ثورة : Thawra. Lebanon.
A protester surrounded by clouds of tear gas throws rocks at the security forces blocking the entrance to the Lebanese Parliament building in downtown Beirut.
On 17th October 2019, a small group of activists gathered in downtown Beirut to protest against proposed tax increases and a new tax law on voice messaging applications such as WhatsApp. After a video of the Minister of Higher Education’s bodyguards confronting the protesters with excessive force went viral, the protest movement spread. Riots continued through the night in Beirut and roadblocks began to appear around the country. For days after, violent protests spread across the country from Tyre in the south to Tripoli in the north.
United by an opposition to the corrupt and inept ruling class that has steered Lebanon to the brink of economic collapse, the protesters appeared to put aside religious and party politics. No small feat for a country heavily dived along sectarian lines. People from across the country stood together waving the Lebanese flag and chanting slogans calling for the end of a corrupt government.
For the protesters, entering the capital’s Serail and parliamentary buildings was seen as a symbolic victory. However the government forces were heavy handed in their response to these attacks on the parliament. Many of the protests over the coming year turned violent. None more so than August 8th 2020, dubbed ‘Judgement Day,’ four days after the massive explosion in the port of Beirut which saw 2750 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored in the port explode after a fire spread through the next door storage unit. Over 211 people lost their lives that day, with at least 7,500 people being injured and an estimated 300,000 left homeless.
