--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's…" description: "\"When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's traumatizing to drive there.\" — Yasmine Hamdan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/yasmine-hamdan-10027_beirut_when-i-go-to-beirut-i-don-t-drive-it-s-t_1072013.jpg" --- # When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's traumatizing to… ![“When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's traumatizing to drive there.” quote by Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/yasmine-hamdan-10027_beirut_when-i-go-to-beirut-i-don-t-drive-it-s-t_1072013.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/yasmine-hamdan-10027_beirut_when-i-go-to-beirut-i-don-t-drive-it-s-t_1072013.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/yasmine-hamdan-10027_beirut_when-i-go-to-beirut-i-don-t-drive-it-s-t_1072013.jpg) > “When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's traumatizing to drive there.” [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker avoids driving in Beirut because it feels unsafe and emotionally distressing. **In simple terms:** Driving in Beirut feels unsafe. Key Takeaway Consider alternative transport. Themes safety anxiety urban travel Mood uneasy reflective Type personal anecdote observational When to use this quote - commuting - tourism - daily errands - relocation Key Concepts trauma risk perception Questions to Reflect On - How does environment affect your sense of safety? - What alternatives could reduce anxiety? A Different Perspective Driving may still be necessary for some tasks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drive/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Traumatizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traumatizing/) ## Related quotes > [Every time I go to Beirut, I see people and the quality of life going slowly from bad to worse, and from worse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/every-time-i-go-to-beirut-i-see-people-and-the-quality-of-life-going/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [I sing 'Beirut' for what the city is for me, but I am also singing as an exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-sing-beirut-for-what-the-city-is-for-me-but-i-am-also-singing-as-an/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [Even painless research is fascism, supremacism, because the act of confinement is traumatizing in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/even-painless-research-is-fascism-supremacism-because-the-act-of/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [When you have an actor on set who is playing themselves in a movie that is about the most cathartic, most traumatizing event of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/when-you-have-an-actor-on-set-who-is-playing-themselves-in-a-movie/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) > [We prioritize access to guns to such a degree that we are traumatizing an entire generation of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-paige/we-prioritize-access-to-guns-to-such-a-degree-that-we-are/) [Peter Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-paige/) > [Open adoption, when it works, is fabulous. But when it goes wrong, it's so traumatizing for everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/open-adoption-when-it-works-is-fabulous-but-when-it-goes-wrong-it-s/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“I was traumatizing her. I could only hope that at three she was too young to retain any of this in memory, that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-stewart/i-was-traumatizing-her-i-could-only-hope-that-at-three-she-was-too/) [Leah Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-stewart/) > [It's fairly traumatizing for a young man to lose what you thought was a father figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/it-s-fairly-traumatizing-for-a-young-man-to-lose-what-you-thought-was/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [The honest truth is that it was just traumatizing with the piano, with the authority of the piano teacher, getting rapped across the knuckles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-zimmer/the-honest-truth-is-that-it-was-just-traumatizing-with-the-piano-with/) [Hans Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-zimmer/) > [“Winnicott’s understanding of the way experience can become traumatizing is quite different from Freud’s. Trauma for Winnicott is not just the introduction of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-mitchell/winnicott-s-understanding-of-the-way-experience-can-become/) [Stephen A. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-mitchell/) > [Abortions can be, and frequently are, traumatizing, as are other invasive surgeries performed to the sexual and internal organs. All or any of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/abortions-can-be-and-frequently-are-traumatizing-as-are-other/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) > [“Daddy, I want to be a pop singer when I grow up.’ There, it’s out, I’ve dared to voice my dream, to say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/daddy-i-want-to-be-a-pop-singer-when-i-grow-up-there-it-s-out-i-ve/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [“He was the monster that no one thought to look for in the light of day. It was a common mistake. People often believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/he-was-the-monster-that-no-one-thought-to-look-for-in-the-light-of/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Isolation is huge when you go through something traumatizing. You tend to want to isolate and kind of hide in your hole and kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bauman/isolation-is-huge-when-you-go-through-something-traumatizing-you-tend/) [Jeff Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bauman/) > [You do run and scream and cry and work yourself up into hysterics, and then you get back to the hotel at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-daddario/you-do-run-and-scream-and-cry-and-work-yourself-up-into-hysterics-and/) [Alexandra Daddario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-daddario/) ## More by Yasmine Hamdan > [Without freedom and without humor, our cultures can't have a healthy evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/without-freedom-and-without-humor-our-cultures-can-t-have-a-healthy/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [World music can be sometimes like the lumber room in which all the non-English singers are dumped. When you are singing in Arabic, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/world-music-can-be-sometimes-like-the-lumber-room-in-which-all-the/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [It's complicated for my music to be accepted, even in Lebanon and the Arabic world - I sing in Arabic, but there's no lute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/it-s-complicated-for-my-music-to-be-accepted-even-in-lebanon-and-the/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [I'm bored, normally, when I travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-m-bored-normally-when-i-travel/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [Every time I go to Beirut, I see people and the quality of life going slowly from bad to worse, and from worse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/every-time-i-go-to-beirut-i-see-people-and-the-quality-of-life-going/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [Because of the