Posts Tagged Cairo

You are what you watch

February 27, 2011 at 6:09 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Lebanon is a very sectarian society. Everything you do, buy, wear, drive, listen to, eat, say, hear and feel; your accent, clothes, food, car, house, political affiliation and friends – they all have to do with your religion in Lebanon.

Not surprisingly, then, your take on the current upheavals taking place in the Middle East has to do with your religion, as does the TV channel you watch the unfolding events on.

For example, if you are a Shiite Hezbollah supporter, you watch events in Bahrain – where a Shiite majority population is revolting against an elite Sunni minority – on Hezbollah’s channel, al-Manar.

If you are a Sunni Muslim, you are almost by default interested in the resurrecting anti-government Green Movement in Iran, which you watch on the Future Movement’s TV station, Future News.

If you are a Shiite Amal supporter, you are undoubtedly absorbed by  the revolts against Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, which you follow on Amal chief Nabih Berri’s channel, NBN. Such is Amal’s obsession with the unfolding revolution in Libya – and Qaddafi’s murderous crackdown –  that between shows NBN plays a minute-long montage of the protests in Libya titled The Revolt Against the Tyrant. Don’t forget, after all, that Amal has a special interest in Qaddafi’s overthrow; he is the man most people blame for the 1978 kidnapping and presumed murder of Amal founder Moussa Sadr.

So how does the rest of the Middle East watch Lebanon coverage? Well, they don’t. We’re simply the most boring and unimportant country in the whole region right now. Everyone else is rising up against their backward, corrupt and archaic systems while we stew merrily in ours.

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The Middle Eastern Midwest

February 22, 2011 at 5:58 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Protestors in Wisconsin demonstrate against cuts to union rights.

What started as an isolated revolt has spread, and now citizens in different states, angered by their leaders overextending their authority and failing to protect their livelihoods, have vowed to hit the streets of their capitals in protest.

Is it the Middle East? No. It’s the Midwest.

All across the great American heartland, workers are following Wisconsin’s lead by protesting cuts to union power at their state capitals. “The spread of the protest spirit across the Midwest comes as governors attempt to balance budgets by extracting concessions from labor unions,” said Slate Magazine, in what could easily be a description of what’s happening in the Middle East if you switched out a couple words here and there.

In fact, in Wisconsin, Democrats have left the state so that the state senate cannot vote on the bill to stop the ability of unions to bargain collectively. Didn’t almost the exact same thing happen in Lebanon last month when Hezbollah and its allies dropped out of the cabinet to stop it from being able to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon?

And that’s just one example of the turmoil currently facing governments in the Middle East. What started as successful protests against the Tunisian government in January has turned into widespread dissent that is currently threatening long-standing regimes in places as far-flung as Bahrain and Algeria.

And amid all of this chaos, Iran – the Mideast’s biggest provocateur, who supports many of the regional uprisings – has sent two Navy ships through the Suez Canal, ostensibly on their way to Lebanon to supply Hezbollah with weapons.

Hey, maybe it’s Iran who’s funding the Democrats who ditched Wisconsin.

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Is Libya next?

February 21, 2011 at 1:14 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saif al-Islam Qaddafi speechifying yesterday

Well it looks like Libya could be next.

I admit, I thought it would be somewhere else, like Bahrain or Iran or Wisconsin.

Protests have been escalating in Libya as troops –  made up partly of African mercenaries – have fired on mourners at funerals for those killed during earlier protests, which leads to a fresh new crop of funeral/protests for the security forces to fire on. And so the cycle continues.

The escalation prompted President Muammar Qaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, to give a televised address yesterday. While Saif al-Islam made it clear that the government would not back down, and even obliquely threatened to massacre protestors, he did have to admit that the town of Benghazi was out of the government’s control and offered small concessions.

The speech was not only indicative of the precariousness of the situation in Libya, but also of how much more coherent of a speaker Saif al-Islam is than his notoriously hare-brained dad. Muammar Qaddafi is famous for his illogical and paranoid babbling. Remember that 90-minute diatribe at the United Nations back in ’09 in which he defended the right of the Taliban to establish an Islamic emirate, suggested that swine flu was created as a biological weapon, and demanded an investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King? Saif al-Islam, on the other hand, only babbled a little bit and stuck to the by-now-standard excuse among today’s threatened Arab regimes that the uprising is simply a “foreign plot to install Islamists.” (Is it me or have the region’s despots been slow to pass off the events as “an Israeli plot”?)

