by Justin Salhani
This article first appeared in The Atlantic Post
BEIRUT, Lebanon ‒ In Lebanon, memory is still fresh of a vicious
civil struggle that lasted 15 years and took the lives of over 100,000
people. Lebanese today fear a return to the violence and sectarian
friction of the civil war that ended in 1990. This fear has been
worsened by the war in neighboring Syria.
The Syrian civil war has stoked sectarian divisions in Lebanon, a
small country on the Mediterranean that borders Syria and Israel,
leading to some of the worst bouts of armed clashes in years.
Lebanon’s second biggest city Tripoli in the north has witnessed
repeated skirmishes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad. Select villages in the east Bekaa Valley have been
subject to shelling from both the Syrian armed opposition and the
al-Assad regime, and late last month followers of a radical Sunni Muslim
cleric clashed with the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern city of
Sidon.
But despite the increase in tension and violent repercussions, many
analysts believe Lebanon will, at least for now, avoid a return to the
full-scale war of years past.
Read the rest here: http://theatlanticpost.com/security/lebanese-keen-to-avoid-sectarian-war-2208.html
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Ramadan observance in Beirut more muted than elsewhere
by Justin Salhani
This article first appeared in The Atlantic Post
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The holy month of Ramadan is an important holiday for the world’s Muslims, including those living here in Beirut. Lebanon’s capital, however, observes the month in a more muted fashion than other Arab and Muslim capitals.
“Nothing really changes in Beirut during Ramadan. In other countries I’ve been to, like Egypt, Ramadan is more festive, and Cairo is full of Ramadan decorations,” said Nada Zanhour, 28, an assistant director at a Beirut art gallery.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is both joyous and somber for the world’s followers of Islam. During Ramadan, Muslims are asked to fast, meaning they abstain from food, liquids and sexual activity each day. At night, Muslims break their fast at iftar as the sun goes down.
Read the rest here: theatlanticpost.com/culture/ramadan-observance-in-beirut-more-muted-than-elsewhere-2627.html
This article first appeared in The Atlantic Post
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The holy month of Ramadan is an important holiday for the world’s Muslims, including those living here in Beirut. Lebanon’s capital, however, observes the month in a more muted fashion than other Arab and Muslim capitals.
“Nothing really changes in Beirut during Ramadan. In other countries I’ve been to, like Egypt, Ramadan is more festive, and Cairo is full of Ramadan decorations,” said Nada Zanhour, 28, an assistant director at a Beirut art gallery.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is both joyous and somber for the world’s followers of Islam. During Ramadan, Muslims are asked to fast, meaning they abstain from food, liquids and sexual activity each day. At night, Muslims break their fast at iftar as the sun goes down.
Read the rest here: theatlanticpost.com/culture/ramadan-observance-in-beirut-more-muted-than-elsewhere-2627.html
The Atlantic Post
The Atlantic Post is an online journal based in Washington DC. It was launched today Saturday, 10 August. I have signed on as their Lebanon Correspondent and will be contributing regular features and news.
Please take a chance to check it out at http://theatlanticpost.com/
Please take a chance to check it out at http://theatlanticpost.com/
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
My story in VICE
First things first, the editors at VICE wrote in a couple mistakes into the story after what was supposed to be the final edit. The title is not reflective toward the story whatsoever and the picture is not in anyway relevant. Futhermore, they held onto the story for nearly a month, though sometimes that happens and is inevitable.
I wasn't happy with all these things, but still it is hard to get regular work as a freelancer so I appreciate VICE running the story. Here are a couple excerpts and you can read the full story here: http://www.vice.com/read/renegade-clerics-are-battling-hezbollah-in-lebanon
The talks seemed civil at first till two armed men in body armor arrived and began shouting and pointing their rifles in the air. What had been quiet negotiations evolved into a shoving match between these men and the soldiers—and then, of course, came the gunfire.
I cannot say who shot first. Reports later said two soldiers were killed; I saw a LAF soldier leap off an army jeep, as bullets barraged him and then watched the LAF take cover behind buildings as Assir’s men fired on from above—based off this knowledge and where the bullets hit the jeep, it seems Assir’s men were already in position when the shoving match began.
I rushed inside and took cover behind the counter as a stray bullet shattered KFC’s windows. Aside from the ten or so employees, there were a few young men in their late teens/early 20s, two mothers, and a few children. The oldest child was 11 years old.
