A Dummy’s Guide to the Lebanese Revolution
For the past few weeks now, thousands of protestors across Lebanon have brought the country to a standstill. Putting aside all of their religious differences, they took the streets, pouring their hearts out demanding an end to the corruption of the current government. All of the banks, schools and universities remain shut as a genuine cross-section of society that continues to call for the removal of the government.
The demonstrations initially began from the northern city of Tripoli, then it spread to the capital Beirut, and then all the way to the southern city of Tyre.
Some have claimed the reason behind those protests was the proposed tax on internet calls, including WhatsApp. However, the proposed taxes were mainly the spark that drew the Lebanese people spontaneously out on to the streets. Not to mention the build-up anger against the structure of the political system and the inequality of the sectarian state.
The country’s infrastructure is deteriorating by the minute. According to Sky News “1% of adults in Lebanon receive a quarter of the national income, 40% of young people, many of them graduates, are unemployed, and in very practical terms, Lebanon just doesn’t work: power cuts are frequent, and water is not safe to drink. People end up having to pay for electricity and water and then pay more bills for generators and bottled water.”
Currently, protestors are acting as one homogenous group under the national flag, they have said that they will not leave the streets until the whole government resigns and the sectarian system is reformed.
