The Shiite Resistance: Defying Hezbollah & Amal

25 November 2019. Photo by Nadim Kobeissi.

Agent, traitor, Zionist. Most people in Lebanon have become very familiar with these words, which have been used to demean, intimidate, and bully those who choose to take a stand against Lebanon’s two Shiite political parties: Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. We see it all over the media, on social networking platforms, and on the streets. Loyalists use them liberally to torment anybody who stands against the warlords that lead their parties.

However, this status quo is being challenged, and an increasing number of Lebanon’s Shiites seem more daring than ever to tell their politicians how they really feel.

A HISTORY OF BLOOD AND ALLIANCE

Hezbollah and Amal both dominate the Shiite political scene in Lebanon, where a complicated and most often dysfunctional power-sharing system has been in place for 30 years. This supremacy is not the result of a lack of willpower by other politicians to share the stage, but rather because any opposition to this so-called “Shiite Duo” is immediately crushed.

The narrative that has been used as part of this duo’s propaganda - especially the fanatical Hezbollah - has been drilled into the minds of most of their supporters for generations, leaving them with the impression that anyone who is not with them is against them, and in some cases can be considered an “enemy from within”. This is somewhat ironic, given that Hezbollah and Amal themselves haven’t always been allies themselves. The two militias fought deadly battles against each other during Lebanon’s 15-year multi-faceted civil war, especially in the mainly Shiite suburbs south of Beirut and in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah - which many countries around the world consider a terrorist group - is split into a political and a paramilitary wing, and was established in 1985 as part of Iran’s wider regional agenda. It has waged war against Israel on more than one occasion and has played an active military role across the Middle East, serving as an entity completely independent from Lebanon and its legitimate state institutions. Many of Hezbollah’s early commanders and fighters were in the Amal Movement. The latter group, founded by Imam Mussa Sadr prior to his disappearance in 1978 in Libya, was originally named the “Movement of the Dispossessed” after its founding in 1974, a year before the outbreak of war.

Minor skirmishes sometimes break out between supporters of the two parties but quickly die down. The duo has long been careful to not allow any public inter-sectarian fighting despite their differences, and all disagreements are usually kept in-house and away from the public eye. This has allowed them to infiltrate in the state’s institutions and monopolize power in the Shiite community, even acting as one in legislative elections, elections which many people believe are unfair and riddled with fraud.

During elections, candidates are often dissuaded from running against the duo’s own candidates. The two parties show no hesitance in putting pressure against those who do choose to run, even if this means using force. Ali Amine, the founder and editor-in-chief of the news site Janoubia, experienced this during the 2018 Parliamentary elections. In the midst of his campaign in the southern Bint Jbeil district, Amine was attacked by a group of men he claimed were from Hezbollah, allegedly to prevent him from putting up pictures and banners of his electoral campaign. Amine is only one of many examples of this type of political skullduggery, which erodes confidence in Lebanese political institutions both domestically and internationally.

FIGHTING THE REVOLUTION

Since the start of the revolution in Lebanon on the night of October 17, 2019, the ruling class has done everything it can to crush the uprising and stop demonstrations from breaking into their “statelets”. Lebanon’s various warlords and sectarian political parties have traditionally been in control of, or had influence over different regions, treating them as if they were cantons.

We have seen supporters of all sectarian and political affiliations attack peaceful protesters across the country. The perpetrators come from a diverse range across the political spectrum: the Druze Progressive Socialist Party, the Christian Free Patriotic Movement, and the Sunni Future Movement to name a few. Nothing, however, has matched the barbarism and aggression practiced by supporters of Hezbollah and Amal, who have not missed an opportunity to remind the Lebanese people that they are hostages to a militia capable of overrunning the capital city within hours, as they did in 2008, or causing widespread chaos should their demands not be met.

