Lebanon woke up on Saturday in a state of destruction after public and private properties in Beirut and other areas were attacked during angry riots.
“#This_is_not_our_revolution” trended on Twitter as people spoke up against the awful acts of vandalism that took place the night before.
The protests took a violent turn, targeting offices and shops of Lebanese citizens, causing irrevocable damage. The general consensus: this was none other than the work of false protesters, thugs sent to discredit the thawra.
But the Lebanese people, although devastated, will not let these things get in the way of fighting for their rights. They have come too far and risked so much to stop now.
Undiscouraged by the attempt to kill the revolution, citizens of the glorious nation went down to the streets and cleared out the debris left from the mindless and despicable attacks.
Some cleaned the rubble and ashes left from fires; others installed new doors of their businesses as though nothing happened.
A resilient store owner proudly hung roses and the Lebanese flag in front of what’s left of his shop with a sign that read, “I love you with all your craziness.” A famous lyric from an ode to Lebanon “Bhebbak Ya Lebnan” sung by Fairouz.
Like a phoenix, Beirut refuses to crumble. The Lebanese proved once again that they will literally rise from the ashes. They will not fall prey to the vicious powers that aim to destroy them and divide them.
The people will stick together and fight for their nation. Scholars, students, business people, artists, religious, secular, rich, poor, and all kinds of citizens are in the streets striving for a better Lebanon.
They might not know each other in the streets but they are there for each other, for their city, for their country, because this revolution is for all.
It is for the collective pain of a suffering nation, for the same love they deeply hold for their homeland, and for the same aching desire that drives them to save it… against all odds and powers.