--
Em Mohammad spun around and headed downhill in the reverse direction. As she drove down the winding road, her nerves started to set in, and the car picked up speed. We flew past a group of armed men who yelled at the car, “Turn off your lights!” In full panic mode, she obliged and pressed the gas pedal hard. We flew down the dark street. Oblivious to the two cars blocking the road, she barreled into them.
The next few moments are still blurry. I only remember the car stopping and blood running down my face. Seeing the two cars ahead, a deep fear set in—I checked to see if anyone was badly hurt and then jumped out of the car.
“Get back in!” yelled Mostafa.
I returned to the car. Em Mohammad tried to reverse but smashed into a wall instead. She pulled forward and went back into the two cars. She repeated this once more, and then I decided to exit the car for good.
From across the street, men motioned us over—Mostafa and his family decided to follow my lead. They left the car. We sprinted till we found a man in a balaclava—clearly one of Assir’s guys—sitting outside a house.
“Here, try to stop the bleeding with this,” he said to me, handing me a sweaty hat.
--
As the car started, the passengers—including the driver—began to pray. Hearing the driver leave his fate to God made me feel clueless, so I prayed too. I’m not sure what I said or if I just jumbled out a bunch of syllables at an attempt at forming English words, but I know an argument in the front seat interrupted my quasiprayer.
“Where do you want to go?” the driver asked.
“We want to go down to the Sea Road,” replied Mostafa.
“That won’t be possible,” the driver replied. “I’ve got a rifle in the car. What if the army stops me at a checkpoint?”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” asked Mostafa, his voice increasing in anxiety.
The driver suggested we find a friend’s building. He drove a bit further before stopping. “This is far as I go,” he said. “May God be with you.”
We exited the vehicle and then started to walk. I envisioned the two bullets that had hit the soldier earlier that day and worried I’d meet the same fate. I demanded to know where we would find safety.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Up ahead,” said Mostafa.
“Where up ahead?”
Mostafa pointed somewhere in the distance. “That building, there.”
Trying my best to keep cool, I said, “Describe it.”
He described the building, and then I ran ahead. Before I reached the building, an armed LAF soldier stopped me—we had just ran through the area where the two sides had exchanged gunfire hours earlier. I told the startled soldier that I wanted to take cover in the building.“
“Go! Go!” he said.
I reached the building and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Around this time, Mostafa surveyed the buttons for a name he recognized. “Just press all the buttons!” I yelled.
I’m not sure if it was because he didn’t want to bother people or if he thought they wouldn’t open the door because they were afraid of armed men entering, but he hesitated. “PRESS ALL THE BUTTONS!” I screamed frantically.
I wasn't happy with all these things, but still it is hard to get regular work as a freelancer so I appreciate VICE running the story. Here are a couple excerpts and you can read the full story here: http://www.vice.com/read/renegade-clerics-are-battling-hezbollah-in-lebanon
The talks seemed civil at first till two armed men in body armor arrived and began shouting and pointing their rifles in the air. What had been quiet negotiations evolved into a shoving match between these men and the soldiers—and then, of course, came the gunfire.
I cannot say who shot first. Reports later said two soldiers were killed; I saw a LAF soldier leap off an army jeep, as bullets barraged him and then watched the LAF take cover behind buildings as Assir’s men fired on from above—based off this knowledge and where the bullets hit the jeep, it seems Assir’s men were already in position when the shoving match began.
I rushed inside and took cover behind the counter as a stray bullet shattered KFC’s windows. Aside from the ten or so employees, there were a few young men in their late teens/early 20s, two mothers, and a few children. The oldest child was 11 years old.
--
Em Mohammad spun around and headed downhill in the reverse direction. As she drove down the winding road, her nerves started to set in, and the car picked up speed. We flew past a group of armed men who yelled at the car, “Turn off your lights!” In full panic mode, she obliged and pressed the gas pedal hard. We flew down the dark street. Oblivious to the two cars blocking the road, she barreled into them.
The next few moments are still blurry. I only remember the car stopping and blood running down my face. Seeing the two cars ahead, a deep fear set in—I checked to see if anyone was badly hurt and then jumped out of the car.
“Get back in!” yelled Mostafa.
I returned to the car. Em Mohammad tried to reverse but smashed into a wall instead. She pulled forward and went back into the two cars. She repeated this once more, and then I decided to exit the car for good.
