Beirut Spring

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Remember that politics move quickly, and people and their opinions evolve.

In Lebanon, Not All Phone Numbers Are Equal

August 27, 2010 · Mustapha Hamoui

A Mexican woman decides to buy a phone number in Lebanon:

My husband and I were shopping for mobile phones at the store the other day. When we were about to activate them, the seller asked me if I wanted a $200 number or a $25 one. When I asked what the difference was, he looked at me with an “Are you kidding me?” look and said “Well the $200 one is a good number, the other one is a bad number”.
To his surprise, I chose the bad number. “Who cares?”, I told myself. “It is just a number after all. […] And now, when I look at my cellphone, I can’t help but asking myself “Did I just commit social suicide by getting a bad number?

What I find funny is that even when the Lebanese are buying a disposable number, say for a summer visit, they’re still more likely to go for the fancy numbers.