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Lebanese Seek To Map a Future Mired in Past
Walid Jumblatt, right, a Druze Muslim leader, listens to community members seeking favors and advice.
(Michael Robinson-chavez - Twp)
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As part of the electoral deal-making, Hezbollah entered a coalition with another Shiite party for the Shiite vote. "Complete adherence," Nasrallah told his followers in the speech. They would vote, he said, as the party ordered.
The Hopeful Youth
The graffiti remains on a wall in Beirut's Martyrs' Square, where the protests generated images broadcast across a captivated Arab world. "What is your sect?" asks one passage. "Lebanon," it answers. And another declares, "Lebanon is ours. Lebanese youth shall bring back its independence. We are the change."
Rasha Abu Hamad, an 18-year-old student, was there during the protests. For once, she felt, the city transcended its geography of sect and class.
"The feeling you had down there was beautiful. You had the sense of everybody coming together for once. That's what gives you hope," she said. "I was reminded what this country means to me. It means home. It means my future."
It's the past she wants to move beyond. Lebanon's political system is a tenuous arrangement. It protects the Christian minority by giving it equal representation in parliament. The biggest sects each receive powerful posts. In an authoritarian region, with a miserable record toward minorities, it ensures representation, albeit for communities over individuals.
Rarely, though, will someone in Lebanon defend the system, even if few agree on an alternative. A Lebanese University poll published in Al Safir newspaper Saturday suggested its unpopularity. According to the results, more than three-fourths of people questioned said they supported a democratic secular system, and more than half desired political representation based on secular parties over religious sect.
"Deep down inside, what does everybody want? They want peace and unity," Abu Hamad said, sitting with two friends. "For sure, the older generation has their idea -- 'unity, but our way.' "
Her words set off a discussion among them on the future. Was there an alternative?
"Not until the old leaders vanish and other people take their place," said Mohammed Heidar, goateed and wearing shorts.
Abu Hamad jumped in. "The politicians, they're the people who need to make way for us," she said. "Step aside."
"See how it's done," added the 20-year-old Heidar. "Our way," Abu Hamad said.