Numerous attacks have taken place at protest sites in Beirut, notoriously on the day Saad Hariri resigned from the premiership under pressure from the streets, 10 days after the start of the uprising. This was seen as a blow to Hezbollah, whose Secretary-General had warned days prior that protesters were “wasting their time” and that no political change could happen, accusing some of them of having ties to foreign embassies. Nasrallah often likes to play into the narrative that foreign meddling is behind certain events in the country and such actors are attempting to tarnish Hezbollah’s reputation.

Amal Movement supporters have repeatedly attacked protesters near the Beirut residence of the Speaker of Parliament where Nabih Berri resides, refusing to let their leader be a target of demonstrations. Journalists have been left bloodied and cars smashed, with nobody at all being held accountable to this day.

Another prominent act of violence occurred when a large crowd of these mainly young men - most of whom are jobless and have been deprived of their basic rights by the ruling class - gathered on the Fouad Chehab Bridge, locally known as “The Ring”. This faceoff with peaceful protesters lasted for hours into the night, both sides being separated by heavily armed riot police. Nasrallah and Berri’s fans even invaded the nearby Saifi Village, looting businesses, destroying cars, and spraying graffiti on the walls.

Whilst this proved gripping for viewers at home, such violence has further proved that Lebanon is torn between two polar opposite visions: a Lebanon that struggles to preserve its freedom and aims to be a nation of co-existence and peace, and a Lebanon controlled by armed fanatics whose only goal is to enforce a foreign agenda that is alien to the majority of the Lebanese people.

CONSPIRACY PARANOIA

Due to the ongoing propaganda campaign, which has emerged since the national uprising began, supporters of Iranian-backed Hezbollah have come to believe that there are foreign actors orchestrating these protests and trying to turn the Lebanese people against what they consider to be the real resistance to foreign occupation. Numerous speeches made by Nasrallah, warning his people that the protests are part of a wider Zionist conspiracy, have managed to convince them that the uprising was planned to target Hezbollah and its arms specifically.

Loyalists of Berri and Nasrallah draw a red line when it comes to these arms and see them as the reason why Israel is no longer present in their towns and villages in Lebanon’s south. They consider that the weapons Hezbollah has at hand are necessary to ward off any potential Israeli threats.

Israel occupied parts of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000, claiming that they created a buffer zone to protect themselves from any future attacks from Lebanese territory, by either Palestinian or other militias.

The taboo surrounding Hezbollah’s arms has surely been broken. Some protests in recent months have called for the disarmament of the group, and to implement UN Resolutions 1701 and 1559, which stipulates that all militias in south Lebanon be disarmed.

Hezbollah and its supporters have used these protests to justify their continued attacks, focusing on these demonstrations to demonize the revolution entirely. Although it has become more common to discuss the issue of the group’s weapons more freely, supporters of Hezbollah, who consider these arms a guarantor of their safety and security, are adamant about not stepping down, labeling their opponents as “agents to the Israeli enemy” or “Zionists of Lebanon”.

DARING TO SPEAK OUT

Despite having some well-known public figures from the Shiite community speak out against the practices of Hezbollah and Amal, such as journalists Dima Sadek and Nadim Koteich, it is rare to see many independent Shiites openly follow suit.

Several videos went viral online of men being beaten and humiliated, forced to apologize for criticizing Nasrallah and Berri. This became a trend, known as “sahsouh” (roughly translated to “a slap on the neck”), another tactic used to terrorize anyone who chooses to speak out. Loay, a young man from south Lebanon who is currently abroad, was involved in a car accident after being a victim of the practice. A video of him being slapped and insulted quickly went viral, and only hours later there was news of his car going off-road into a steep valley. Luckily, he survived but is traumatized by what happened to him.

Most people have resorted to using social media platforms - many under fake names - to freely express their discontent and frustration against a political group they consider to be destructive to Lebanon’s stability and very existence.

Ali (not his real name), resides in the city of Baalbek, forty miles north-east of Beirut. When I spoke to him about Hezbollah and Amal, he was quick to ask to remain anonymous, noting darkly that a relative was disowned by their own parents and wider family for taking part in the protests. Another young protestor from his area became an outcast for protesting in the northern Beirut suburb of Jal el Dib, another hotspot for gatherings. “They accused him of being paid $200 to participate and told him this is against the resistance and his religion, but all he was doing was asking for his rights... he was receiving death threats”.

