لمرة، فالمسؤولية كبيرة كون المفاجآت عالطريق بأغلب مناطق لبنان كتيرة وما بتنعد.
I never tried or thought of learning how to drive in Lebanon until I got employed and was then able to buy a car, because the dangers of driving in Lebanon made me avoid the idea of borrowing my parents’ car even once; the responsibility is big given that the surprises on the road in most of Lebanon’s areas are plenty and uncountable.
2
وبتذكر إنو دفتر السواقة كان كابوس بالنسبة إلي. خليني خبركن بالأول شو يعني دفتر السواقة. هالدفتر بيعني رخصة سواقة، يعني وثيقة أو بطاقة مناخدا من الدولة بعد اجتياز امتحان السواقة وبتكون دليل على إننا منقدر نسوق سيارة أو موتسيك مثلاً، حسب الامتحان اللي قدمناه، بشكل قانوني.
I remember that the driving license was a nightmare to me. Let me first tell you what does daftar al-swe’a means. This daftar means a driving license. It means a document or a card we take from the government after passing the driving test, and it is then a proof that we are able to drive a car or motorcycle, according to the test we took, in a legal way.