The severe explosion of a warehouse in Beirut on August 4, 2020, has increased the tensions in Lebanon, but also united the protests in civil society that have been stirring up official politics. Norient met with Firas Abou Fakher of the indie rock band Mashrou’ Leila who is among the progressive voices of the young Lebanese generation, to talk about Lebanon’s complicated history, clichés about the Arab world, and the role of music in times of change.
[Jörg Scheller]: Firas, I am glad to see you’re in good health. How have you experienced the catastrophe on August 4?
[Firas Abou Fakher]: At 10 am I walked into my studio in downtown Beirut and had a few meetings not far away from the port. At 4 pm the building manager calls and says that there will not be any electricity for a couple of hours, which means: no air conditioning, no internet, so I left. I was wondering if I should head to my house, also near the port but decided to head to a friend, 30 minutes outside of Beirut in a suburb that overlooks the port. I arrived at 6 pm, and sat by the windows, curtains closed, when I heard a sound, something burning maybe. Then I saw the explosion, which looked like a nuclear bomb. I screamed for everyone to get away from the windows, and the blast hit. I called my parents, but the lines were down. As things had become clearer, I drove to my house: There were broken windows, cars, bodies everywhere. In my flat everything was destroyed, no windows or doors left. I sat down for about 15 minutes, took my valuables, and left. The pain and anger are still being processed, many things have changed, and it’s not clear as to how yet for me.
[JS]: In times of crisis people often resort to what they know. Even if they know it’s not good – at least they know it. What do the progressive anti-corruption, anti-establishment protest movements in Lebanon have to offer?
[FAF]: What is happening in Lebanon is that the protest started as a grassroots movement, as something very inclusive. And once the real financial crisis had affected the country, with real material problems emerging, people started fearing for their material being – the ability to eat, to stay warm, simply to live. That’s completely understandable. In this situation, one has to prioritize one’s problems. One has to choose one’s battles and right now one’s battle means survival, putting one’s kids to school.
[JS]: Are there any long term goals?
[FAF]: As far as the movements having concrete plans or a clear vision, I think that is not really the focus right now. I think we are in a state of exposing corruption. There is a lot of ground work that needs to be done to show people the damage that has been caused over the years by the ruling elite. I know it sounds strange to say that there is no clear vision, but I think that it has a lot of positive aspects because of that.
[JS]: What exactly are you referring to?
[FAF]: Recently, I heard a funny story. Even if somebody, a normal person who was born around the time of Jesus, had earned seven thousand dollars every day, from then until now, he would not be as rich as somebody like Jeff Bezos. Imagine that! How is this possible? I think some countries are dealing with this in smarter ways than others, for sure. But the developing countries, the ones that were thrust into the international economy of scale, like Lebanon, are having a much tougher time.
[JS]: The reactions to such disruptive large-scale economic changes always occur with a delay of years. With a political mentality centered on quarterly figures, we cannot grasp such long-term effects.
[FAF]: Precisely. We should put things in a long-term perspective. I think in the Middle East, music has a very crucial role to play in this connection – as a political tool. Since the beginning of recorded music, since the project of Arab Nationalism, politicians have used artists to communicate with the people. And there’s this funny story: Arab music owes a lot to classical music. And then some people say: your music is not Arab enough.
[JS]: What could be the reason for this?
[FAF]: It is a music that actually borrows heavily from the works of classical musicians, from French musicians or from German and Austrian composers. It’s a long and complicated story of meaning-making; people try to make meaning through music. But while I’m working as a musician, it’s different; it has to do with interest, technique, with being challenged. Only afterwards one rationalizes. For me, it is very difficult to apply for funding or to do commissions because you have to define the project before you do the project ...
[JS]: ... like in academic research projects where you proudly indicate what you have found out before actually having started your research. But tell me, what role do pop bands play in the protest movements in Lebanon? You mentioned the role of music in Arab Nationalism – how about different political mindsets?
FAF: Music has played a large part in the communal aspect of the uprising; whether through chants, or, as in the first few weeks, people bringing trucks with a sound system hooked up on top, and blasting all kinds of music. But I think more interesting is the integration of the commercial artistic class into the uprising. The amount of viewership and exposure granted, on both sides of the discussion, has really made apparent the extent to which music and socio-political life are intertwined. There are many mainstream media pop stars who have airplay and a big following – celebrities, I would say. They have been very positive towards the protest movements. A lot of young people identify with these pop stars.
Having them on the side of change, on the side against corruption and oppression, is very good. So far, more radical views have not easily infiltrated the general populace. That’s good because I am very afraid that we end up harming a movement through being too radical or too controversial for the majority of the people who support this movement. Also the idea of representation is very dangerous. You cannot choose yourself as the representative of the movement. It happens to you, maybe. But even if it happens to you, you have to doubt it. Even if people say: we want you to represent us, you have to answer: Are you sure? I’m not sure if I’m the right person.
[JS]: In Europe, right-wing populists claim that progressive contemporary artists are part of an aloof globalist elite. That they fight for LGBT rights but neglect basic needs. Is there a similar criticism in Lebanon?
[FAF]: Art, unfortunately, has not played a major role in the lives of the Lebanese. You don’t have so much public knowledge about art and it is seen as an elite or a niche thing. It’s not worth the time because it is simply not powerful enough – which I completely disagree with. In Lebanon, it is rare for contemporary artists to engage in political discussions, which is a shame because I think many of them have a lot to say, and their capacity for imagining is very needed. I recently heard the theory that contemporary art is linked with a successful (political) state. That art is some kind of measure for how democratic or progressive a state is. I don’t agree with it completely, but I can understand where it comes from.
[JS]: How is that for Lebanon?
[FAF]: For Lebanon, the opposite is true. Art is not part of the general thinking of people. And of course being an artist is not viewed as a promising way to make a living and to support a family. This is a basic problem that we have to overcome first. There is hardly state support, in general funding is rare, artists work in small organizations, and mostly earn money through other jobs.
