A postwar Lebanon tries to reknit its society

A fleet of new, brightly colored buses revives public transit. A group of former combatants, now “Fighters for Peace,” promotes community dialogue. A handful of refurbished movie houses prepare for an International Theatre Festival.
Each of these initiatives in Lebanon is a sign that this Mideast country on the Mediterranean may be restoring its society after Israel’s war against Hezbollah militants in retaliation for that group’s attacks on the Jewish state.
Together, the new threads of civic life can help the Lebanese repair a tattered social fabric, a daunting task amid deep political and religious rifts.
“We must replace sectarian alleyways with a unified path, one party called Lebanon, one sect called the Lebanese sect, and one flag under which we all rally,” President Joseph Aoun stated Monday.
A crucial challenge for the government is disarming various armed groups, especially Hezbollah, which, for decades, has controlled the large Shiite community in southern Lebanon, battling Israeli forces with substantial backing by Iran.
With Hezbollah now severely weakened by Israel, the Lebanese are keen to rebuild their country. “This moment,” according to Atlantic Council analyst Kristian Patrick Alexander, “marks the opening of a new chapter, specifically Lebanon’s reckoning with armed pluralism.”
Last week, fighters in Palestinian refugee camps began handing over weapons to the Lebanese army. On Sunday, the government is due to present a plan to disarm Hezbollah. Speaking in Beirut this week, United States special envoy Thomas Barrack stressed the need to provide alternatives to the thousands of Hezbollah fighters and families who have relied on Iran’s “payroll.”
“If we’re asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood,” he said, “we have to help them.”
Ordinary Lebanese already see the value of acknowledging the needs and views of fellow citizens. And they see this happening in simple ways – such as sitting side by side with others, in a renovated theater or a new bus. For public transit engineer Rami Semaan, using public transport “means more social interaction,” New Lines magazine reports. As actor and director Kassem Istanbouli told Deutsche Welle, a shared performance space can kindle “shared social memories – for Beirut, as well as the whole of Lebanon.”
Change in Lebanon is possible, states the group Fighters for Peace on its website, “just like we have changed.” To the “fighters of today,” the group also makes this plea: “Make an effort to understand the other or listen to him or love him.”