Activists in Akkar gathered under the "Halba sit-in tent". Hamid el-Kareh pictures
Activists in Halba, one of Akkar’s major towns, were organized from the earliest days of the uprising. Each one of them was entrusted with a specific role: media communications officer, treasurer, fundraiser, and many more. Activists from the “Halba sit-in tent” are in constant coordination with others from the neighboring regions of Jumeh and Abdeh. "We work closely together to organize sit-ins and protests, and to approve press releases issued in the name of the Akkar revolution”, said Khaled Nasr, a 27-year-old activist.
Ever since the beginning of the popular uprising on October 17, the sit-in in the square has been permanent, and the tent has never been vacant. "The members of our group ensure a permanent presence inside the tent”, says Khaled Nasr. "Some of us stand guard at night and sleep during the day, while others come to the square in the early hours of the morning”, said the young man, sporting a reddish brown beard, and a slightly creased forehead. "Ever since the tent was set-up, not a minute has gone by without there being at least one protester”, he said with pride.
"We meet on a regular basis, and we put in place strategies in order to carry out our revolutionary plan of action", indicates the young man, who underlines that he and his companions have committed the majority of their days and nights to this revolution, "because all of us are jobless”. According to the activist, out of the 200 or so people who regularly participate in sit-ins and demonstrations, and who range in age from 15 to 30, the only one able to provide for himself is a taxi driver. "As for the rest of us, our future is doomed, and we have nothing left to lose or fear”, he said.
"A mother, a police station, and a support group"
Who are these defiant and tireless young rebels from Akkar who will not allow themselves to lose hope? “We are a group of young people gathered around the same objectives. Among other things, we want to see the end of a community-based system, the end of the banking system, and the cancellation of the public debt”, said Ghayth Hammud, a red keffiyeh casually tied around his neck, and his hair held up by a headband. Does the group have a Leftist tendency? "No, the group does not have any pre-established political orientation”, he replied categorically. Our struggle is simply a class struggle against the 1% of the population who stole the money from the remaining 99%”. He adds: “The fact that we are perceived as belonging to a left-wing group or to any other, does not bother us the least. Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Terfeh, who was forced to drop out of school because his parents could no longer afford to pay his tuition fees, says that his revolution is against "MPs and ministers". This young man, with a baby-face and a sad pout, is not even in his twenties yet, but has well earned the nickname "Abu Shehab" in reference to a character in the Syrian television series "Bab el-hara", well-known for his courage and strength. Despite his young age, Mohammad, aka Abu Shehab has taken part in all the main revolution incidents, including the takeover of Halba’s BLOM bank, on January 3.
The demonstrators of Halba believe that that particular event was a turning point in their revolution. "That day, like every other day, we escorted a client to the bank where management offered him three solutions, all of which turned out to be ways of gaining time, before the riot brigade arrived on site,” said Mr. Hammud. “We then decided to physically take control of the bank once we were told that the customer would not be getting his money.” The demonstrators set up mattresses on the floor as they planned on spending the night. In a video posted on Halba’s protestors Facebook account, we can hear Mr. Hammud say: "If the security forces have chosen to protect the owners of the banks instead of the people, then we are ready to die here." In another video, we can see the protesters inside the bank, playing cards and chanting a song they named ‘The Anthem’s Fight Against Banks’. After a sit-in that lasted twelve hours, the activists finally won out on behalf of the bank’s client. "We succeeded in shaming the banking system that has kept the Lebanese people on a leash for more than thirty years, and in ensuring that the client got the exact amount he was asking for!”, he said proudly.
"When a bank refuses to give people their own money, the residents of the area come to the protesters asking for their help”, said Nasr. Step by step, our tent has become a mother, a support group and a police station."
"Nothing left to lose"
In recent weeks, Akkar’s activists have broadened their range of action. They decided, to prevent the smuggling of fruits and vegetables, a problem that hurt the livelihood of farmers in the area. Almost two weeks ago, the activists blocked the passage of a truck coming from Syria. When they asked the driver for his customs documents, he presented them with a permit that allowed him to deliver two types of fruits and vegetables that Lebanon does not usually produce during the current season. Wanting to make sure that he only carried these two types of goods, the activists searched his cargo and found out -as they had suspected-, that the driver was in reality a smuggler. As a result, they forced him to turn around, telling him: "Under no circumstances will these products be sold on the Lebanese market”, says Hammud. The smuggler did exactly what he was told.
The activists then went to the customs control office in the cross-border area of Arida, where they were received by the office director. "He tried to calm us down by telling us that he was against corruption, and that he was a full supporter of the revolution, but nonetheless we asked him to vacate the premises. He went out along with the security agents who, given our number (around fifty) and our determination, did not even try to stop us”, recalls Mr. Hammud. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army was brought in. "We gave them two options: either the army would take over the office, or we would do so ourselves as we were fully capable of overseeing it”, added the activist.
Asked about the reactions of the office manager and the security guards, Mr. Nasr replied ironically: "What security? We are the State!”. Isn’t this an extremely dangerous statement? "Not at all”, he says without any hesitation. "When security officers chose to protect smugglers, while we chose to stand up for farmers, and when security forces protect bank owners while we defend the ones crumbling under the weight of poverty, as well as the ones asking for their own money, then which side represents best the rule of law and justice?”, he asked feverishly.
Today, the director of the customs control office is still in charge, but the activists remain very vigilant, and continue to keep an eye on the borders in order to prevent potential smugglers from transporting goods that are not in compliance with the agricultural calendar. So far, the protesters confirm that they have successfully stopped 28 smugglers from carrying unlicensed goods into the country, and have sent all of them back to Syria. "We are fixing the loopholes and the corruption that are eroding the offices of customs control”, says Nasr. But what is the real fuel behind these activists’ persistence, strength and audacity? “You might not believe us, but we really have nothing left to lose”, he says. “Our lives are not worth much, so we are not scared of losing them!”
(This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 6th of February)
