On Lebanon's civil society: I have noticed that a number of observers are trying to understand the #LebanonProtests. The protests are not magic.They’re product of years of work:The work of Lebanon's civil society that needs to be acknowledged. #لبنان_يثور #لبنان__ينتفض #Beirut
1)Many remember the protests in 2015 that were covered by international media- now since that year, activists managed to achieve successes in some areas for first time, challenging the existing political system they're fighting. I will focus on elections in 2017/18:
2) In 2017, civil society won in the Beirut Order of Engineers polls. Jad Tabet, backed by Beirut Madinati coalition was able to beat a candidate supported by traditional parties. That was a major victory for civil society. Read here: dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-N…
3) Then came 2018, and civil society was gearing up for legislative elections. Large number of independent candidates backed by civil society joined the race. Now there is @PaulaYacoubian in the parliament and she's been the voice of civil society in the 128-member parliament.
4)Another figure @JHaddadOfficial was supposed to win a seat before it was given to her competitor. Her supporters spoke of fraud and demanded a recount. Joumana later appealed the results. Up until now, Joumana is an active member in civil society.
5) Joumana meets with young people and listens to them/ advises. She is one of many figures who are stirring change in my country. Mentioning this detail because others-example in Iraq-been asking questions about these protests. Sadly restrictions been placed in #Iraq amid fear.
6) So if you want to write about the protests in #Lebanon you cannot ignore all these. Reach out to activists and movements like Li Haqqi that played key role in organizing the protests. First night they even managed to convince people to stop driving& join protest.
7) The political system Lebanese are pushing against now cannot be easily uprooted. They have a long fight. But these protests are unique and the ones behind them have a plan.
