Beirut tent city acquires an air of normality

Central Beirut has acquired an eerie air of normality in the midst of the abnormal.

The hundreds of tents thrown up by opposition activists are now little more than a slight annoyance for employees who have to park their cars a little further from their jobs.

Strangely, even a new cafe opened, though it barely sees any customers.

Indeed, the hundreds of opposition activists camped out in tents since December in central Beirut show no sign of ending their round-the-clock vigil which has brought Beirut’s financial and commercial hub to a virtual standstill.

Saturday marks the 100th day of the sit-in organized by the opposition, which includes Shiite Muslim groups Hezbollah and Amal and a Christian party. They have occupied two squares in the city center to press demands for more say in government.

The protest forced several downtown boutiques and restaurants to close since the tents went up just yards away, creating a virtual village.

The activists, many of whom have made the tents a second home, say they want to topple Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government.

On the eve of the 100th day, Siniora, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has yet to give in. Nevertheless the protesters, undaunted, say they will not move on.

“We’re prepared to stay here forever” and “We won’t leave even if takes us 100 years to achieve our aims” are common utterances among the protesters.

The opposition is locked in a power struggle with the Sunni-led majority coalition behind Siniora’s government.

It accuses the government of refusing to give it veto power in cabinet. But the government denies this was the reason for the opposition’s boycott which it says was politically motivated.

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Long-awaited talks between rival leaders on Thursday revived hopes that a deal may be reached soon, which would end the sit-in, see the tent city dismantled and central Beirut regaining its buzz.

‘Lebanese are survivors’
“Studying is useless as long as Siniora is in government. Studying will make us die of hunger because even if we finish we will never find a job,” said 20-year-old student Mohammed Ali Hussein from the Bekaa Valley.

Across from tent city, there is little sign of life. Once trendy restaurants popular among Gulf Arab tourists are now mostly empty or shut. Clothing boutiques also look dismal.

Still some Lebanese are adamant on going about their daily business as normally as they possibly can.

“Lebanese are survivors. We are here to prove to them that life goes on,” said Nour Ismael, 23, who was having lunch with a solitary group in the city’s normally bustling cafe strip.

Bizarrely, a new cafe recently opened.

“We opened to provide hope to everyone that the country will keep going on,” said Operation Manager of Costa cafe Ali Hojeij.

Though he only gets about 20 customers a day compared to 400 a day in their other Beirut branch, Hojeij is undeterred. “Of course we’re making a loss (but) it’s an investment. We believe everything will go back to the way it was.”