At any rate, I really do hope that Libya rids itself of its current leader and that other Arab and North African countries do the same in what has the potential to be “the great Arab spring cleaning.” But as the Los Angeles Times noted, Libya is very different from Egypt, mostly because it’s a tribal nation with a leader who has managed to stay in power by “skillfully manipulat[ing] clan loyalties for decades.”

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A Lebanese Valentine’s

February 14, 2011 at 6:10 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

The explosion that killed former PM Rafik Hariri on Valentine’s Day in 2005. (AFP photo/Joseph Barrak)

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Today is the day when men across the world buy their ladies overpriced chocolates and pink teddy bears, and when we here in Lebanon commemorate the death of the former Prime Minister and local oligarch Rafik Hariri in 2005.

I remember that day, six years ago. In the early afternoon I was milling around on Hamra Street, bracing myself for a dateless night and trying to ignore all the pink-themed window displays, when a massive boom resonated across the area, rattling buildings and shattering windowpanes.

By the time I got my bearings, I noticed that everyone was scurrying indoors, crowding around any TV or radio they could find. I went back to my dorm room on AUB campus and waited for my Lebanese friends to come translate the situation for me. Rafik Hariri, the hugely powerful self-made billionaire who fought against the Syrian presence in Lebanon, had been killed.

But I wouldn’t grasp the significance of the assassination for another few days, when the massive rallies began to take form in downtown Beirut, the people demanding that the Syrian army, whom almost everyone blamed for the killing, leave Lebanon after a 30-year occupation.

I went to all of them, and even though I had only been in Lebanon for a few weeks, it was hard not to feel part of the enormous positive energy at the rallies. For even though they followed a gruesome assassination, there was an air of optimism, change and solidarity at the protests. And when they did finally force the Syrians out, I felt the same immense sense of pride and satisfaction that the rest of the Lebanese did.

That must be how the protesters of Tahrir Square in Cairo are feeling today, after having come together in an enormous display of unity over the past two-and-a-half weeks and ousting their president, Hosni Mubarak, who was also in power for 30 years.

Here in Beirut, it’s funny looking back on things, six years after Hariri was killed. The Syrians are back, this time standing behind their Lebanese proxies in the Hezbollah-backed March 8 coalition, which overthrew the government of Rafik Hariri’s son, Saad, last month. Now the coalition is trying to put together a cabinet that will officially disavow the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which may name members of Hezbollah in Hariri’s killing.

All I can hope is that the Egyptians manage to see a more lasting change after their revolution.

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A new Egypt, a new Middle East

February 11, 2011 at 8:18 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Ding dong Mubarak’s gone! This is momentous news! And only last night it looked like it wasn’t going to happen for who knew how long.

The Egyptian people, through dedication, sheer will and tenacity, ousted a man who had belittled and suppressed them for 30 years. Pop open the non-alcoholic champagne!

A new Egypt is now rising; the previously complacent populace is awake and revitalized. And even though the  Military Council — a shadowy, long-dormant martial body — is now in charge, just try oppressing the Egyptian people again any time soon!

New leaders are coming to the fore to harness the explosive popular energy and desire for a better system. I personally have my eye on that cutie patootie Google exec who was jailed by the now-former regime but who became a popular hero upon his release.

And what’s in store for the old regime? Probably a lot of trials will take place. Some will get jail time. Not for Mubarak, though; he’ll undoubtedly end up in a resort for ousted dictators in Saudi Arabia, playing shuffleboard with fellow recently-overthrown North African tyrant Zeineddine Ben Ali.

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Lebanon gets its crisis back

February 11, 2011 at 3:44 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Methinks Lebanon’s got Egypt envy. We were basking in the glow of the world’s attention following our latest cabinet “crisis,” but when the Egyptian anti-government protests broke out two and a half weeks ago, all the foreign journalists who had set up shop in Beirut rushed to Cairo, leaving Lebanon to stew in its sorry state without anyone really caring. As soon as Mubarak steps down, we assured ourselves, everyone would return to fretting over the future of our chaotic little country, the way it should be.

