In the spring of 2005, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated. Lebanon was plunged into some very profound questions that challenged everything it knew up until then regarding the connection between politics and religion, a fate that has long befallen the Arab world.
Beirut Diaries, a documentary directed by a Palestinian-American, is set in those fateful days when public debate was raging. Hariri’s assassination sent the country into convulsions of major protest against Syrian occupation of Lebanon. It was a catalyst that revealed deep divisions in Lebanese society. Beirut Diaries, without pressing any judgment, simply documents the debates that dominated Lebanese society during the immediate period that followed the assassination.
The film follows a young Lebanese woman whose religion is not clearly-set. In the story, the woman protagonist was taken in by the March 14 movement. This group of youth built tents in Martyrs Square. They formed part of the ‘resistance.’ March 14 was successful in rallying millions of Lebanese to the cause. If March 14 was able to that, so did March 8 which was the Hezbollah, pro-Syrian led faction.
The crux of the documentary film is the debates among Lebanese youth that argued, among themselves, about the significance and consequences of Hezbollah’s ownership of armaments, the intentions of America, and why the country descended into Civil War (1975-1990) in the first place.
Fact is, many Lebanese youth have been deeply concerned with opposing the Syrian occupation of their country, the fear of America’s intentions, and that they did not want to be deemed as sympathetic to Bush.
The debates never produced a resolution just as they still rage without conclusive answers till today, as Lebanese Muslim and Christian youth still ask their elders why the fight between religions continues to rage. The fate of Lebanon still hangs in the balance because the people do not know what divided them in the first place, hence the debates.
As a documentary, Beirut Diaries is one of the rare opportunities when Arabs were allowed to speak for themselves. Western media have often quelled this voice, attempting to be their false mouthpiece. The film, at the very least, reveals the truth and lies in Lebanese politics.
