Lebanon’s Grassroots Protests Inspired A Street Art Revolution

According to Wikipedia, a resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives through either the use of nonviolent resistance (sometimes called civil resistance,) or the use of force, whether armed or unarmed. In many cases, like, the Palestinian legal right to resist the illegal Israeli occupation, where a mixture of methods may be utilized. A resistance movement may employ both violent and non-violent methods, usually operating under different organizations and acting in different phases or geographical areas within a country.

The irony is that any occupying force, like the U.S. during its occupation of Iraq, can face violent acts from a resistance movement. In turn, the resistance usually condemned as terrorism, even when its attacks solely target military or security forces.

Recent events unfolding in Lebanon exemplify nonviolent resistance. Since October 17th, Lebanese citizens spanning the country’s various sectarian and political divisions have been pouring onto the streets and blocking major roads to call for the government’s resignation and for the ruling elite to be held accountable for decades of corruption.

The protests stem from the country’s accumulating crises; a dollar crisis, an energy crisis where gas stations have gone on strike, an environmental crisis where more than 100 locations in Lebanon have suffered preventable wildfires due to mismanagement of wildlife. The environmental crisis itself is the culmination of rampant mismanagement, because the government has been unable to fight the fires due to the lack of fire-fighting helicopter maintenance along with high taxes on gasoline, wheat, and online phone calls.

These set of circumstances came at a time when many citizens were fearful of an impending currency crisis and fed up with a political system based on nepotism and sectarian identity that had failed to provide even the most basic of services.

I asked some friends in Beirut’s street art scene who are on the streets protesting for their thoughts on the situation. Artist Ghalib Hawila told me, “If Lebanon [gets] better it’s because of the people on the streets, and if the situation [gets] worse then the blame is on the politicians.”

“We are totally with the revolution,” said artist Omar Kabbani “It’s a peaceful revolution. This is something that has never happened in modern history. The country is revolting against the corruption. I’m 36 years old, and I’ve witnessed several wars and street manifestations and revolutions, but it’s the first time I truly feel that change is coming. We attend the protests on a daily basis , and you can feel the rage and frustration in the streets and you can really feel the unity at the same time, that’s something unprecedented. We are passing through a rough period, but we are always hoping for the best. “

I am with the people and for the people. There is pain, there is hunger, there is lack of hope. We can make changes since all these factors have united people. It is no longer religion or party rule. It is people rule. What is most remarkable in this revolution, is the strength, influence and power of women. Said curator Imane Nasserdine Assaf as she marveled at the revolution’s leadership, and added: “The women are at the front. They face the kicks and slaps with standing proud. They face the insults and pushes with smiles. In debates they are totally in control, even when it gets emotional it’s never hysterical and always interactive. From the youngest to the oldest, it’s definitely the women leading the revolution.”

Artist Jad El Khoury expressed joy at the revolution’s unison, saying: “At last all Lebanese, Christians and Muslims are united, and protesting in a peaceful way. Every time the protests get heated, the protesters react in a very strategic way, sitting on the floor, or putting women in the front.” In its honor, he created a street art piece on an abandoned structure in Beirut called “the egg.” He explained, “The exterior of it is fully covered with street art. Everyone is expressing their opinion using spray paint. The city is open to all. People are peaceful and positive. There is something new everyday and we don’t know where we are headed with this revolution but there is no turning back.”

Artist Eli Zaarour also noticed this atmosphere of change, noting how the revolution “Gave back the confidence for the people but of course it is not enough… What I understood and realized after hearing the opinions and reactions of the people in the streets, most of them (especially the poorest) do not know their rights in a country where the minimum rights became the needs… An entire education should be taught to the new generation so they do not fall in their parents’ and grandparents’ mistakes…”

The whole thing inspires pride for photographer Rania Mattar, who told me the protesters “Are demanding a better future. Our generation emigrated – they are demanding more to rebuild Lebanon instead of leaving it. Things will change but will take time. I don’t think there is any going back at this point. Politicians have been exposed for what they are: corrupt to the extreme. Things have started to happen but it is all in baby steps. I have never seen the country more united, and it is immensely inspiring and beautiful. Women and the young generations are leading this movement. They are demanding it all! There is graffiti art all over the walls with all sorts of messages including LGBTQ rights. Students are even coming every morning to pick up trash and RECYCLE, so this is also part of it. All of it is coming out. It’s pretty incredible seeing all that has been boiling under the surface, and one doesn’t know the magnitude of it unless one is there to experience it first hand. I was so emotional all the time and this is why I believe so strongly in what is happening, and why I believe it will all change for the better.”

Artist EpS pondered the revolution’s origins. “I really think that this revolution came as a natural reaction to where we were headed; the economical situation, no power, no water, we have shit! In a way it’s a survival of the fittest, you have to eat up other to get the bare minimum. I am for the protests and for changing the corrupt system and the abolition of sectarianism, and installing a civil government that works for the country and not thinking of their own pockets. In my opinion, there are no governments that are non corrupt, but there are corrupt government that are actually working for their people. We are hoping that this revolution will bring change, but what we know for sure is that there’s no going back, we are not leaving the streets until a change is going to happen. This revolution is also about supporting women, and the LGBTQ community, and get more rights on every level.”

These recent protests are part of a genuine grassroots movement that has not been directed by any political party and are viewed as an existential threat to the Lebanese government and political elite. But as Joey Ayoub mentioned in his article, “The sectarian system being opposed on the streets of Lebanon is inherently tied to the same patriarchal structures that oppress Lebanese and non-Lebanese women and LGBTQ+ as well as to the same racist structures that oppress women of color, most notably foreign domestic workers.” He added: “if we are calling for our rights, we need to be extending our concerns to foreign workers as well. The same system that we are seeking to change is abusing hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.”