BEIRUT (AP) – It is an expression of anger as well as helplessness: anti-government protesters in Lebanon are burning tires to block major roads, releasing dense plumes of smoke rising over the capital Beirut and other parts of the country.
The tactic has become the hallmark of a new flare-up of demonstrations against an unyielding political class that appears to be doing little as the country drifts into political and economic abyss. Lebanon is embroiled in the worst economic crisis in its modern history, and the situation has been exacerbated by pandemic restrictions and overwhelming healthcare.
The fire releases our anger. It calms our hearts, ”said Mounir Hujairi, a 23-year-old protester from Baalbek, northeast Lebanon, who juggles his time between low-paid jobs and protests.
The band soot and smoke blacken the faces of protesters in anti-virus masks at temporary roadblocks that cut traffic around Beirut and between cities. The persistence of the protesters and the daily burning of tires underscore how persistent the country’s problems have become.
Anti-government rallies began to grip Lebanon for the first time in late 2019. Since then, the local currency has collapsed, after being pegged to the dollar for nearly 30 years. Salaries have remained the same while inflation has skyrocketed. People lost their jobs and poverty affected nearly 50% of the population.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s sectarian political system is stuck. Politicians have refused to compromise in forming government or making difficult financial decisions for fear of losing influence or support.
Exhausted, scared and constrained by the coronavirus, Lebanese have watched members of the ruling elite blame each other for the crisis.
Last week, the currency hit rock bottom, trading at £ 11,000 a dollar in the black market, down from the official 1,500 – sparking another wave of protests.
“The solution will only come through the streets,” said Hujairi, who has been taking part in protests since October 2019. “Of course those whose streets – or the streets of their political parties – are blocked will be angry.”
The roadblocks are a desperate way to reclaim the anger felt nationwide in 2019 when the government was forced to resign, leading to a brief period of euphoria and hope that change is possible.
The national vote is now more scared. Officials have warned of chaos, and some have argued that the protests were manipulated by political groups to incite violence or make concessions to rivals.
Many fear that social tension has reached a level not seen since before the outbreak of the civil war in April 1975. Over the next 15 years of conflict, burning ties became common — an inexpensive way to set up roadblocks between warring factions.
Tire fires are difficult to put out and can last for hours, drawing attention and keeping rivals at bay.
The tactic has been used in the Palestinian Territories, Iraq and Sudan.
Palestinians burned tires during protests against the Israeli occupation that began during their first uprising that broke out in 1987. Three decades later, during protests against an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade of Gaza, young men formed “tire crews” riding motorcycles around the small coastal strip. Rickshaws to collect tires to burn. The dark black smoke served to obscure the identities of those throwing stones at Israeli forces.
Open tire fires, used to power furnaces in some countries, have been banned in most of the world due to their high pollutant emissions.
Sahar Mandour, a Lebanon researcher at Amnesty International, said the burning of tires as a form of protest was picked up in many countries in the 1980s. But it has since gone out of style due to its environmental impact.
The world went on. … But not Lebanon, ”she said. “We have the same parties and the same leaders, so the tools are the same.”
Hujairi claims that he and his friends burn between 100 and 150 tires every day. He said they take used and flat tires from landfill and reject claims made by political parties handing them out.
“A little black smoke won’t hurt,” said Hujairi in response to criticism. “There is no way we can reach the homes of politicians.”