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Nicholas Frakes

Lebanon’s Revolution Unites a Divided Country

A long-sectarian society has come together as one people, bringing hope and some much-needed levity to the streets as they push for an end to their current government.

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On October 29, after nearly two weeks of protest by the Lebanese people, Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri has announced his resignation. 

The demonstrations were ignited October 17 by a proposed government tax that would see people pay $6 every month to make WhatsApp calls, something the vast majority of the country’s four million citizens do daily. The government rescinded the proposal within hours, but people continued to protest, shifting to a call for an end to the intertwining of religion and politics and the resignation of the current government following over thirty years of divide in the country.

The Lebanese people, who come from eighteen historically divided religious sects, have come together as one people under one flag in the demonstrations, bringing hope to those participating in the demonstrations that these protests will not just fade away as they have in the past. 

In Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, the mood has been downright festive: people have set up tents to keep a constant presence and vendors are selling food, water, and Lebanese flags to those in the square as people chant and dance around them. 

During the first two days of protests, people used dumpsters to block roadways and lit garbage on fire in order to prevent vehicles from passing.

Religious figures from the Druze, Sunni, Shia, and Christian communities walk together in the Riad El-Solh Square as a show of the religious unity that is taking place throughout the country for the first time in Lebanese history.

Thousands of protesters gather on the street leading to the Riad El-Solh Square and wave Lebanese flags, rather than party flags that are associated with each religious community.

A man and his daughter carefully evade the extra razor wire barrier raised to prevent protesters from pushing towards the Prime Minister’s Palace in the Riad El-Solh Square.

Lebanese director and videographer Dana Hourany records video of protesters coming and leaving Martyrs’ Square. She sits inside of the “Egg,” a former theatre that was never completed and has become a major cultural hub since the start of the revolution.

Throughout the protests in Beirut, volunteers have been passing out free food and water to participants to make sure that everyone is well hydrated and does not go hungry, since many people spend over twelve hours at a time in Martyrs’ Square.

A man heats coals for his small hookah stand in Martyrs’ Square so that people can rent an argileh al-thawra, or hookah of the revolution, and take time to relax after chanting and dancing for hours on end.

In Martyrs’ Square, a teenager operates a corn stand where people can purchase a freshly grilled cob of corn. After the first couple of days of protests, more and more small stands started to open in order to feed protesters and make money as many restaurants remain empty.

Many parents have brought their children to the protests in Beirut. This child waves a Lebanese flag in Martyrs’ Square as music blares and people dance around him late in the evening.