The Arab Uprisings and You Stink

The momentum from the Independence Intifada of 2005 that erupted following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was soon thwarted by the July 2006 war and the mini-Civil War of 2008. In 2011, the Arab uprisings shook the region and resulted in the toppling of political leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

The impact of these regional uprisings resulted in some limited protests in Lebanon. The Laique Pride parades and the “fall of the regime” campaigns pulled thousands of Lebanese on the streets of Beirut, if only fleetingly. But overall, social mobilizations in Lebanon that emerged in the wake of the Arab uprisings did not gather the momentum witnessed elsewhere. Activists could not agree on key political questions, such as reform versus revolution, how to address Hezbollah’s weapons or how to engage the uprising in Syria.

Tensions continue to build in Lebanon and were heavily impacted and directly implicated in the escalating violence in Syria. A large influx of Syrian refugees also resulted in a rise in tensions. Resentment in the country grew against the ruling elite and the increasingly dysfunctional governance system. Access and the provision of basic urban services and goods significantly deteriorated.  

In 2015, the scale and intent of social mobilization rapidly expanded in the context of a garbage crisis.

The “You Stink” revolt (Tol’et el Rihetkun), involved a series of escalating protests that erupted in the summer of 2015, following the piling up of garbage on the streets of Beirut and beyond. At the core of this protest was a loosely formed network that became known as “You Stink”. This movement ensured that the garbage crisis was not engaged as an isolated event but framed as part of a broader collapse in governance that was rooted in Lebanon’s sectarian political system. Demands made by the “You Stink” network incorporated not only the immediate garbage crisis but also changes to the electoral system, such as an end to the majoritarian electoral law and the formation of a proportional representation electoral system.

The subsequent large-scale revolt that became known as the “You Stink” protest involved not only the “You Stink” network but a loose collection of activists joined by dozens of other groups that were referred to as al-hirak (the movement). The hirak included a wide range of political views and experiences, from liberals to communists, groups focused on women’s rights, disability, LGBTQ, human rights, and environment politics. It incorporated many groups that were associated with the protests that happened in the wake of 2011. These various groups had competing political visions and tactics. Their broadly horizontal leaderless formation soon resulted in confusion and conflict. On August 23, at the height of the protests, the “You Stink” movement even announced its withdrawal from the revolts carrying its name, as the violence between protesters and the security forces intensified.

The significance of the You Stink protest was that the divides within the hirak and the “You Stink” network did not prevent tens of thousands of Lebanese descending on downtown Beirut to protest. The anger at the ruling elite over the garbage crisis and all that it represented, was able to unite tens of thousands of Lebanese despite the continued and all too present differences between those within the same revolt. 

After the protests died down, the most immediate impact of the “You Stink” protest was on the 2016 municipal elections and the rise of the municipal campaign Beirut Madinati. While Beirut Madinati was focused on Beirut it had a nationwide impact and provided a push to independent efforts against established political parties. They also propelled the rise of independent candidates in professional associations. The influence of the “You Stink” protest, and the experience of Beirut Madinati, was also clear in the October 2019 protests. One of the principal slogans of the October protests, “all of them means all of them” (kullon yani kullon), was one drawn directly from the “You Stink” movement. The significance of this slogan, Mona Harb(2018) has argued, was that for the first time post-2006, activists requested accountability in unambiguous terms across both March 8 and March 14 political camps for failed public services and corruption.