BEIRUT (AP) – This is an expression of anger, but also of helplessness: protesters against the Lebanese government are burning tires to block key roads, releasing dense smoke stains that rise above the capital Beirut and other parts of the country.
The tactic has become the hallmark of a new flare-up of demonstrations against an uncompromising political class that apparently does little when its country slips into the political and economic abyss. Lebanon is caught in the worst economic crisis in its modern history, and the situation has been exacerbated by pandemic restrictions and an overwhelming healthcare sector.
“The fire releases our anger. It silences our hearts, ”said Mounir Hujairi, a 23-year-old Baalbek protester in northeastern Lebanon, who alternated his time between newly paid protests and protests.
The band’s soot and smoke make the faces of protesters turn black in antivirus masks at roadblocks that cut off traffic around Beirut and between cities. The stubbornness of the protesters and the daily burning of tires underscore how difficult the country’s problems have become.
Anti-government marches first attacked Lebanon in late 2019. Since then, the local currency has collapsed, having been pegged to the dollar for nearly 30 years. Salaries remained the same as inflation soared. People lost their jobs and poverty affected almost 50% of the population.
Meanwhile, the sectarian political system in Lebanon is stuck. Politicians have refused to compromise on forming a government or to make difficult financial decisions for fear of losing their influence or support base.
Exhausted, scared and constrained by the coronavirus, Lebanese watched as members of the ruling elite blamed each other for the crisis.
Last week, the currency reached a record low and traded in the black market at 11,000 pounds against the dollar, compared to the official 1500, which caused a new wave of protests.
“The solution will only come through the streets,” said Hujairi, who has been participating in protests since October 2019. “Of course, those whose streets – or the streets of their political parties – are blocked will be angry.”
The roadblocks are a desperate way to regain the anger felt nationwide in 2019 when the government was forced to resign, which sparked a brief period of euphoria and hopes change can be possible.
The national mood is now more frightening. Officials warned of chaos and some argued that the protests were manipulated by political groups to incite violence or gain concessions from competitors.
Many fear that social tensions have reached levels not yet seen before the civil war broke out in April 1975. During the next 15 years of conflict, burning ties became commonplace – an inexpensive way to set up barriers between warring factions.
Tire fires are difficult to put out and can take hours to attract attention and keep competitors away.
The tactic was used in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Sudan.
Palestinians burned tires during protests against the Israeli occupation with their first uprising that erupted in 1987. Three decades later, during demonstrations against an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade of Gaza, young men formed “tire teams” that rode a motorcycle around the small coastal strip to collect tires for fire. The dark black smoke obscured the identity of those who stoned Israel’s forces.
Open tires, used in some countries to power furnaces, have been banned in most parts of the world due to the large emission of pollutants.
Sahar Mandour, a Lebanese researcher at Amnesty International, said the use of tires as a form of protest was introduced in many countries in the 1980s. But it has since gone out of fashion due to the environmental impact.
“The world has moved on. “But Lebanon has not,” she said. “We have the same parties and the same leaders, so the instruments are the same.”
Hujairi claims he and his friends burn between 100 and 150 tires a day. He said they collect used and pierced tires from garbage dumps and reject allegations that political parties are handing them out.
“A little black smoke will not hurt,” Hujairi said in response to criticism. “There is no way to reach the homes of politicians.”