Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Undeterred by tragedy, Lebanon's youth continue to fight for change

Undeterred by tragedy, Lebanon's youth continue to fight for change

“The explosion is a symbolic manifestation of all the corruption and incompetence that’s happening," one protester said.


Despite violent suppression, a nationwide lockdown and a state of emergency in Beirut, the nation’s capital, the people of Lebanon are still taking to the streets demanding revolution.

At least 178 people were killed in the Beirut port explosion of Aug. 4, with thousands more injured and an estimated 300,000 displaced from their homes. Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, has estimated the damage at $10 billion to $15 billion.

In the wake of the destruction, the youth of Lebanon are spending their days repairing the damage.

“We clean the rubble, we sort the glass, we sort the wood, we sort the aluminum. We just try to help as much as we can,” said Raymond Tyan, 26,who has spent the last two weeks repairing damaged homes.

But at night, Tyan and his friends take to the streets to protest.

“We want to be like the West. We don’t want to be like Iran or these countries. We want to be a proper democracy,” Tyan said.


Ghadi Dagher in hospital after he says he was shot by Lebanese authorities on Aug. 11, 2020.



Protests have been ongoing in Lebanon since October, when Lebanese from multiple sects banded together to express their anger at a proposed levy on WhatsApp calls. Lebanon’s Cabinet decided to pull the tax proposal, which would have charged 20 cents a day for internet-enabled voice calls.

Lina Hamdan, a former strategist for the United Nations Development Program, said that the focus of the protests has switched recently to the government neglect that is widely blamed for the explosion.

“This great disaster comes from negligence, because of lack of responsibility from the government,” Hamdan said. “The people are angry. They don’t want a peaceful revolution anymore.”


Anti-government protesters burn a barricade next to a wall installed by security forces to block access to the Parliament building, during a demonstration on Aug. 11.



The blast was triggered when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire. The extremely flammable material had been there since arriving on an impounded ship six years ago.

Lebanese people from across the cultural and religious spectrum have united in their demand for answers as to how such dangerous material could be left sitting in a populated port in the heart of downtown Beirut for so long, with no preventative measures.

“I have friends that got shot with live ammunition and rubber bullets when they protested,” said Tyan, who sent NBC News images of his friend Ghady Dagher apparently showing wounds caused by rubber bullets. (The Lebanese Internal Security Forces denied firing bullets at protesters.)

The protesters have called for a new government, demanding that President Michel Aoun and others in power resign so that new voices can begin to rebuild Lebanon. On Aug. 10, Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who was only in power since January, resigned along with the rest of his Cabinet.


A Lebanese protester uses a tennis racket to throw projectiles during clashes with security forces in downtown Beirut on Aug. 11, 2020 following a huge chemical explosion that devastated large parts of the Lebanese capital.



Elias Saade, a 26-year-old activist, told NBC News the change was meaningless in practice and that the protesters were “not going home any time soon.”

“The government’s resignation doesn’t mean anything because it has never been in a position of power,” Saade said. “All of the members of the government are puppets to this Parliament and until we dissolve the Parliament itself, there will be no change in this country.”

Hezbollah, which holds 12 seats in the Lebanese Parliament, has not escaped public anger. The Shia militia group’s figureheads have been among those targeted in the calls for reform, with demonstrators burning an effigy of the group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Saade compared the government to a “mafia system” that has corrupted Lebanon, run by a political elite lining their own pockets through backend deals.

He said that he and his fellow protesters’ demands are as simple as “electricity, infrastructure and water” — basic utilities that are in short supply.

“It’s not just a physical explosion that happened,” Saade said. “The explosion is a symbolic manifestation of all the corruption and incompetence that’s happening in our government.”


Yara Temsah in hospital after she says she was shot by Lebanese authorities on Aug. 11, 2020.



Despite a new lockdown announced Monday because of a spike in coronavirus cases, Lebanese protesters are still taking to the streets. “During coronavirus, some people are saying, ‘We’re dying of hunger, what’s [this] going to do to us?’ People are willing to give their lives for this cause,” Saade said.

But amid the chaos, Hamdan says Lebanon’s people are not scared for the future.  

“We are Lebanese, Lebanese are never scared.  We’ve been through civil war, so many wars, so many hurdles,” she said.  “Now we’re hoping that the next generation will have a real Lebanon, a free independent, and prosperous Lebanon.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×