The Insult Page #4

Worked for Bechtel

in Kuwait and in Dubai.

Moved to Beirut in 1982.

Met his Lebanese wife there.

A Christian.

I'm not surprised.

Sir, this is the motion

filed by the defense.

Traumatic pneumothorax occurs

when the pleural cavity

surrounding the lungs is punctured.

It was literally skewered

by the fractured rib,

resulting in acute pain,

labored breathing,

and a raised heart rate.

Dr. Badran,

is it serious?

The pressure on a lung

can damage it

and displace other organs.

Can you describe

what Mrs. Hanna went through?

She was hospitalized

for a preterm delivery

by caesarian section.

If she hadn't arrive in time,

she might have lost the baby.

What caused this?

It was the...

It was the direct result

of the emotional shock

from seeing her husband unconscious.

Can an emotional shock

lead to a miscarriage?

Sure.

Plus she had contractions

when she pulled her husband to her car.

Thank you, Doctor.

Dr. Khawam,

had Mr. Tony followed

his doctor's advice,

could the traumatic pneumothorax

have occurred?

Unlikely.

So he brought it upon himself.

Objection, Your Honor.

Mr. Tony,

did you follow your doctor's advice

to get rest?

I had to go to work.

I have bills to pay.

We're not contesting this.

Can you describe

the movements you made?

I lifted a heavy battery.

It hurt, then I fell.

Can those movements provoke

a traumatic pneumothorax?

No doubt.

Remember:
the defendant's blow

caused the fracture.

But not the ensuing complications.

No fracture, no complications!

He'd have had none

had he obeyed his doctor.

Objection.

Please let her finish.

Mr. Tony claims the premature delivery

was due to the shock

of seeing her husband,

and the contractions were due

to pulling her husband to the car.

These are the hospital's records.

They belong to Mrs. Hanna.

They date back to 2013 and 2014.

Please look at them.

As you can see,

Mrs. Hanna had two miscarriages,

on the 3rd and the 5th months.

Dr. Khawam,

can a woman

with a history of miscarriages

be prone to a premature birth

with no outside factors?

Yes.

No further questions.

- Did you have to?

- It's scientific evidence.

That's not right.

You're accused of a crime

you didn't commit.

We're prying into private lives.

We're exposing them in public.

It's not right!

What is right?

They do it to us, we do it to them.

I don't want this!

As an engineer,

he was very eXperienced.

But since he's Palestinian,

he's not allowed to practice here.

So I hired him as a foreman.

In charge of how many workers?

60 to 75.

How would you describe

Mr. Yasser's work?

He was thorough.

He always finished on time.

We called him the rooster,

because he always showed up early

and went home

after the last prayer call.

So the company was happy

with his work.

Yes.

How long was he supposed

to work for you?

- 18 months.

- How long did he last?

6 weeks.

6 weeks?

What happened?

One day,

he cut some cables

that were left on the street.

Another time, I showed up,

and found a crane, a Liebherr.

He ordered it without asking.

It cost us $800 per day,

because he didn't want

to use the other crane.

One day, he exploded like a time bomb.

He grabbed a sledgehammer

and tore down the faade.

What's new?

A guy from the Christian Party

is suing a Palestinian.

He was not only embarrassing

but also dangerous.

So finally I said that was it,

and I fired him.

Did he show any remorse?

Ask him.

So basically,

you hire Mr. Yasser,

you help him out,

and then he betrays you.

Yes.

I was very hurt.

He was ungrateful.

Ungrateful?

I took a risk when I hired him.

You know, when you hire a Palestinian,

you get accused of trying to settle

half a million Palestinians here,

and you know what that means.

No, can you explain?

You give Palestinians jobs here,

they won't return to Palestine.

The Israelis are happy,

which makes you a traitor.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Counselor Nadine, your turn.

Mr. Salah, you mentioned a pillar

that shifted,

which turned Mr. Yasser

into a "time bomb".

What would have happened

if he hadn't spotted it?

It could have collapsed,

causing injuries.

Possibly.

You also said that he rented

this thing that cost $800.

- What's it called again?

- Liebherr.

What's a Liebherr?

- A big German crane.

- Is it a good crane?

It's German.

Why didn't he use the other crane?

It's Chinese.

He claims

everything made in China is crap.

You had about 75 foreign workers.

Yes.

Normally, foreign workers get

no social security,

no health insurance,

no work benefits, etc.

No company gives that.

How come your workers got all that?

He came up with a plan

where the workers

would recycle scrap metal,

then sell it back to the company.

In exchange,

they got insurance coverage.

In the end, your company...

So because of his love

of perfection and compassion,

aggression is justified?

Mr. Yasser is not aggressive by nature.

Nature?

Are we debating nature here?

So why are we debating

in a courthouse?

We should be lying down on a couch

in front of a therapist.

It pays better.

What's neXt?

I shoot you with a gun,

I open your chest,

I smash your brain on the sidewalk,

I stab Marcelino Zamata siX times,

but my nature is good.

Order in the court!

Your Honor,

when Mr. Yasser is given a task,

he does it seriously and responsibly,

from start to finish,

just like when he fixed

Mr. Tony's gutter...

Mr. Tony Hanna is a law-abiding citizen,

but deserves to get beaten up

because Mr. Yasser is serious

and responsible!

Counselor, let your daughter finish!

Why didn't you say she's your daughter?

It makes no difference.

Of course it does.

She knows your methods, your tricks.

She learned from you.

Tricks?

You think law is a trick?

Father against daughter.

A bit strange!

Mr. Tony, your cellphone.

It's called conflict of interest.

I don't buy it.

I do.

Get off the case.

Everything's a battlefield for you.

Not for me. I didn't grow up in the war.

My life is not like yours.

I'm not you.

Your mother would have been heartbroken.

I won't drop the case.

See you in court.

You're just a corporate lawyer.

I'd hate to see you

lose your first case to me.

Who said you'll win?

For the sake of your children,

so they don't end up

living like the Palestinian refugee,

and behaving

like the Palestinian refugee,

wandering the world,

ruining everything in his path,

drinking from our wells

then spitting in them...

That morning, Mr. Yasser

went to Mr. Tony to apologize.

Once he heard that speech,

he changed his mind.

I find it patriotic.

For a Palestinian, it's offensive.

Offensive?

We often hear:
"the road to Palestine

runs through Beirut".

My client didn't say this phrase.

Neither did my client!

We hear speeches all the time.

Incendiary speeches,

subversive speeches,

sexist speeches,

I hear speeches

looking at myself in the mirror.

- I can attest to that.

- Let's stay in court, counselors.

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