17 October 2020
One year on from its uprising, with much of Beirut in ruins, Lebanon is in the depths of despair. Yet a way forward out the abyss remains possible.
Demonstrations
Is it time to leave Lebanon? The question, posed with renewed urgency after Beirut’s port explosion, is as old as the country itself, writes Dr. Sara Mourad, who returned in 2016 after seven years abroad.
As Trump threatens to turn the army on peaceful demonstrators, Syrian activist and author Leila Al-Shami writes what Americans might learn from Syria’s nine-plus years of revolutionary struggle.
Al-Jumhuriya talks to veteran Lebanese journalist Michael Young about the parallels and distinctions between today’s mass protests in Lebanon and the 2005 “Cedar Revolution.”
It’s never easy to be optimistic about Lebanon, but the uprising of the past week offers a real chance for lasting change—if the protest movement plays its cards well.
With the return of mass peaceful Friday demonstrations in Syria, disputes have emerged regarding the tradition of giving each protest a name, with complaints that armed factions and foreign powers are trying to impose their agendas on civilian activists on the ground.
Syrian democrats are natural allies of the demonstrators currently being gunned down across Iran. May this mark a new chapter in regionwide, cross-sectarian solidarity, says Robin Yassin-Kassab.