Something Stinks In Lebannon

The citizens of Beirut are protesting are protesting the fact that their streets and government are full of muck.

The Lebanese Government Stinks

Bilal Hussein / AP / Via thenational.ae

Lebanon has generally been a mess since the end of the Lebanese civil war. It's sectarian form of Government has resulted in the country being in a general state of policy paralysis since the civil war ended. Basically, they have a lot of third world problems despite having a high HDI and reasonably good GDP per capita. Further, each sectarian political class has it's own dynasty that it wants to preserve. Citizens of Beirut usually rely on the private sector for most of their requirements. Generators for power when there are power cuts. Private water suppliers for water. These alternatives make life bearable.

But now it's started to smell..

Karim Mostafa / Via aljazeera.com

Recently shit hit the fan, when the Government decided to close down a landfill near Beirut. Garbage began accumulating on the streets of Beirut. There can be no private alternative to this failure as there is literally now nowhere to put the garbage. It just keeps accumulating and boy does it smell. The smell is so bad, people are wearing masks and walking around and apparently most streets now look like this one.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir / Via dailystar.com.lb

The smell is so bad, that people have resorted to burning garbage on the streets. This is not an ideal state of affairs. It can cause fires. So there has been a lot of fire and fires being put out. Most people have generally concluded that this has made the smell worse.

Public anger has become peaceful civil protest.

AFP - Getty Images / Via nbcnews.com

Public resentment against the state of trash on the streets has become a massive protest that is happening right in in Beirut! This protest is slowly turing into something much bigger. They are demanding broader changes to the political system.

Power hates change

Reuters/Jamal Saidi / Via uk.reuters.com

The Government, like any other authoritarian government has been violently suppressing protests using tear gas and water cannons. In some cases security forces have opened fire on peaceful civilians.

Mohamed Azakir / Reuters / Via english.alarabiya.net

On 1 September there was a sit in protest at the Lebanese Environment Ministry demanding the resignation of the environment minister and an immediate solution to the garbage crisis. This was a peaceful sit in consistent with democratic values and the Lebanese people exhibited model civil behaviour while doing the same.

Until...

Lucien Bourjeily / Via facebook.com

"The people who are still inside, please help, we are alone.. They will enter any second now" - Lucien Bourjeily

It was a wonderful moment for democracy everywhere, until Riot Police stormed the Environment Ministry.