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News of Jan
4, 2007
Lebanese Psychic Predicts Dark Future
Beirut,
Jan 4 (DPA)
A popular clairvoyant whose past predictions have proven eerily
prescient has told the people of troubled Lebanon they can expect
more woe in 2007. Psychic Michel Hayek in a televised broadcast on
New Year's Eve made more than 30 predictions for the coming year,
most of them laden with doom and gloom.
"I can see that Lebanon is still going through a black tunnel,"
Hayek, 40, told his many fans across the country. "Assassinations
will continue."
Hayek's predictions also looked beyond Lebanon's borders to other
Arab countries such as Syria and Egypt, where he predicted major
conflicts to come.
Hayek rose to prominence in Lebanon and also in the Arab world after
a series of 16 predications made in 2004 - of which his fans believe
14 came true.
"A major incident in downtown Beirut will shake the area for a long
time," Hayek had said in his New Year's Eve.
Six weeks later, on Feb 14, 2005, former Lebanese prime minister
Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive car bomb assassination, near an
area close to downtown Beirut. Twenty people along with Hariri were
killed.
The assassination of Hariri caused an uproar in Lebanon and abroad
and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a
30-year presence.
Hayek in the same year predicted that an unspecified number of
journalists would be killed.
Within months, two prominent Lebanese journalists Samir Kassir and
Jubran Tueini - the latter also an MP - were assassinated. Meanwhile
television presenter May Chidac was seriously wounded in an attempt
on her life.
Hayek's fame has since been growing in Lebanon and the Arab world,
with many paying close attention to what he says.
"I see pictures of people and events," Hayek told local television,
who has always claimed he was born with his psychic talents but
stressed that he cannot reveal further details about how he comes up
with his predictions.
As Lebanon passed the second day of 2007, one of the main talking
points on street corners and in workplaces was not the still-tense
political situation, but rather the latest batch of Hayek's
pronouncements for the future.
In downtown Beirut, women sitting at sidewalk cafes eagerly compared
notes on the previous evening's broadcast, analyzing his comments.
"I follow his predictions always to see if there is anything new,"
said Nahla Ayyash, a strong believer in Hayek's powers.
"It is depressing because all is gloomy and black, we have nothing
to look forward to," said Nadra Sabbagh. "I believe he is right in
most of them, because 14 of 16 came true in 2004."
Another woman denied charges that Hayek fabricates his predictions,
saying: "This is a talent and it was born with him."
Hayek's predictions this year were unusually detailed. He also
managed to name people in the circle of danger like Druze
anti-Syrian deputy Walid Jumblatt as well as anti-Syrian deputy
Mosbah al-Ahdab and Christian leader Samir Geagea and his wife.
"Giving names this year made me more worried because if he receives
pictures the pictures are very clear," Sabbagh said.
"Since I heard his predictions on Sunday night, everyday I wake up
and pray that he will be wrong," said Souad al-Hassan. "Let us hope
his talent fails this year."
Lebanon has since the Hariri killing been engulfed in its worst
political crisis since the country's 1975-90 civil war.
A series of assassinations have targeted mainly anti-Syrian
political figures, deepening the division between the pro- and
anti-Syrian camps.
The anti-Syrian camp has consistently accused Syria and its Lebanese
allies of killing Hariri and staging the attacks on other political
figures in the country. Damascus has vehemently denied all charges.
DPA
News of Jan
4, 2007
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