it's not your typical firework display
pyrotechnics used as a weapon
welcome to Beirut where since October
protests sparked by economic meltdown
have become a daily ritual they barely
even noticed her tear gas Edina
their slogan Lebanon is rising up there
aimed to bring the whole system crashing
down for 15 years these streets were the
front lines of a vicious sectarian
conflict now that the seeds of a new
confrontation but a very different one
it's the people against the
establishment but who will emerge
victorious
what kind of Lebanon will it be the
protesters say this time revolution
really is coming they have no future no
good future in this country you know
something's upside down in Lebanon when
kids art classes are on the street and
the Central Bank has become their
cameras down
dissent by spray can revolution we read
so ha a protest leader from the outset
is teaching her kids all about
overthrowing a corrupt system threatens
their future it is important to raise
your kids in a way that they can feel
that they are a very effective member
and despises what are you showing them
by this that you should never accept
someone to take your rights from you you
should try it for for your rights so
you're joining a mom in the revolution
are you proud bum yeah sorry I'm a very
proud mama for some of the banks in
downtown Beirut a bit of graffiti was
the least of them as early this year
protesters turned their fury on the
financial institutions they see as
complicit in their country's economic
crisis take a walk down the famed
corniche and you can glimpse the old
glamour of favorite even after it
emerged in 15 years of civil war Lebanon
has never been shy about flaunting its
assets an enclave of liberalism and
wealth in the turbulent Middle East but
at its core something was rotten with a
corrupt political system and years of
economic dismantle Lebanon is now facing
its biggest crisis in three decades
pauline flower things are so bad even
the basics of life are being affected
even Tajin has gone up soon thousands
like people eat this every day yes
stable dieters the key issue inflation
Lebanese pound is pegged to the dollar
but since the crisis began it's lost up
to 60% of its value sending prices
skyrocketing pretty much everything in
this shop the prices are going up
everything Kulu Kulu is everyone
complaining is everyone talking about it
Salalah typically my momma sorry we had
all day no I'm doing no smash or mafia
to somebody okay Oh kill she really what
a hacker this crisis felt right across
society
restrictions on people accessing their
own wealth is sowing discontent even
among better off middle class Lebanese
like everyone here hind' is limited to
how many dollars she can take out every
week capital controls to avert around
the bank's just one more humiliation
going to the bank every week knowing
that you're gonna be humility humiliated
to get your money out this is also
something you add to the frustrations of
living in such a country where you're
not considered as a citizen where you
don't have rights everyone is suffering
from the situation the poor the middle
class and the rich so by targeting the
banks they pushed a button for many many
people right across there besides
because we are added and the country is
collapsing in time that battening down
the hatches reading themselves for
another round of protests sheer scale of
the crisis is fueling a protest movement
that's reaching right across the old
sectarian divides everyone's just say
she got her father's character that
revolution son that spirit as the
daughter of a Hezbollah martyr Sahara is
revered among their supporters though
she's not a member of the group
Hezbollah is one of the most powerful
forces in Lebanese politics and is seen
as anti protest that's why some were
surprised even critical to see her on
the front lines but she sees it as her
patriotic duty my father's was one of
the main characters that we kicked out
of Israeli from from our our country and
we should carry this responsibility on
my shoulders in order to kick the bad
guys out of the government and Easter
sir heart tells me her background should
not prevent her from taking to the
streets
with women at their Vanguard the ongoing
protests are having an impact after the
government was forced to resign in
October a new one was installed early
this year but for most the new faces
just mask the same old politics they're
demanding a complete overhaul of Lebanon
sectarian system where the Constitution
states the president must be a Maronite
Christian and the Prime Minister a Sunni
Muslim as a girl as a Muslim girl so why
I can be the president of the country
we're in 2020 and still thinking in that
way this is a crisis you want to
overhaul the whole system yes and it
will take years you're ready for that
you're prepared for that yes before yes
it is it is it is a long war with this
system Sahar has been joined in her long
war by hind' now sisters not from very
different parts Lebanese society we are
here just Lebanese ladies and you feel
this protest never crossing over those
old sectarian boundaries the regions all
together are coming and we're getting
we're understanding that we're doing
the politicians they're targeting say
protesters are disorganized leaderless
and don't represent the millions of
Lebanese still staying home but
criticism from those they loathe will
clearly not detect as dust sets in the
mood darkened suddenly volatile as
crowds converge in front of government
headquarters a choreography unfurled a
familiar dance a game of death fewer
women young men now center stage trying
to storm the police barricades a tug of
war but a nun equal for an instant
victory the outcome predictable tonight
their Bastille will not be breached
teargas flushes the mouth
forcing a retreat young revolutionaries
days and prostrate human rights groups
have criticized police heavy-handed
for the security forces unfazed its job
done for the protesters this battle has
been lost a teenager barely conscious
he will see another protest but what of
the revolution how long can it live on