But when Mubarak announced last night that he intends to stay in office until September – meaning the protests could continue indefinitely – Lebanon realized it had to manufacture another crisis to make sure it gets its fair share of the spotlight.

Well, Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan and Energy Minister Gebran Bassil stepped up to the plate and threw this country into a quagmire that no governmental impasse could surpass. The two ministers have apparently been squabbling over the price lists for commodities for some time. But when they failed to agree on the price of fuel this week and were thus unable to supply gas companies with pricing information, the companies decided to stop making deliveries. Now Lebanon is facing the prospect of gasoline shortages. The news has apparently prompted runs on gas stations across the country.

What will the Lebanese do without gas? We need fuel for our cars so that we can drive them to the dekkan one block away and then park on the sidewalk! Without gas we’d have to – gasp – walk places. How can we honk at people if we’re walking? How can we obnoxiously rev our engines while waiting for the light to change if we’re on foot?

Without gas, we have no cars, and without cars, we’re lost. This is indeed a catastrophe, folks. World, can we have your attention back, please?

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The birth of a civil society

February 9, 2011 at 4:23 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Egyptian protestors sweep up Tahrir Square

I’ve always considered the definition of civil society to be, in a nutshell, the respect of the public and of public spaces.

It’s no revelation that there is no civil society in Lebanon. That fact has been well documented by thousands of Western parachute journalists. Our lack of civil society – the product of a tribal culture, a devastating civil war, a corrupt and unreliable police force, and a thieving government – means that not only are modern Lebanese fairly impolite to each other, but we treat our public spaces with disdain. We throw garbage on the streets, park our cars on sidewalks, and obstruct the peace with loud music and fireworks at all hours.

Lebanon is not alone in that respect; all over the Third World, citizens who are ignored by their greedy and despotic governments turn inward toward their families and clans at the expense of the outside world. Egypt is another one of these unfortunate countries. 30 years of a corrupt and tyrannical regime has left the majority of the population poor and disenfranchised. It’s no wonder why Cairo is so loud and filthy, and sexual harassment is so out of control.

But not so right now, say some who are currently in the city for the massive anti-government protests. Apparently the widespread sense of solidarity among demonstrators and the overwhelming public urge for a better, more democratic system has prompted the spontaneous birth of a civil society. People sweep up Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests, and put garbage into neat piles. Vendors offer their products at reduced prices, and doctors treat the wounded free of charge. And female journalists have reported shock at not having their asses pinched by passing men and boys.

All of this in only 2 weeks? So we here in Lebanon have a chance at hammering out a civil society, despite the clannish nature of our society and political class? Because if I have to climb over one more broken-down car that’s parked right in the middle of an intersection only to be greeted by a rude passerby, I think I’ll be sick. Maybe I’ll just move to Cairo.

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The birth of a civil society

February 9, 2011 at 4:06 pm · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Protestors help clean up Tahrir Square in Cairo

I’ve always considered the definition of civil society to be, in a nutshell, the respect of the public and of public spaces.

It’s no revelation that there is no civil society in Lebanon. That fact has been the well documented in thousands of articles by Western parachute journalists. Our lack of civil society – the product of a tribal culture, a devastating civil war, a corrupt and unreliable police force, and a thieving government – means that not only are modern Lebanese fairly impolite to each other, but we treat our public spaces with disdain. We throw garbage on the streets, park our cars on the sidewalks, and obstruct the peace with loud music and fireworks at all hours.

Lebanon is not alone in that respect; all over the Third World, citizens who are ignored by their greedy and despotic governments turn inward toward their families and clans at the expense of the outside world. Egypt is another one of these unfortunate countries. 30 years of a greedy, corrupt and tyrannical regime has left the majority of the population poor and disenfranchised. It’s no wonder why Cairo is so loud and filthy, and sexual harassment is so out of control. But not so right now, say some who are currently in the city for the massive anti-government protests. Apparently the widespread sense of solidarity among demonstrators and the overwhelming public urge for a better, more democratic system has prompted the spontaneous birth of a civil society. People sweep up Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests, every day, and put garbage into neat piles. Vendors offer their products at reduced prices, and doctors treat the wounded free of charge. And female journalists have reported shock at not having their asses pinched by any passing man or boy.

