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Sara Assaf: Farewell, March 14

Farewell, March 14
Sara Assaf/Now Lebanon/March 14/16

I was one of many who took to the streets on March 14, 2005, with over one million Lebanese people demanding the end of the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon. One of the many who attended the funerals of all March 14 martyrs, who never missed the annual February 14 memorial, and the annual March 14 celebrations, be it in Martyrs’ Square or Biel or Bristol. I’m one of many who believed in a cross-confessional alliance, where Muslims and Christians unite for a better Lebanon. I’m one of many who worked on the ground with March 14 youth organizations, and saw the feelings of solidarity grow between a new generation from different confessions and backgrounds.

I’m one of many who believed in Saad Hariri as a leader eager to instigate change, and initiate a new form of liberalism, away from the mercantilism and opportunism of traditional Lebanese politics. I’m one of many who supported his ideas on women’s rights and civil marriage, and always found excuses for his never-ending concessions, from the Saudi-Syrian accord to participating in a coalition government and a joint dialogue with Hezbollah.

I’m one of many who believed in Samir Geagea as the principled leader who would always keep focus on the ultimate objective, no matter what the difficulties or the mistakes being made around him. I’m one of many who stood against him when he endorsed the Orthodox electoral law because it was the antidote to March 14 values, and one of many who stood beside him when he refused to participate in a folkloric dialogue and an ineffective government with Hezbollah, because those were also antidotes to March 14 values.
I’m one of many who believed in principles like sovereignty, pluralism and justice, and thought we had a coalition, which was not strong enough to fight Hezbollah, but capable enough to at least stand its ground in the face of the armed party, whose paramilitary wing has become stronger than the Lebanese army and whose political wing is slowly dominating all of the state’s institutions.

But today, I’m one of many to look at the failed quasi-state of Lebanon and realize that the March 14 coalition has reached a point where it is not even capable of assembling its political entities under one roof to commemorate March 14, pay respects to its martyrs, and come up with a unified statement addressing the many current challenges facing Lebanon. We have reached a point where the two main leaders of March 14, Saad Hariri and Samir Geagea, are confronting each other by endorsing two different candidates for Lebanon’s Presidency, both of whom are members of the March 8 coalition and are close allies of Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.

Truth is, over the past 11 years, the March 14 coalition had to face Hezbollah’s fierce anti-revolution plan, which began with targeted assassinations and was followed by the destructive war in 2006, the military invasion of west Beirut in 2008, the overthrow of Hariri’s government in 2011, and the use of internal sectarian tensions and security threats to tip the political balance in their favor from 2005 until 2016.

I’m one of many who believed that a united March 14 could have continued to wage a peaceful and efficient resistance against Hezbollah today, and that the vacuum left by the breakdown of March 14 will only help the March 8 coalition dominate Lebanon even more. A quick look at the local and regional context clearly shows how much a pluralistic, liberal, and state-driven coalition is essential to counter the radical Shiite terrorism on one side, and radical Sunni terrorism on the other.

But today, I’m also one of many whose only choice is to bid farewell to March 14. And I am doing so with great sadness, which has little to do with nostalgia for a gorgeous day that made history in Lebanon, and plenty to do with fear of living in a country that has no place for truly secular minds.

Eleven years after the Cedar Revolution, I’m one of many who came to realize that if you are not Christian enough to join the Lebanese Forces, Sunni enough to join the Future Movement, Druze enough to join the Progressive Socialist Party, or Shitte enough to switch sides and join March 8, then you can no longer have a sense of belonging in this country post-March 14.
And that, by itself, is a farewell.
Not only to March 14, but to the Lebanon we dreamed of.
And we shall never let go of our dreams.

**Sara Assaf is a political activist. She tweets @saraassaf.


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