It is the awaited day on which I will finish the final semester exams of my third academic year in the Department of Political Science. I remember that I was alone, and as soon as I set foot on the Zahleh Highway, I was surprised by a car driving at full speed, after which I found myself thrown on the other side of the road.
I underwent surgery on my right arm on the same day and was confined to bed for three full months. I believed that my hand would recover, but my hopes were shattered, and the treatment journey began. Despite undergoing three surgeries and physical therapy, my hand to this day is no longer the same as it was before.
The most difficult moment was when I left my house with the strange-shaped iron tool that was placed on my hand. I got used to isolation at that time, but life goes on and forces us to go on living.
That is what I was told by survivor Manal Al-Masry who was knocked down by a car in front of the Faculty of Law building in 2003.
Manal’s tragedy is neither the first nor the last on this road of death which lacks the minimum conditions for traffic safety. The largest number of victims registered is among the students of the Lebanese University in its four faculties in Zahleh, as the number of student victims was subtracted from at least 24 victims, the last of whom was the student Israa Ayoub who died on her first day at the university. The 17-year-old girl was found giving her last breath while clinging to her registration documents as a student in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts.
Israa’s shattered dreams acted as an incentive to raise the issue again. This painful incident awakened feelings of fear, anxiety, and student anger across Lebanon and in the Bekaa in particular.
Amidst this tragedy, Dr. Ali Hassan, a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, called on his students to stage a sit-in on January 10, 2020 to protest, with the students’ only slogan that day being “We are all Israa Ayoub.”
Dr. Hassan emphasizes that student movements and the insistence on meeting the minimum conditions of protection by those concerned are a right and must make a big difference, even after a while. He referred to the outcome of solidarity with previous movements, which he describes as somewhat timid. “The student movements resonated with the Lebanese Association for Coexistence and Development (LACD), which submitted an engineering study on the construction of a footbridge at that time.” He says that the study still exists today and expresses his gratitude to Moussawi MIT company for covering the full costs of constructing the bridge. However, before starting the construction, no agreement was reached between the company and the relevant official authorities to determine the geographical location of the bridge, and as Dr. Hassan put it, the file was closed again for “unknown” reasons.
He concluded by saying, “We wish that we would take action before reacting, for once.”
Below are the testimonials of first year university students who share with us the feelings of fear and anxiety they experience daily when they cross the highway in front of their faculties.
Aya Salloum, second year student at the Faculty of Law: “If no one helps me to cross the road, I will not do it on my own.”
Aya is a law student in branch 4, Zahleh. After crossing the highway in front of her faculty building for two years on a daily basis, the young woman in her twenties is still frightened and anxious every time, especially that she has never crossed the road on her own. Every day, Aya intentionally waits for her fellows to cross it with them because she feels safer in their presence. She says, “If no one helps me to cross the road, I will not do it on my own even if I miss a lecture or an exam. My life and safety are a priority and they are more important than anything else.”
When asked how many times students cross this road daily, Aya explains that there is no library in the faculty building, and consequently the students visit what is known as the “university library” in order to photocopy the necessary documents, just like any student in the other three faculties. This library is located in Kasara on the road facing the highway, which means that every student crosses the road four times a day at a minimum, thus endangering his/her life and his/her physical and psychological health.
The 20-year-old law student emphasizes her love for and affiliation with the Lebanese University, but she feels helpless before this reality and rules out any concrete solution to this issue in the period ahead. “If we, the Lebanese students, could afford private universities or going to Beirut, we would not miss this opportunity,” Aya says as if she were speaking for the majority of students who do not have the means to enrol in private universities, and given the severe economic crisis in the country, it is impossible for students and their families to bear the cost of transportation, dormitory, and other necessary university requirements.
Hassan Mestrah, first year student at the Department of Political Science: “If I am hungry, I need to cross the highway and another road to reach a restaurant.”
Mestrah is having his first-hand experience in university life. He enrolled at the Department of Political Science with an eagerness to experience the transition from secondary to university education, but the university is not up to his expectations. He says laughingly, “Even eating at the university puts your life at risk. If I am hungry, I need to cross the highway and another road to reach a restaurant.” He adds saying, “You may think this is a ridiculous thing, but it is the most basic human right.”
Mestrah believes that solutions are available, albeit with minimal capabilities. They are simple and insufficient solutions, but they will somewhat reduce the daily risk faced by students, employees, and professors in the same manner. It is reported that at the beginning of the academic year, a professor was knocked down on the same road on her way to the faculty. “Installing a traffic light or a speed bump in front of the campus is a cheaper solution than constructing a footbridge. By forcing cars to slow down, this solution will reduce the risk, but will not eliminate it.”
It is remarkable that young Mestrah blames himself, his fellow students, and the student councils in particular, and considers that they are all responsible for demanding their rights, since they are aware of them and accordingly they must demand, raise their voices, and assert them by themselves without waiting for any official means. He says that “The least we can do is to stand together at the four faculties of the Lebanese University. If we act in solidarity, we will certainly be able to make a difference and we will all benefit.”