All of this in only 2 weeks? So we here in Lebanon have a chance at hammering out a civil society, despite the clannish nature of our society and political class? Because if I have to climb over one more broken-down car that’s parked right in the middle of an intersection only to be greeted by a rude passerby, I think I’ll be sick. Maybe I’ll just move to Cairo.

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Hey, world, remember me, Lebanon?

February 8, 2011 at 11:13 am · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Enough about Egypt. It’s been over 2 weeks, and President Hosni Mubarak is still not stepping down, offering up the lame excuse that were he to leave office, chaos would ensue. (Well it already looks pretty chaotic to me. How much worse does it have to get before Mubarak admits defeat and flies off to exile in dictator-welcoming Saudi Arabia?)

Perhaps it’s a testament to our mile-a-minute news cycle and our ever-shrinking capacity to retain interest in any given subject that we’re already bored with the most fascinating and exciting story to come out of the Middle East since the overthrow of the Tunisian president in mid-January. (Do you remember Tunisia? They had a revolution too, if you recall.)

Well, after a month of North Africa basking in the world’s attention, let’s turn the spotlight back to Lebanon for a moment. Lebanon loves the spotlight, after all!

Here’s a roundup of what’s happening in the country these days:

Still no cabinet. The ministers who didn’t resign two weeks ago are now part of the “caretaker government” that is officially in charge, though I don’t know if they’ll take better care of the country than they did before the cabinet collapse.

Apparently Michel Aoun is having a fight with the president over the next Interior Minister. That’s what the media’s saying, anyway, though nobody can give any details on the dispute. I personally don’t know why anyone would want to change the current Interior Minister, Ziad Baroud, who seems to be just about the only person in the government who’s ever done anything for the country.

And Kataeb head Amin Gemayel’s announced his party will not be joining the next cabinet because he feels Hezbollah will not permit dialogue and the participation of all parties after it laid siege to the government a few weeks ago. What the Kataeb’s abstention means for the fledgling March 14 coalition, some members of which may want to join the cabinet, is unclear.

So, basically, we’re still in the same deadlock the world left us in weeks ago, when it turned its eyes toward North Africa, where actual events are taking place.

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A big fish in a small pond

February 6, 2011 at 11:32 am · Filed under Politics ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anti-government protestors in Egypt

After the sudden and surprising popular overthrow of President Zineddine Ben Ali of  Tunisia, anti-establishment protests have broken out in countries across the Middle East, some where there isn’t even an establishment to oust (see: Yemen). Now it seems like everyone’s scrambling to chart the path of the wave of democratization sweeping the region.

In line with this latest trend of calling the next Arab government collapse, Charles Blow, one of my favorite New York Times editorial writers, put together a nifty chart comparing the factors likely to lead to a popular uprising.

Along with the obvious factors of a large youth population and high unemployment rates, there are also the rate of internet penetration, percentage of household income spent on food and level of democratization.

While our leaders here in Lebanon  are unlikely to have to brace themselves against the wrath of a disenfranchised population (we Lebanese are forever loyal to our chieftains, even though they’d all sell us down the river in a heartbeat for the right price), it’s fun to compare our situation with those of our regional neighbors, whose ruling elites are just begging for comeuppance at the hands of the seething masses they’ve long oppressed.

According to Blow’s chart, Lebanon has a relatively high median age, relatively low internet penetration (why sign up for the internet when it’s among the slowest and most expensive on earth?), and a median level of democracy (pretty good considering our current lack of a government). We’re also listed as a “hybrid” political system. What that means, I don’t know, but most of the other countries on the chart are  categorized as “authoritarian regimes,” so we’re ahead of our Arab peers on that one. But we Lebanese didn’t need Blow to tell us that; we’ve always been confident in our high standing compared to our Arab neighbors. We’re a big fish in an awfully small pond.

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