Tuesday 14 January was the beginning of the ‘week of anger’ in Lebanon and the escalation of the Lebanese revolution.
The roads are closed again, and people in Lebanon and even in the diaspora are back to the streets with their flags and passion.
Some deem that we are back to square one. However, that’s just a continuation of a revolution that hasn’t attained its aim yet.
That’s also a confirmation that the people haven’t given up on their demands and journey. The current Anger Week, for instance, is part of that journey.
Students, elders, women, men, children, doctors, and people of all professions (except politicians, obviously) are yet again back to demonstrations and sit-ins.
A general strike is paralyzing the country to pressure the officials to yield to the demands of the people.
Three months of the nation revolting and the government persists in its stance of dismissal towards the people’s demands and the crises that are aggravating by the day.
Meanwhile, the trend of shaming politicians is developing, also as a means to pressure the government. The shame on them is already known, and not just within our country’s borders.
It’s just a matter of them facing it directly from the mouth of the people, so maybe, just maybe, they could come to snap out of their denial and into reality.
It started last December with former prime minister Seniora and went on to target many Lebanese politicians and pro-politicians whenever seen in public.
The most recent ones were MP Michel Daher and Joseph Bou Fadel who is affiliated to the Free Patriotic Movement and a fierce defender of the party’s head MP Bassil.
So when Lebanese protesters spotted Joseph Bou Fadel heading into the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut on Friday, they followed him in and made sure that he got a piece of their mind.
They blamed him for attacking with his media speeches ‘the free and decent people revolting against hunger and corruption’ and slandering them while defending the corrupt politicians.
Joseph Abu Fadel is known for his anti-revolution stance and pro-Free Patriotic Movement position. He’s a writer and researcher; his writings are often about the political situation in the Middle East and its relationship with Israel.
Abu Fadel has attacked the people of the revolution on many occasions during his interviews and through his tweets. So when the protesters followed him into the Phoenicia hotel, they thought to confront him about it.
Joseph Abu Fadel walked away from the protesters without engaging in a conversation or an argument. However, he did state afterward that what happened with him in the hotel indicates that there are thugs among the revolutionaries.
Basically, in his understanding, anyone who doesn’t ‘behave’ respectfully submissive to politicians and anyone who dares to blame an offender for his offenses is a ‘thug’.
Noteworthy that earlier this week, on Tuesday, MP Michel Daher was also stopped from overpassing protesters in Bekaa.
While it didn’t last more than several minutes, the protesters made their point with their revolutionary chants addressed to the minister.
Protesters all over Lebanon, in Beirut, Bekaa, the north and the south, are still blocking the roads and protesting, and one of their very basic demands is a healthy life.