From across the street, men motioned us over—Mostafa and his family decided to follow my lead. They left the car. We sprinted till we found a man in a balaclava—clearly one of Assir’s guys—sitting outside a house.
“Here, try to stop the bleeding with this,” he said to me, handing me a sweaty hat.
--
As the car started, the passengers—including the driver—began to pray. Hearing the driver leave his fate to God made me feel clueless, so I prayed too. I’m not sure what I said or if I just jumbled out a bunch of syllables at an attempt at forming English words, but I know an argument in the front seat interrupted my quasiprayer.
“Where do you want to go?” the driver asked.
“We want to go down to the Sea Road,” replied Mostafa.
“That won’t be possible,” the driver replied. “I’ve got a rifle in the car. What if the army stops me at a checkpoint?”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” asked Mostafa, his voice increasing in anxiety.
The driver suggested we find a friend’s building. He drove a bit further before stopping. “This is far as I go,” he said. “May God be with you.”
We exited the vehicle and then started to walk. I envisioned the two bullets that had hit the soldier earlier that day and worried I’d meet the same fate. I demanded to know where we would find safety.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Up ahead,” said Mostafa.
“Where up ahead?”
Mostafa pointed somewhere in the distance. “That building, there.”
Trying my best to keep cool, I said, “Describe it.”
He described the building, and then I ran ahead. Before I reached the building, an armed LAF soldier stopped me—we had just ran through the area where the two sides had exchanged gunfire hours earlier. I told the startled soldier that I wanted to take cover in the building.“
“Go! Go!” he said.
I reached the building and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Around this time, Mostafa surveyed the buttons for a name he recognized. “Just press all the buttons!” I yelled.
I’m not sure if it was because he didn’t want to bother people or if he thought they wouldn’t open the door because they were afraid of armed men entering, but he hesitated. “PRESS ALL THE BUTTONS!” I screamed frantically.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Men Who Get Rich Off Syrian Refugees
I wrote this story for The Atlantic
by Justin Salhani
Hassan is only 30 years old, though like most people who have lived through war, he looks much older. Sitting next to his father, a few neighbors, and the landlord of the room he rents at a former school Lebanon, he beams as he describes the elation he felt upon reuniting with his family last month after he fled his home in Nahriyeh, near Qusair, Syria, and the gratitude he has for his landlord's unremitting hospitality.
As Hassan's story comes to a close, he politely excuses himself to check on the children playing outside. Once outside, the diminutive man slyly looks over his right shoulder before lighting a cigarette.
"My dad doesn't know I smoke," he says in between drags. But Hassan didn't leave the room simply to get out of his father's line of sight. He left to escape the earshot of another guest.
Continue Reading:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/06/the-men-who-get-rich-off-syrian-refugees/277171/
by Justin Salhani
Hassan is only 30 years old, though like most people who have lived through war, he looks much older. Sitting next to his father, a few neighbors, and the landlord of the room he rents at a former school Lebanon, he beams as he describes the elation he felt upon reuniting with his family last month after he fled his home in Nahriyeh, near Qusair, Syria, and the gratitude he has for his landlord's unremitting hospitality.
As Hassan's story comes to a close, he politely excuses himself to check on the children playing outside. Once outside, the diminutive man slyly looks over his right shoulder before lighting a cigarette.
"My dad doesn't know I smoke," he says in between drags. But Hassan didn't leave the room simply to get out of his father's line of sight. He left to escape the earshot of another guest.
Continue Reading:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/06/the-men-who-get-rich-off-syrian-refugees/277171/
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Arab Spring NOW: Lebanese Army steps in to end Tripoli clashes
This article appeared on Arab Spring NOW (arabspringnow.com)
Follow them on Twitter @arabspringnow
Fighters in Bab al-Tabbaneh take aim at their foes in Jabal Mohsen (Photo by Justin Salhani)
By Justin Salhani in Beirut
Armed men engaged the Lebanese Armed Forces in Tripoli Thursday, following attempts by the LAF to confiscate arms from the city's troubled neighborhoods.
“The army will retaliate without hesitation to the sources of fire from any side because the residents of the city have the right to live in peace,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Al-Hayat newspaper. Mikati is also represents Tripoli in Lebanon’s parliament.
Armed men engaged the Lebanese Armed Forces in Tripoli Thursday, following attempts by the LAF to confiscate arms from the city's troubled neighborhoods.
