Beirut: The Split

In the 1970's, conflicts escalated between the different groups in Lebanon, Shia, Sunni, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, over power. The government, if you could call it a government, still operated, yet it resembled a play, a cheap play that had no audience. The Parliament and President had no power whatsoever and could only watch as their country transformed into a chaotic set of brutality and savagery. One of the countless consequences that Beirutis have witnessed because of the escalating conflicts was the split of their beloved city, Beirut, and the shifting of Beirut's commercial and economic center, or what was left of it anyway.

The civil war had destroyed any connection the different groups of Lebanon had towards each other, and it ravaged the entire country. The borders that I had talked about in the previous post were invisible, yet respected and lived by, but now actual borders had been drawn, specifically the Green Line, in which the commercial capital and center of Lebanon, and maybe the entire Middle East was split. Beirut's Golden Age died an agonizing death and any remains of it remained in Hades. There were no more Western tourists, no more swarming elegant hotels, no more businessmen from the Arabian Peninsula looking to invest their millions in Beirut's economy, no more wealth, no more labels, and no more boasting about the Paris of the East that bewitched anyone that laid eyes on it. Gone were the times of the dazzling city that lay at the edge of the Levant. Gone was the gateway to the West.

Beirut was split across a border called the Green Line, which was the Beirut-Damascus road and some of downtown Beirut, that cut through the city, bisecting it. (It is called the Green Line because of the many weeds and shrubs that protrude out of the tarmac and asphalt). This would automatically take you back to the times of the Berlin Wall and the division of East and West Germany. This was so similar yet so different. First, there was no obscure or visible obstacle, such as a wall. It was just that road that symbolized so much. People knew of the consequences of this border, and its crossing. Anyone who dared to step across this road would meet a sudden, yet expected death. Because this line was not just an ordinary border. It represented Lebanon's tribalism. Before the war, it was just a thought, yet now it is illustrated in reality and on the ground for everyone to see.

Though this may have been the only visible and prominent border separating the city, there were so many subdivisions. They began in individual neighborhoods. All members would keep to their self, and most could not imagine a society operating outside of their own narrow borders, it was an inconceivable idea, and a faraway one at that. As the time passed in this civil wars, the divisions were not only in neighborhoods but in individuals. The trust between neighbors disappeared. A person would think everyone had the worst possible motives towards him/her, and looks of suspicion were always on everyones faces. With that, the remains of Lebanese society and mutualism had shattered.