LEBANESE ARE IN NO MOOD TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY
▶ With negotiations to form a new government again at a standstill, many citizens choose to stay home instead
Posters glorifying the army may have sprung up all over the country and ringtones switched to the national anthem, but as Lebanon commemorates the 75th anniversary of its independence from France, Lebanese say there is little to celebrate.
In addition to long-standing issues such as a crumbling infrastructure, the highest refugee-per-capita ratio in the world and rising environmental fears, Lebanon has been without a government for six months as politicians bicker about power sharing. Negotiations have reached a new deadlock after Hezbollah demanded representation for its Sunni allies, a request that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri rejected.
Without a government, Lebanon cannot carry out reforms needed to access money pledged last April by the international community. This is threatening to plunge the country into an economic crisis, given it has the third-highest debtto-GDP ratio in the world.
Like many young Lebanese, Abdallah Amhaz, 29, a sales employee in a multinational company, said he would enjoy his day off by staying home and ignoring celebrations.
“What’s the use of Independence Day if we can’t take care of ourselves?” he said. “I’ve heard people my age joke they wish we were still occupied by the French. We’re not even getting anything from the Independence Day show. Only politicians can watch the military parade in person.”
Despite violent protests in 2015, civil society has been unable to dislodge a ruling elite littered with warlords and their offspring. “Independence Day just reminds us that we still have the same problems and the same leaders,” said blogger Gino Raidy.
Several civil society movements have organised a demonstration in central Beirut on Independence Day under the slogan “Our independence from their exploitation”.
“It is necessary to admit that there is a governance and management crisis, not just an electricity, a water, or a garbage problem,” the organisers wrote.
Increasing frustrations, preparations for the Independence Day military parade brought traffic to a halt in Beirut last week. The army, considered untainted by the sectarian divisions that plague Lebanese politics, remains popular in Lebanon. But even diehard supporters are exasperated.
Gone are the days when her family would celebrate by gathering to sing patriotic songs and eat a cake shaped like the Lebanese flag, said the sister of a soldier who was killed several years ago in clashes against armed Salafi groups.
“We stopped after my brother died, and today we are not happy at all with the current situation. The government needs to let the army do its job,” she said.
Lebanese authorities remain incapable of reining in Hezbollah’s powerful militia.
For many Lebanese, the country is still not truly independent.
“Independence is possible only if Lebanon is not a proxy for other countries,” said a tweet read out by a presenter on LBC, one of the country’s main TV channels, in answer to the question: “What does independence mean?”
The 83rd birthday of Lebanon’s much-loved diva Fayrouz, which falls a day before Independence Day, generated a much stronger patriotic response.
“She is the real image of Lebanon to come ... and of our homeland’s ancestors,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan posted on Twitter.
What’s the use of Independence Day ... I’ve heard people my age joke they wish we were still occupied by the French ABDALLAH AMHAZ Sales employee