Students in North Lebanon for Citizenship – Between Empowerment and Disenfranchisement

Starting 18 October 2019, Tripoli citizens of various backgrounds had turned al-Nour Square into a public forum. Every night for weeks, crowds gathered would chant revolutionary slogans, protest and dance. Many young Lebanese joined in and women in particular stood out for their fierceness, bravery and eloquence. The recent Covid-19 virus-induced lockdown, however, has forced students and university lecturers to adapt and move courses and activism online.

Nala Kalamouni, a Lebanese University graphic design student from El Mina, was among the young women who participated in daily protest marches. “I was also involved in other ways including spreading messages and demands on social media platforms,” she recalled.

Fellow Lebanese University student Nazih Chami, who also partook in the movement, put forward the role of women as one of its greatest successes: “I was proud to see how strong women were, being the headlines of many stories,” he said.

Samer El-Hajjar, who lectures in Business Management at Balamand University and set up public discussion sessions at al-Nour Square titled “Madrasat El-Moshaghebeen” (literally “The School of the Mischievous,” based on a famous play of the same name), observed that female students were generally more active than their male counterparts: “There were strong feminist slogans and women had an additional agenda in this revolution.” Hajjar pointed out that students are aware that they are cheated of their rights and full citizenship status. “Students are not organised – we don’t have independent political young students.. They protest over applications!”

“Basic rights are lacking. That touches on the issue of nationality and unemployment. This was the main factor for demonstrations. Especially if you consider that my students take a three-year business course that costs $15,000 per year and 90% to 95% consider leaving Lebanon as they have no prospects here at all,” Hajjar said.

In a recent article for The Legal Agenda website, Lama Karame, a visiting scholar at the University of Columbia's Faculty of Law, wrote that “the education system also contributes to the exclusion of youth from public affairs via pedagogical policies that marginalise any political education of children.”(1) “The fact that universities maintain strict religious or political affiliations affects the students as well as staff,” Hajjar said. “Nonetheless, 17 October was a watershed moment. It broke the ice with the political system! Students were for once motivated to talk about politics, they took part in the protests and the discussions in the tents held in the squares.”

Among the tents that started mushrooming on and around al-Nour Square, four were student-run: one by Lebanese University students and three by private university students. Equipped with an old megaphone, Obeida Takriti, a graduate from the American University of Beirut, started daily public discussion sessions in October 2019. Initial attendance: seven people. The sessions quickly grew organically, totalling 260 attendees by early March. “They have become more interactive and besides touching on political matters, we have also included political methodology and philosophy related to what is happening into the 10-minute presentations,” Takriti explained. Topics covered included “How to communicate with people who are against the revolution,” “How to avoid Covid-19,” and a session on why Lebanon should not pay the Eurobonds.

Attempts to hold such sessions at other universities were vetoed by their respective administrations. Asked in March 2020 how the situation had evolved since October, Takriti observed that many students were upset now, especially as their problems were no longer overwhelmingly political but economic. “They didn’t know how to move to real politics and other activities; many believed in a quick fix and thought this would be over in one month. I believe in a long-term vision,” Takriti said. Hajjar qualifies the mood as sombre. “Many stopped protesting and chose to deal with private matters. There has also been pressure from political parties as well as families.”

While it may be too early to assess the gains of the protest movement, particularly for students’ rights, Hajjar pointed out that his students had started to read and were attending more seminars. Chami corroborated this, stating: “Generally speaking, in this period I felt that I’ve grown-up quickly because of these changes around me and also the changes in my thoughts and reflection.”

“Maybe the greatest achievement is that the square has brought together two cities,” said Hajjar. Discussion sessions as well as civic initiatives launched in tents drew in some 100 to 200 Tripolitans over the past months, engaging both affluent citizens and residents from the poorest parts of the city!”