He continued nervously “the Shiite community is definitely the most oppressed in Lebanon when it comes to freedom of speech. The biggest lie they can tell you is that the majority of Shiites support them (Hezbollah and Berri)”.

Like most political parties, the practice of clientelism is rampant to guarantee popular support. This is no different when it comes to Amal and its former foe Hezbollah, who have helped overwhelm state institutions with an excess of employees, meaning a higher expenditure from a looted government. “If it weren’t for the threats and blackmailing, such as fears of people losing their jobs and other services they receive, I’m sure most would stand against them,” Ali said.

The Baalbek-Hermel region and the southern suburbs of Beirut - known as a belt of misery - are some of the poorest areas of Lebanon. The unemployment rates there have always been relatively high. Both Amal and Hezbollah represent these constituencies in Parliament.

Many more Shiite Lebanese wished to give their input. Another man speaking of his frustration and also asking to remain anonymous described it as “living in a prison”. A local of Western Beqaa agreed with Ali’s sentiments. “You can’t express yourself freely, and even when you do with people you think you can trust, there’s always a fear that someone might [inform] on you. People have been threatened to lose their jobs or even with their lives, they (Hezbollah and Amal) take it very seriously”.

One other citizen who was living in south Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, Khaled (also, not his real name), decided to move closer to Beirut. “We’ve been through problems and are treated as outcasts and are hated if we say a word against them. A month ago they threatened me, they’re just waiting for an excuse to hurt me” he said indignantly.

Despite the threats, Khaled still posts content on social media he knows upsets supporters of Hezbollah and Amal. But these online platforms, for many people, are the only spaces they can use to vent frustrations.

Journalist Mohammad Awwad says Hezbollah constantly uses the conspiracy peg to ban people from merely expressing their anger and disgust at the status quo and the overall social-economic situation. In comments made to pan-Arab news source Al Arabiya (in Arabic), Awwad predicted that many Lebanese Shiites will start giving up on their support for Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, as they become more and more fed up with the deteriorating economic situation. “It’s a snowball effect, and the general mood within the community is slowly but gradually changing”.

Awwad’s predictions are not unrealistic. More and more Shiite Lebanese have evidently started to voice opposition to the duo, especially since the October 17 Revolution began. While supporters of Hezbollah and Amal make light of the smaller numbers of Shiites on the opposing side, the ranks of dissenters are swelling.

“You cannot be in control of the country and decide what happens, and when we go to war and when we have peace, and who becomes president, then say it (the current state of affairs) has nothing to do with you”. This same sentence was repeated by a number of people, each one sharing the exact same opinion.

THE INEVITABILITY OF CHANGE

What was once seen as a resistance by many is now seen as one of the main barriers preventing much-needed change and reform in Lebanon. Shiite and non-Shiite citizens alike have shouted aloud to be heard, have put their own lives at risk, and have been degraded for decades. But their calls for a Lebanon free from all militia and from a corrupt ruling class have fallen on deaf ears so far, as Hezbollah - which claims to be the biggest party in the country - still controls the levers of power. Critics in the Shiite community lose family or friendships for speaking out, and the threat of violence is a powerful silencer of dissent.

The courage that people have gathered to finally overcome this fear is one that should not be overlooked or underestimated but applauded and encouraged, particularly when it comes to Shiite Lebanese living in regions under the duo’s control.

These free Shiite citizens today are faced with two options, as are all Lebanese: emigrate, or stay and fight back. Despite enjoying support from the community’s majority, Hezbollah and Amal have proven failure after failure in governing the country, while the former party has more to worry about regarding its engagement in armed jihad.

History teaches us that no party or sect has managed to govern Lebanon alone, for the bigger they become, the more powerful the fall. No matter how small these acts of protest are, the depression most Lebanese are living under today and the ongoing attempts to silence any opposition will snowball, loosening Amal and Hezbollah’s now-tenuous grip on power.