“The army will retaliate without hesitation to the sources of fire from any side because the residents of the city have the right to live in peace,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Al-Hayat newspaper. Mikati is also represents Tripoli in Lebanon’s parliament.
For years, sporadic clashes have engulfed the areas of Bab al-Tabbaneh, a Sunni Muslim neighborhood, and Jabal Mohsen, a neighborhood of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s coreligionists known as Alawites. Usually the clashes are related to political causes and last a couple of days. Recently however, the fighting has intensified and the usual intervention by local politicians to broker a ceasefire has gone unheeded as heavy fighting has dragged on for over a week before cooling down. Tripoli now is experiencing relative calm disrupted by the occasional sniper fire.
On Thursday the army entered into parts of Tripoli with the intension of seizing illegal arms. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the LAF encountered “a warehouse of weapons containing large quantities of explosives, homemade mortar shells, rifles and ammunition, in addition to a variety of military equipment.”
NNA reported that the warehouse belongs to Ziad Alloukeh, a well-known militia leader in Bab al-Tabbaneh. Multiple sources say Alloukeh was a representative on the ground for a Member of Parliament from Tripoli named Mohammad Kabbara. In recent months though, sources say Kabbara and other politicians have lost control of figures they formerly funded in Bab al-Tabbaneh.
While sources vary as to whether it was the politicians or the street leaders who cut ties, they agree that street leaders like Alloukeh have found alternative means of funding the fight against Jabal Mohsen. With the puppet strings severed, Tripoli's politicians have turned to the LAF to restore stability to their city.
An adviser to a Tripoli MP who asked not to be identified, as he was not given clearance to speak to the media, said that all Tripoli politicians and Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s highest administrative Sunni Muslim body, have given the LAF their full support to enter Bab al-Tabbaneh and stop the armed men.
“If the army continues to play their role then [the fighting in Tripoli] will be finished,” said Mouin Merhabi, a member of Lebanon’s parliament who has been outspoken about inaction from the army in the past.
But despite the army's efforts, armed men and protesters hit Tripoli's street's Thursday. The protesters expressed anger over Hezbollah's role in the Syrian regime's recapture of Qusair, a strategic town in Syria close to Lebanon’s eastern border.
Former Tripoli MP Mustafa Allouch indicated that what is happening in Tripoli will carry on for some time and is linked to larger developments in the region. “We believe there is no solution for clashes in Tripoli unless you have a major solution for what is happening in Lebanon and Syria," said Allouch.
--
Justin Salhani is a freelance journalist based in Beirut. He’s on Twitter @JustinSalhani
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Bringing the Syrian war to Lebanon
Beirut: Qusayr's fall to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah have reignited rhetoric that armed groups opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could begin operations inside Lebanon.
"Hezbollah fighters are invading Syrian territory. And when they continue to do that and the Lebanese authorities don't take any action to stop them coming to Syria, I think we are allowed to fight Hezbollah fighters inside [Lebanese] territory," said General Selim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army to the BBC.
Hezbollah's involvement in Syria has drawn numerous reactions from the FSA in recent months, including threats that the FSA would march on Dahiyeh or engage Hezbollah in Lebanon. To date, none of these threats has been acted upon.
In a recent interview with a seasoned Lebanese journalist closely affiliated with Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, I was told that Jabhat al-Nusra and certain Sunnis in Lebanon are waiting to bring the war here. He said Nusra will follow Hezbollah back into Lebanon and when that happens Lebanese Sunnis will join the fight.
As the journalist said, "from central Iraq to Lebanon...the Sunni-Shiite war has started."
"Hezbollah fighters are invading Syrian territory. And when they continue to do that and the Lebanese authorities don't take any action to stop them coming to Syria, I think we are allowed to fight Hezbollah fighters inside [Lebanese] territory," said General Selim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army to the BBC.
Hezbollah's involvement in Syria has drawn numerous reactions from the FSA in recent months, including threats that the FSA would march on Dahiyeh or engage Hezbollah in Lebanon. To date, none of these threats has been acted upon.
In a recent interview with a seasoned Lebanese journalist closely affiliated with Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, I was told that Jabhat al-Nusra and certain Sunnis in Lebanon are waiting to bring the war here. He said Nusra will follow Hezbollah back into Lebanon and when that happens Lebanese Sunnis will join the fight.
As the journalist said, "from central Iraq to Lebanon...the Sunni-Shiite war has started."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)