Arriving in a revolting Beirut

We have moved from Medellin to Beirut. From a Latino to an Arab city, relatively new to old, from 4 to 2 million inhabitants, from bandeja paisa to man'ouche. Colombia had started to feel a little too comfortable after 6 months, making us miss that phase of 'dating' the city: getting lost, feeling overwhelmed and inspired, and constantly tired of new impressions. So we decided it was time for something new.

So, why Beirut? Well, because of all the differences with Medellin. Yes, both cities are known to be vibrant (post-) conflict cities. But they are opposites when it comes to history, politics, religion and social structures. The always-depressing and complex news items about the Middle East had always kept me from really diving into it, but the mysteriousness of old civilisations, the food and culture and the other-ness also somehow attracted us.

Beirut is defined by its different layers of history and influence. Since its conception by the first settlers 5000 years ago, Lebanon has been part of many great empires. With its strategic location between the Mediterranean and the Middle East, the capital Beirut grew into a major trade hub, and later an intellectual center and financial hub inspiring spy novels and movies. With countries such as Isra?l, Syria and Iran around the corner, it also has a history of major power struggles and conflicts, especially during the Civil War (1975-1990). This war, fought mainly over interests of neighbours, left much of the city destroyed.

During the war, Beirut got strongly segregated. Sunni and Shii muslims, Druze, Maronite Christians and 14 (!) other religious communities withdrew within the relative safety of their own neighbourhoods in a time when no one could be trusted and over 120.000 people were victim of car bombs, snipers or other random acts of violence. Currently, this mosaic of characteristic neighbourhoods with defining restaurants and stores, and the influence of Armenian, Palestinian and Syrian refugees still makes Beirut what is is. There is (close to) no parks or squares, no central planning or public services for the 2 million Beiruti's, making it even harder for them to get to know each other. Beirut is completely different from Medellín and a city in desperate need for such a transformative change and innovative solutions. Time for us to go there and discover.

Revolution in the streets

...and then, shit hit the fan. Right after booking our flights, the Lebanese government announced a WhatsApp-tax to close a budget gap. 2 million Lebanese, who took to the streets of Beirut, Tripoli and Tyre, yelling 'Thawra!' (revolution) and blocking roads. International media started reporting on the most dramatic events, and movie clips of burning cars got repeated over and over on BBC, CNN and the Dutch media. Like this one.

The WhatsApp-tax had only been the last drop. The protesters had enough, after three decades of governments with hardly any visible interest in the public good. Governments unable or unwilling to provide stable electricity, drinking water, roads and bridges, or internet. Politicians selling public beaches to hotels or luxurious villas, accepting bribes to leave the electricity network broken, etcetera. Governments that, despite elections, still comprised of the same rich families and their friends, and was unable to prevent the deepest economic crisis since the Civil War.

We were shocked at first but after spending hours trying to get a grip on what was going on, we decided to go anyway. Safety didn’t seem to be an issue and protests were very peaceful and even festive. And we could always leave the country, if we had to. The religious groups that had always lived strongly separated, were demonstrating shoulder to shoulder against a non-functioning government. Being here would be very interesting, especially now.

Reality versus media

We have been here for some weeks now, and haven’t regretted our choice once. Yes, protests are still going on, 90 days and counting. But the city is not on fire. On Martyr’s Square, only 15 minutes walking from our home people have been gathering for parties and group discussions, presentations and news analyses. People are not just protesting but discussing the future of the country, financial system and governance model. They have creatively showed how broad their support is and clean up after their protests. Entrepreneurial Lebanese are developing independent media outlets and organised a Christmas Dinner, and to symbolise the country's rise from the ashes artists have built a Phoenix on Martyr's Square from scraps.

Despite attempts to derail the protests, they have remained impressively peaceful and escalations have been both few and local. Nobody wants to go back to the pointless violence of the civil war. And as for the media: burning cars just paint a better picture of revolution than 200 people talking about recent news in a squatted cinema.

The protests are focused on important squares, government and banks, but life goes on in the rest of the city. Our neighbourhood, Mar Mikhael, is gentrifying before our eyes and even during the economic crisis, bars are popping up where car repair shops close. The city center is a shiny empty shell built for the rich of the Middle East, on top (!) of Roman ruins. All over the city, fancy apartment blocks stand next to French mansions with marble floors, many still holding bullet holes from the civil war. Every neighbourhood has a different feel to it.

The decor to the city is provided by the snowy peaks of Mount Lebanon to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. People are very welcoming and willing to give their take on what is going on and many Lebanese speak French or English - which makes life easier for us.

So, what now?

Since the beginning of this ‘October Revolution’, prime-minister Hariri has stepped down and his successor Diab is currently trying to form a government tasked to prevent a total collapse of the economy and win the trust of the people. Protesters remain cynical, and accuse politicians of sabotaging the protests and testing the protesters perseverance. Many of the millions of protesters from the first weeks have left and most international media have found other crises to report on. However, new protests have been announced and any news of a new government will likely spark outrage.

In the mean time, for us there is much to learn about, and much to do to improve this city. Finding a job or paying projects is tough, but there is a lot of work to do for NGO's and such. I won’t be able to fix power cuts or corruption, but I am helping to create a public space in the Armenian neighbourhood Burj Hammoud, providing food for crisis-struck Beiruti's and am working on teaching a class on Urban Innovation at the local design school. My girlfriend Julia was just offered a job as a cook, and working for Dutch clients we can stretch our savings. I can't wait until the cold days are over and the streets will fill again, hopefully with a more positive outlook by then.