With burning tires, Lebanese militants send a dark, angry message

This tactic has become the hallmark of a new showcase of demonstrations against an interregional political class that does little like Lebanon’s slides of political and economic unrest. The country is in the worst economic crisis in modern history, and the situation is exacerbated by the restrictions of a pandemic and a terrible health care sector.

“The fire releases our anger. It saddens our hearts, ”said Mounir Hujairi, a 23-year-old activist from Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon, who mocks his time between low-paid day jobs and complaints.

The soot and tight fog blacken the faces of protesters in anti-virus masks at mobile roadblocks that cut traffic around Beirut and between cities. The persistence of the protesters and the burning of tires every day reinforces the severity of the country’s problems.

Anti-government rallies began seizing Lebanon in late 2019. Since then, the local currency has fallen after being crushed to the dollar for nearly 30 years. Wages have remained at the same level as skyrocketed inflation. People lost their jobs and poverty affected almost 50% of the population.

At the same time, Lebanon’s sectarian political system is established. Politicians have refused to compromise on forming a government or making difficult financial decisions for fear of losing the support group or support.

Overwhelmed, frightened and confined by the coronavirus, Lebanese have been viewed as members of the ruling elite blaming each other for the crisis.

Last week, the currency hit a low, trading on the black market at 11,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, down from the official 1,500 pounds for $ 1 – bringing a new wave of complaints.

“The solution will only come through the streets,” said Hujairi, who has been involved in protests since October 2019. “Indeed, those on the streets – or the streets of their political parties – will be angered. “

The roadblocks as a means of emergency have reversed the nationwide anger of 2019, when the government was forced to resign, bringing a brief period of euphoria and the hope that change could be able.

The national feel is now more frightening. Officials have warned of anarchy and some have argued that the protests were handled by political groups to incite violence or get discounts from competitors.

Many fear that social tensions are at unprecedented levels since the start of the civil war in April 1975. For the next 15 years of conflict, tires became common – a cheap way to establish barriers between war groups.

Tire fires are difficult to put out and can go on for hours, attracting attention and keeping competitors away.

The device has been used in Palestinian territories, Iraq and Sudan.

Palestinians burned tires at protests against Israel, beginning in the First Intifada (revolution) that exploded in 1987. Three decades later, at protests against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the Gaza Strip, young men formed “tire teams” that went around the small coastal area in motorcycle rickshaws to collect tires for firing. The dark black mist kept out who was throwing stones at the Israeli forces.

Open tire fires, which have been used in some countries to power kilns, have been banned in most parts of the world due to their high level of polluting materials.

Sahar Mandour, a Lebanese researcher with Amnesty International, said the practice of burning tires was a form of protest raised in many countries in the 1980s. But it has now fallen out of favor due to the impact of the environment.

“The world has moved on. … But Lebanon didn’t, “she said.” We have the same parties and the same leaders, so the tools are the same. “

Hujairi estimates that he and his friends burn between 100 and 150 tires a day. He said they are collecting used and punctured tires from trash cans, dismissing claims that political parties are giving them away.

“A little black smoke won’t hurt,” Hujairi said, in response to criticism. “There is no way for us to reach the houses of politicians.”

On Wednesday, Lebanese troops intervened to prevent the establishment of roadblock activists, two days after the president, Michel Aoun, called for action to stop them.