How formerly embattled Tripoli neighbors are now struggling together
Several NGOs and local government are helping residents in two Tripoli neighborhoods to overcome years of animosity and hostilities between them, and progress has been made, but more governmental assistance is needed to pull them out of crisis.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon — In the final weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, more than 100 people gathered on May 25 for iftar (the breaking of the fast) in Tabbaneh Park, one of the only green spaces in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood of Tripoli. The meal was the third of its kind organized for residents of Sunni-majority Bab al-Tabbaneh and neighboring majority-Alawite Jabal Mohsen, two districts that engaged in deadly on again, off again violence from 2008 to 2015. The two communities coming together for iftar is a testament to the progress that has taken place in the area over the last four years.
“The annual iftar is an example where Tabbaneh Park hosts people from diverse backgrounds,” said Mohamad Minkara, deputy director of the Lebanese Center for Research and Studies, which helped organize the event, held in conjunction with the Tripoli municipality and others. “People’s hope for a peaceful life and coexistence with diversity has never been destroyed.”
The May 25 iftar is but one of the many ways in which nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have worked to implement social programs to address the challenges Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen’s residents face. In the years after clashes wracked the two neighborhoods, social interaction between them has markedly increased, and opportunities provided by NGOs have improved employment prospects for locals, connected students with educational assistance and created common spaces where residents from both communities can gather. Such bright spots remain few and far between, however.
Although the government of Tripoli offers limited assistance programs, residents and NGOs alike cite ongoing unemployment and a lack of adequate government involvement as serious barriers to broader socioeconomic stability in these neighborhoods. According to NGO staff who work there, the possibility remains that under certain circumstances, violence could one day return.
