Lebanese turmoil withers 'Beirut Spring' optimism

But many young activists are still struggling to maintain the movement that followed in the wake of Hariri's death.

from the February 19, 2008 edition

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Confronting powerful Hizbullah is a daunting challenge, but Schei says that Lebanese civil society groups "have become synonymous with a lack of action."

Rudy Jaafar, a board member of Nahwa al-Muwatiniya, Arabic for "Toward Citizenship," says that "the work of NGOs has not been made any easier because of the situation. It has been difficult for us to get projects going and get the people we need because people are leaving the country, especially the young. And there are problems with security, problems with funds."

Most Lebanese – while generally supporting the ideas that motivate the civil society groups – have more pressing priorities given the deteriorating economy and security climate in the country.

"Changing the system is not really the priority anymore [in people's minds]," says Ms. Andraos, of 05Amam. "The priority is making sure you're not blown up."

One group was formed as a direct result of the worsening violence in Lebanon. Khalass, Arabic for "Enough," was established in the wake of a deadly university riot in January 2007 in which Sunnis and Shiites fought each other on the streets of Beirut. The riot, which ended with seven dead and an Army-imposed curfew, served as a vivid warning to Lebanon's political leaders of the tensions building among their respective partisans.

"Khalass was based on the fear and frustration of young people that the same [sectarian] leaders that created war between 1975 and 1990 are doing the same thing again in 2007 and 2008," says Gilbert Doumit, a Khalass activist.

The group circulated a petition calling for an amicable solution to the crisis which drew 40,000 signatures and, last November, in the run-up to the scheduled presidential election, held sit-ins outside parliament and a mock funeral procession past the homes of politicians. But Doumit admits that while people privately sympathize with Khalass, turning that latent support into direct action and influence is proving a challenge.

Optimism in Lebanon is an increasingly scarce commodity amid continuing street clashes in mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods, hostile tit-for-tat rhetoric from politicians, and a political impasse that only seems to be worsening. Despite this, civil society activists vow to press on.

"You have two options, leave or stay," says Andraos. "If stay, you can sit at home and complain, or you can get out and do something."

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