Categories: World News

Lebanon Pupils Skip School For Third Day To Demand Change

Lebanese demonstrators wave the national flag during an anti-government demonstration outside the Ministry of Interior in the capital Beirut on November 8, 2019. 
Patrick BAZ / AFP

 

Thousands of high school students across Lebanon skipped classes Friday for a third day in a row to carry on the flame of the country’s anti-graft movement.

Lebanon has since October 17 been gripped by massive cross-sectarian protests demanding a complete revamping of a political system they say is corrupt and inept.

With youth unemployment running at over 30 per cent, school students have joined en masse since Wednesday demanding a better country so they don’t have to emigrate.

In Beirut, a teenage student who gave her name as Qamar was among thousands of pupils chanting slogans outside the ministry of education on Friday.

“So what if we lose a school year compared to our entire future?” she said. “I don’t want to study in Lebanon and then have to travel abroad” to find a job.

Around her, students waved red-green-and-white Lebanese flags, as others set off yellow, green, blue and purple flares into the sky.

“We missed classes to kick your asses,” read one poster in English.

Another poster in rhyming Arabic said: “No studying or teaching, until the president falls.”

Across Lebanon, students protested outside state institutions and banks including in the southern city of Saida, Tripoli in the north and the east’s Baalbek.

What started as a spontaneous and leaderless movement has become more organised in recent days, with protesters targeting institutions viewed as particularly inefficient or corrupt.

Early Friday, dozens of activists and retired army officers for the first time briefly closed down the entrance to Beirut’s port.

Among them, music producer Zeid Hamdan, 43, had come to denounce what he viewed as a customs collection system riddled with corruption.

“As a musician whenever I bring an instrument into the country, I pay 40 per cent of it” to customs, he said, sporting a light beard and wearing sunglasses.

“It stays stuck in the port for weeks. You need connections, to bribe everybody to get it out,” he said.

Lebanon’s cabinet stepped down last week but no official consultations have started on forming a new government, and outgoing premier Saad Hariri remains in a caretaker capacity.

The World Bank has urged Lebanon to form a new government quickly, warning of the threat of a further economic downturn in a country where almost a third of the population lives in poverty.

Rejoice Ewodage

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Rejoice Ewodage

Recent Posts

Tinubu Passionate About Enhanced Healthcare Delivery – VP Shettima

The Federal Government says it is ready to explore private sector partnership on training of…

14 mins ago

Gov Sani Offers Free Education To Rescued Kuriga Students

The governor also promised to rebuild the primary and government secondary school kuriga, in addition…

56 mins ago

Alleged Certificate Forgery: Court Grants Senator Friday Benson N50m Bail

In addition, the lawmaker must provide two sureties with landed properties in the Federal Capital…

2 hours ago

Alleged Tax Evasion: FG To Arraign Binance, Two Others On April 4

The Federal Government accused Binance of neglecting to register with FIRS for tax purposes and…

2 hours ago

FAAN Shuts KFC Lagos Airport Outlet

FAAN directed KFC to apologise to the affected passenger without further delay.

2 hours ago

Six Enugu Lawmakers Dump LP For PDP

Those who defected are Ejike Eze, (Igbo-Eze North 1);  Johnson Ugwu (Enugu North) Princess Ugwu…

2 hours ago