Lebanese civil war, I had a scattered childhood. I had to build my own connections to each country we moved to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/because-of-the-lebanese-civil-war-i-had-a-scattered-childhood-i-had/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [I don't think there is only one Arab culture or a pure Arabness. We are very multiple, especially our generation, which is very multilayered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-don-t-think-there-is-only-one-arab-culture-or-a-pure-arabness-we/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > ['Al Jamilat' is not just feminist. It's an album with songs that feature women: women who are in love, rebellious women, political activists, women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/al-jamilat-is-not-just-feminist-it-s-an-album-with-songs-that-feature/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [With Soapkills, we were lucky. We started at a time of transition where things were not ready, nothing was available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/with-soapkills-we-were-lucky-we-started-at-a-time-of-transition-where/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [I studied psychology at university.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-studied-psychology-at-university/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [Back in Kuwait, I had started listening to a lot of English language music: western music, I would say - Kate Bush and Radiohead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/back-in-kuwait-i-had-started-listening-to-a-lot-of-english-language/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [The Arabic music I listen to is extremely edgy. Ironic, sarcastic, sensual, erotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/the-arabic-music-i-listen-to-is-extremely-edgy-ironic-sarcastic/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [When I imagine feminine characters in my songs, they're often bold, strong, passionate, militant, witty, sensual, dangerous. I see those characters as skillful witnesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/when-i-imagine-feminine-characters-in-my-songs-they-re-often-bold/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [There is something spiritual about art that connects us with ourselves and with others; it's really about coming together and creating bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/there-is-something-spiritual-about-art-that-connects-us-with/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [I always had this crisis: where do I come from? I was never an insider, never an outsider; I was always in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/i-always-had-this-crisis-where-do-i-come-from-i-was-never-an-insider/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) [Explore all 68 Yasmine Hamdan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) ## More Beirut quotes > [Saudi Arabia has historically attempted to influence politics in Beirut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/saudi-arabia-has-historically-attempted-to-influence-politics-in/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) > [Lebanon was at one time known as a nation that rose above sectarian hatred; Beirut was known as the Paris of the Middle East.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/lebanon-was-at-one-time-known-as-a-nation-that-rose-above-sectarian/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“Grief is shameless; it refuses to be ignored. If you let it have its way, it becomes fatal. If you try to remove it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeina-kassem/grief-is-shameless-it-refuses-to-be-ignored-if-you-let-it-have-its/) [Zeina Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeina-kassem/) > [Every time I go to Beirut, I see people and the quality of life going slowly from bad to worse, and from worse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/every-time-i-go-to-beirut-i-see-people-and-the-quality-of-life-going/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [ In 1982, when Alexander Haig and \[Ariel\] Sharon put this plan to invade the south of Lebanon and Beirut, they imagined that in two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/in-1982-when-alexander-haig-and-ariel-sharon-put-this-plan-to-invade/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [Many of Islam's apologists insist that suicide bombing is not Islamic because the Koran forbids suicide. Mmm-hmm. So where are all the Muslims gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-glazov/many-of-islam-s-apologists-insist-that-suicide-bombing-is-not-islamic/) [Jamie Glazov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-glazov/) > [In 2005, the last year of his life, Ahmad Abu Adass was 22 and still living with his parents in Beirut, Lebanon. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronen-bergman/in-2005-the-last-year-of-his-life-ahmad-abu-adass-was-22-and-still/) [Ronen Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronen-bergman/) > [For me, diversity is not a value. Diversity is what you find in Northern Ireland. Diversity is Beirut. Diversity is brother killing brother. Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/for-me-diversity-is-not-a-value-diversity-is-what-you-find-in/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [I knew Quintessentially was a success when my father, who does a lot of business in Beirut, introduced himself to somebody and they said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elliot/i-knew-quintessentially-was-a-success-when-my-father-who-does-a-lot/) [Ben Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elliot/) > [For my generation - the "Children of Nixon," as I call us in the book - the Lebanese civil war was an iconic event.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/for-my-generation-the-children-of-nixon-as-i-call-us-in-the-book-the/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [I would retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're \[riding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rocker/i-would-retire-first-it-s-the-most-hectic-nerve-racking-city-imagine/) [John Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rocker/) > [“In Beirut, death’s unremitting light shines bright for all to see, brighter than the Mediterranean sun, brighter than the night’s Russian missiles, brighter than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-beirut-death-s-unremitting-light-shines-bright-for-all-to-see/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [You can learn all about the human condition from covering the crime beat in a big city - you don't need to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/you-can-learn-all-about-the-human-condition-from-covering-the-crime/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I was actually lost in Beirut on the way home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-preston/i-was-actually-lost-in-beirut-on-the-way-home/) [Kelly Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-preston/) > [“I don't think I ever fully understood before now the old saying that goes: "A mother's heart loves her young one until he grows;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeina-kassem/i-don-t-think-i-ever-fully-understood-before-now-the-old-saying-that/) [Zeina Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeina-kassem/) Browse all 72 Beirut quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. 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