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    Lebanese Issues Exposed in Netflix's Heaven Without People
    Lucien Bourjeily
    3 Mins Read

    10 Real Lebanese Issues Exposed In The Netflix Film ‘Heaven Without People’

    By Hussein YassineMay 24, 2020
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    A major part of the factors that contributed to the positive reception that Heaven Without People saw in Lebanon after its release was its capacity to “hit home” with the themes it conveyed.

    From beginning to end, the Lebanese film is packed with direct and indirect references to socio-political issues that infest Lebanese society today. Here are the 10 most relevant ones:

    #1 The voting tradition

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    A post shared by Hatem AlSheikh (@hatem45photos)

    Someone who votes for the same politicians every single time, even though they bring more harm than good, is not a surprising sight in Lebanon.

    Many Lebanese vote for the same people that their parents had taught them to vote for and the tradition gets passed down with every new generation.

    #2 Masked (or not?) bribery

    Lucien Bourjeily

    Election time is affection time in Lebanon. When it’s time for people to vote, gifts, kind words, and “encouragement envelopes” suddenly start flowing through their doors like it’s their birthday.

    Once the elections are over, however, so is the party… One of them, at least.

    #3 Abuse of domestic workers

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    A post shared by HeavenWithoutPeopleغداء العيد (@heaven_without_people)

    Unfortunately, racism, bigotry, and discrimination against foreign housemaids are rampant in Lebanese society.

    Every day, countless domestic workers in Lebanon have to endure unspeakable suffering in the form of verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

    #4 Bigotry

    Heaven Without People

    Often fueled by a mixture of sectarianism and politics, bigotry in Lebanese families and communities is not a rare occurrence.

    In Lebanon, having a different opinion can sometimes even mean a trip to the hospital, or worse.

    #5 The political life

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    A post shared by Reflective Angle (@reflectiveangle)

    It’s hard to stay out of the political conversation when everyone you know has a habit of constantly and fervently praising their side of the endless political clash while denouncing the other side.

    Politics in Lebanon is the main conversation at work, at home, in schools, in social gatherings, and in the streets.

    #6 Clerical “business”

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    A post shared by katatny1 (@katatny1) on May 1, 2019 at 3:52pm PDT

    Heaven Without People has a discussion of an incident in which a cleric charges more to officiate the marriage of an “unorthodox” couple.

    Such stories are very common in Lebanon, across all religions and sects.

    #7 Sectarianism

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    A post shared by Muriel Ferneini (@murielferneini)

    Heaven Without People delves deep into the issue of sectarianism and explores some of its dark alleys.

    In fact, the storyline of one of the characters revolves mostly around the theme of sectarianism in a manner that, though unpleasant, sadly rings true in Lebanon often.

    #8 Toxic relationships

    Heaven WIthout People cast
    Lucien Bourjeily

    Despite the fact that toxic individuals tend to effectively hide their destructive behavior in public, they sometimes slip and unintentionally show their true colors.

    Some of the interactions that take place in the movie perfectly portray this notion.

    #9 Domestic and gender-based violence

    domestic violence in Lebanon
    AFP/Anwar Amro

    It should not be news to anyone that domestic violence is raging in many Lebanese households. This fact is being further outlined during these daring times.

    Since the beginning of the epidemic in Lebanon, local reports of domestic violence have soared.

    #10 Power cuts

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    A post shared by HAFSA199989 (@hafsa_alyafei)

    You wouldn’t be talking about Lebanon if you didn’t mention its terrible electricity problem.

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