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I am from Lebanon. AMA (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 month ago by godsvictory@hexbear.net to c/ama@hexbear.net

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Marhaba.

I live in Lebanon, Aley district. Israeli airstrike targets are at proximity of my location. Beirut, and particularly Dahieh, is completely visible from my balcony. There are also refugees sheltered in my town.

Other things to know about me: I am a leftist, and a legal and political writer.

P.S. I will answer anything (as it is with AMA posts), not only issues pertaining to the recent events.

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[–] SubstantialNothingness@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I have so many questions I could ask. Here is a selection of them. I know it's a lot, so please feel free to not answer any of them.

What does Lebanon need most right now? (This is an intentionally vague question.)
How can Lebanese leftists make a difference domestically? Internationally?
In your eyes, what does global leftism need the most right now? What can global leftists do for each other right now?
What does leftism in imperial countries need the most right now? What can empire-residing leftists in particular do for the people of exploited states?

How much of an impact has the 2020 Beirut port explosion had on the country? (The videos that day had a profound effect on me, I've thought about the Lebanese people almost every day since.)
What are the chances that the existing government structure remains intact in, let's say, 20-25 years? What do you think and what is the consensus opinion?
How functional is the national government right now? What areas (responsibilities/programs) and regions are it more and less functional in? How is the government viewed?
How do Beirut and regions further north view Hezbollah?
Lebanon is a diverse country. Across the territory, how strong is the desire to remain as a single coherent state in the long-term?

What do you think will determine Lebanon's fate over the next few decades? How much is under the control of the populace, vs. how much is dependent on externalities?
What is the prevalence in the country of the various opinions about climate change?
You've mentioned the prevalence of solar cells. Was this driven out of necessity? If so, what lessons can you share with the rest of us - were there challenges in adoption, was it surprisingly easy to adopt, is this solution sufficient for people's energy needs in Lebanon, what conditions led to people adopting solar cells, who has been left out in this transition, etc.

What has been the reaction among the people to Nasrallah's assassination?
Do you feel safe right now? If not, what would help you to feel safer?

[–] godsvictory@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Ideally, Lebanon needs a proletarian revolution. Practically, refugees from the South are in need of material assistance.
By mobilising the working class and spearheading the labor movement. Also creating ties with leftist orgs and states abroad.
leftist movements around the world should encourage mutual aid among themselves, be it financial, technical or cultural.
if the leftists of the imperial core want to help the global south, they must look inwards. Protest against your governments in any means possible, and more importantly create ties between the native workers and the immigrant populations; the latter, I think, might be the key to decolonize the imperial core.

Lebanon is characterized by its exclusively tertiary economy. We rely exclusively on tourism, trade and banking. The root cause is the neoliberal policy of the past decades. The port's explosion and the destruction of the city caused a major economic setback. And that's without addressing the emotional damage. It was a traumatic experience for many who lost their homes and loved ones. The explosion's remnants remind us of the incompetence of the government.
i cannot speak this far into the future with how unstable Lebanon has always been. Nobody really knows. But I hope it's overthrown and its colonial legacy wholly eradicated.
The current cabinet is a caretaker one, awaiting the appointment of a new one since 2022 because we can't decide on president. Constitutionally speaking, the caretaker cabinet cannot issue important decrees and so in other words the country is ungoverned. The cabinet is extremely unpopular and disregarded.
Beirut is a diverse city containing all constituents. Same with the North.
Confessional coexistence is an essential pillar in the Lebanese political fabric. There are calls for a federation but this is a minority. I have issues with the unitary approach because the country is a bourgeois nation-state unilateraly established by the French colonizer. But the federal approach is also flawed because it is premised on separation along religious lines which is a recipe for disaster.

Lebanon's fate is dependent on that of its larger neighbours. I wish that the working class can take the matter into its own hands but the main two obstacles are, funnily enough, the zionist entity and Hezbollah (which is upholding the bourgeois establishment). I find it hard to conceive any solution other than armed struggle, but this too requires external funding.
climate change emerged as a serious issue with the 2019 protests. Protestors successfully deterred the authorities from building a harmful dam for example. On an institutional level there isn't any consideration whatsoever to the climate issue as it is the norm with capitalist states. Agriculture was deeply affected by the increasing temperatures, and there are water shortages due to unregulated underground extractions and neglect of rivers' pollution. Also unregulated are the resource extraction sites that are popping up on every mountain and are ravaging the natural lansscape. And finally we cannot forget the zionists provoking forest fires on the soutgern border.
the sudden surge in green energy isn't out of concern for the environment butvratehr a product of the collapse of publically-sourced electricity. There is power for only two to four hours a day. The biggest profiteers were owners of private generator whose actions exhibit signs of monopoly and criminal cartel, and most of whom have ties with politicians. Solar energy more or less constituted an escape from this reality. This article offers more elaborated explanations. Concerning the public energy sector there are talks of privatising the electricity company, but private generators are a good example of this would be a bad idea. Especially since there is a history of privatisation deals done in the interest of enterprises belonging to politicians and government officials.

response to nasrallah's assassination are mixed. Shia muslims were the most affected by it of course. The majority of the population holds sympathies. There is a deafening silence from political parties, allies and opponents alike.
I am privileged to be safe and unaffected by the war. The targets of zionist attacks have been hezbollah facilities. I don't live in a Hezbollah area and my town is located at the center of the country. But this would change if the zionist army pushes deep inside, like in 2006. They do not differentiate between a soldier and civilian, between a muslim and a christian.

[–] SubstantialNothingness@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

I deeply appreciate your detailed responses, thank you.