DPA: Little festive cheer in Beirut as business suffers

Middle East Features
Pakinam Amer
Dec 26, 2006, 18:50 GMT

Beirut - It's Christmas but the once-thriving central Beirut has almost turned into a ghost city.

Services across downtown Beirut have lost most of their regular clients in the past weeks forcing some business to close down to avoid more financial losses.

Meanwhile, their owners have pleaded for a resolution to the unrest so that they would at least 'feel the Christmas and Eid-al- Adha (feast of sacrifice) spirit.'

'This is a disaster; if the situation stays as such, we're not going to make it after the season. We're forced to close like other restaurants,' said Elie Zouein, manager of a sushi restaurant, which was always full before the troubles began.

A few metres from Zouein's colourful sushi place - decorated in red, gold and green in a far-eastern hip style - is the Ottoman-era government palace where Prime Minister Fouad Seniora has sought sanctuary as thousands of protestors demand his resignation.

Around the palace, hundreds of pro-Syrian opposition protesters have established a make-shift camp since December 1, transforming the once elegant area into a battlefield between the anti-American opposition forces and what they deemed the illegitimate and pro- American loyalist regime.

The opposition, led by Shiite Hezbollah and their Maronite Christian ally Michel Aoun, are pressing Seniora, a Sunni Muslim, for a greater share of power in a national unity government.

The anti-Syrian majority, however, says this demand is only a move to block the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

So far the government has not responded to provocations by the opposition, which holds loud anti-government concerts, talk-shows broadcast live from the camps and rowdy festival-like rallies almost every night.

However, the negative economic repercussions of the opposition camps have by far surpassed its political ones.

Roads leading into downtown Beirut swarm with security elements - police forces, in addition to Hezbollah 'indibat' (Discipline) youth dressed in black and Aoun-affiliated security elements dressed in leather jackets tagged 'Hawks.'

Checkpoints and barbed wire cordon off certain parts, and some streets are entirely sealed off. Shoppers are obliged to tell police their destination before they are allowed into the centre of the once-blossoming area.

The situation has also sent downtown customers flocking to other less troublesome places. Some people have chosen to stay at home during the holidays, which businessmen say is pushing them towards the brink of 'bankruptcy.'

However, those hawking coffee, flags and fruit juices are apparently profiting from the protests although the demonstrators themselves pay little attention to the deteriorating economic situation.

'No one asked these people to close down their places,' said Hoda Eissa, a female higher-ranking member of Hezbollah. 'Actually, our protests attract many people to this area. Look around you, there is hundreds of people here.'

'The protestors are separated from the downtown area by the Lebanese army,' responded Tony Eid, head of a local traders and businessmen union.

'Those who head to the downtown are protestors not shoppers. We haven't seen any of them sitting at a restaurant or going around the shops.'

'They have caused paralysis to the area,' said Eid. An economic analyst told a local TV station there had been a decline of more than 80 per cent in downtown activity over the past weeks.

The restaurant manager, 24-year-old Zouein, sits in his empty restaurant and the Maronite Christian gave full vent to frustration, saying, 'The holiday season is ruined,' putting on some Christmas carols to rekindle some inkling of festivity.

'After the war, we got back on our feet and then this issue of the opposition rose and everything went down again,' he said.

But he has been forced to send home 12 staff home since the protests began, saying, 'I don't need waiters because nobody is coming.'

'In this situation, I don't take sides. I want the conflict to end.'

Zouein believes the future of Lebanon is dim and the political scene has forced him to take steps to leave the country for good.

'I'm struggling because I want to stay here. I have little brothers and little sisters, my friends, I have social life. I'm very happy in this country, I don't want to leave but they're forcing us to leave,' said Zouein.

Zouein and many others across Lebanon, expect some form of civil strife, if the situation escalates.

Protestors had announced recently that if their demands are not met, 'civil disobedience' after the feasts is inevitable.

'When I listen to their statements, I expect the worst,' said Zouein. 'We don't want war. We love life.'

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.

Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1236794.php/Little_festive_cheer_in_Beirut_as_business_suffers
http://www.playfuls.com/news_09_1498-Little-Festive-Cheer-In-Beirut-As-Business-Suffers.html