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Bloody clashes during protests in Lebanon: Protester on May 1, 2020 in Beirut
Photo: MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS
The anger had been piling up for a long time.
The economy collapsed and then the country was on fire.
A year ago, in mid-October 2019, more than a hundred forest fires broke out in Lebanon.
But some of the people had to extinguish themselves, because their government had failed to keep the three helicopters intended for use ready.
It was precisely in this situation that the rulers proposed new taxes to plug the budget gap, including on WhatsApp calls.
That was the one drop too much.
On October 17, 2019, a mass uprising began in Lebanon on a scale that the country had probably never seen before.
More than two and a half million people, almost half of the population, have been on the street at times.
The uprising is still known as "Thawra", meaning revolution.
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Beirut, on November 10, 2019
Photo: Bilal Hussein / AP
The journalist Philippe Abou Zeid criticizes this term: "This was not a revolution as we have seen in modern times, for example in Egypt or Tunisia. The system in Lebanon does not even allow this."
He is referring to the denominational order, according to which posts in the state apparatus and administration are distributed proportionally to 18 different religious groups.
A revolution in Lebanon does not require the overthrow of a government, but rather many different leaders and their followers or, in some cases, heavily armed militias.
But it did not get to that.
The government of the then Prime Minister Saad Hariri soon resigned.
But reforms were not implemented afterwards.
Instead, the economy has continued to collapse and the currency has collapsed.
Large parts of the population, including the middle class, are in danger of slipping into poverty.
Thousands emigrate.
And the country is even further on the brink than before.
The devastating explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, in which more than 190 people were killed and over 6,500 injured, once again made people aware of the irresponsibility of politics.
But there are young Lebanese who have not given up hope even after a year full of setbacks and lows and continue to fight for their "revolution".
Who are they and what drives them?
Naila Al-Hares
is 27 years old and, with her own agency, advises companies on making work processes more cheerful and playful.
In 2015 she had already participated in the smaller "You stink" riot triggered by a garbage crisis.
On the night of October 17, 2019, she was amazed to see how many people suddenly took part: "This uprising was different. People even protested in my neighborhood, which is controlled by the Amal Shiite militia and has therefore always been quiet."
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Naila Al-Hares
Photo: Thore Schröder
In the weeks that followed, Naila Al-Hares felt "like in a trance".
Every morning she checked her cell phone first to see if the streets were still blocked by the revolutionaries.
"I expected we would see substantial changes within nine months at the most."
Today she feels "numb," she says.
"I have not yet processed the many strong emotions of the past few months, especially since the explosion," says Naila Al-Hares.
At the latest with the formation of a new - in the meantime resigned - government in January, she lost hope of rapid change through protest: "The leaders clung to their posts at any cost, including by force. They were not ready to give up power . "
She started a newspaper with other volunteers.
The content corresponds to the title: "October 17th".
It is about the perspective of the revolutionaries and their sympathizers, the youth of Lebanon.
The eighth issue has just appeared.
The team is working on a subscription system and wants to focus more on the diaspora.
For them, emigration is out of the question, says Al-Hares: "Because I have my friends here. And my parents, both of whom are deaf and dumb, they need me in Lebanon."
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Hussein Al-Achi
Photo: Thore Schröder
Hussein Al-Achi
, 32, is a lawyer and one of the intellectual leaders of the Minteshreen revolutionary movement.
He was at one of the country's elite schools, studied at a Jesuit university in Beirut and a top university in London.
He knows the Zu'ama, the leaders of the parties, and some of their children personally.
"In the past they didn't take us opposition seriously, that has changed since October 17th."
The initial ecstasy of the revolutionaries naturally aroused irrational expectations, he says.
Her movement "Minteshreen" had also lost a lot of momentum in the formation as a political party due to the corona lockdown.
"At the same time, it was also an opportunity to concentrate on helping our compatriots."
Hussein's wife Nour is largely responsible for the fact that "Minteshreen" has distributed thousands of food boxes across the country since the spring.
Hussein Al-Achi is not deterred by the blatant haggling of the Zu'ama about posts.
Even the fact that ex-Prime Minister Hariri could come back to power on the anniversary of the start of the uprising is useful, he says: It shows the Lebanese that ultimately all these old political leaders are interchangeable, that changes with them are impossible.
Al-Achi is certain: "We won't reach our goal with street protests. The only way is organized political work."
Hussein Al-Achi and his colleagues are currently working on a basic program.
At some point they want to be represented at all levels: "In parliament, but also in every local administration, every trade union, every student council."
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Rawad Taha
Photo: private
Rawad Taha
, 21, has just moved to Dubai, where he will soon be starting a new job in the media industry.
Before that he had a very badly paid position at a Lebanese broadcaster.
"Thousands of young Lebanese people graduate and then find no work. They are forced to go abroad," says Rawad.
In the past month alone he went to eight farewell parties, he says.
He himself wants to continue to participate in the revolution from the Emirates, through discussions and "moral support".
Before leaving, Rawad Taha put himself up for election again - and he was successful: in the election of the student body at the Lebanese American University (LAU), the political and media studies student was successful with a list of independents - or revolutionaries .
Among other things, he and his co-candidates called for greater efforts by the anti-discrimination agency and hyperinflation-adapted payment methods for enrolled students.
Your campaign took place mainly on Instagram.
The majority of young Lebanese are now against the establishment
The success of the independent LAU students was celebrated like a sensation by Lebanon's extra-parliamentary opposition.
And indeed, says Rawad, the results at one of the most important universities in the country show that the majority of young Lebanese are now against the establishment: "Nevertheless, a lot more should join our struggle."
The road to change is long.
First of all, the Lebanese electoral law must change.
A block of 15 to 20 independent MPs in the next parliament would be a good start.
"You could pave the way for change," says Rawad Taha.
The goals of the revolution now sound modest.
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