Many young Lebanese protesters forced to hide activism from parents
Young protesters are still demonstrating despite the disapproval of their parents, who cling to Lebanon's sectarian-based political system.
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Nour, who preferred not to reveal her full name, packed her bag with a Lebanese flag, a notebook and her wallet before heading out to join her fellow protesters at Beirut’s Martyrs Square. The demonstrations in Lebanon have been ongoing for nearly four weeks now and she has gone almost every day. She and her friends rented an office to host workshops on battling misinformation in the news media. But she never told her parents.
With hundreds of thousands of people joining the country-wide protests that call for the resignation of the entire government among other reforms, Nour finds herself in constant arguments with her parents, who wholeheartedly oppose the protests and support the current government.
“My dad is a [President Michel] Aoun supporter and one of his biggest dreams is to secure a position in the parliament,” she told Al-Monitor. “There is this big ideological division between him and me, and he wouldn’t appreciate that I’m going to these protests.”
She hides her face whenever she sees cameras during protests because she doesn't want her parents to see her on TV. At home, arguments come up almost daily on dinner table. “Look at these protesters — what they are doing is ruining this country,” Nour’s father commented while watching a live stream of protests across the country.
