Syrian melancholy in Lebanon’s revolution

This piece was originally published on December 6th, 2019 on Al Jumhuriya and was co-written with Dara Foi’Elle (pseudonym). Translations: Spanish, German.

On 22 October, five days into the ongoing Lebanese uprising, an artist based in Syria’s Idlib drew a mural of the late Palestinian-Syrian-Lebanese intellectual Samir Kassir with the quote: “When the Arab Spring blooms in Beirut, it announces the time of roses in Damascus.” Kassir wrote these words on 4 March, 2005, less than three months before his assassination, in the context of Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution against the Syrian regime. Six years later, in March 2011, the time of roses came to Damascus.

Today, Lebanon is undergoing another moment of awakening, but one which comes eight years after that same regime turned its weapons, once again, against the Syrian people. Since then, over a million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon and, in recent years, worsening economic conditions have provided Lebanese politicians with more material with which to scapegoat Syrians.

At the same time, Syrians (and Palestinians) are participating in Lebanon’s ongoing protests, but most, including the co-author of this piece, choose to do so from the sidelines out of fear of being targeted by security forces and/or sectarian media outlets.