It is really heartwarming to attend a Musical Bonfire at a place that has been planned to be privatized; Ramlet el Bayda public beach in Beirut… is such a beautiful place to be, and it is one of the few beaches that are still free to access. After the media shed light on several attempts aiming at take it away from the people, a decision was made by the Governor of Beirut Ziad Chebib stopping all works at this public property.
Let’s get back to the bonfire, which was organized by “Nahnoo”; a non-governmental organization working towards a better view of public spaces and trying to implement development projects in the country. On Wednesday the 14th of September’s, one of the most successful projects organized by “Nahnoo” took place… after winning the fight and making a great result at opening Beirut’s biggest green space “Horsh Beirut”.
In their invitation, “Nahnoo” mentioned: “To reject the privatization of Ramlet el Bayda and assert our right to a free and easy access to the sea, NAHNOO NGO invites you to a Musical Bonfire on Ramlet el Bayda beach on the 14th of September 2016, at 7pm”. It also included a program that started at 7pm with a YOGA SESSION & setting the bonfire, then the music started at 8pm with Ziad Al Ahmadieh, followed by Michelle and Noel Keserwany, then Zayed Hamdan. Enjoy watching the following videos of the music out there:
What was really interesting in the event, besides the music, and lovely vibes, is that people attending the event were of all ages, political and social backgrounds, etc.… since Public spaces are for everyone. Wednesday’s event is one of the proofs for that. People want to say they have the right to be there, and also want to enjoy themselves and the music.
In that vast public space, you could see some people making new friends, others just watching… children on the swings, and a girl trying to make her way through the dancing sand… We met some people who came to Ramlet al-Bayda directly after finishing work… They insisted on saying: “This public property is ours”. We also met people who were participating in protests against corruption in Lebanon. They said their participation in the Musical Bonfire night and that of the protests had a mutual goal, since public property in Lebanon is also being stolen, and it is dominated by no other than corruption.
In an interview with “Greenarea.me”, head of Nahnoo said: “This event is part of our organizations’ activities to save public spaces, especially Ramlet al-Bayda, knowing that there have been several attempts to privatize this region”, adding “this public property should stay for everyone, and this is where our event initiates”.
Ayoub also said: “We need to know why the public prosecution hasn’t made any move until now, especially that many people mentioned that there has been forgery in Ramlet al-Bayda case, and this is why the Governor of Beirut Ziad Chebib suspended the decisions”.
“We are also here because we want to confirm our right to public spaces that are free to access”, he noted.
Tarek Ammar, from “Beirut Madinati”, who was a candidate for “Beirut Municipality Elections”, was attending the event. In the following video, he tells us: “We are here to tell everyone living in Beirut that we have this public space- the lovely beach at Ramlet al-Bayda”. Ammar encouraged people to go to this public space, just as their grandparents used to do, saying that “families used to come here for picnics and to meet with new friends”.
He also said that “Beirut is lucky to have this beach, especially that very few Capitals in the world have this privilege”. Answering our question on Beirut Madinati’s role in saving public spaces, Ammar said: “Part of our program is to make a link between public spaces and where people live,” adding that “public spaces should be interconnected through green ways so that people can reach there by foot, instead of treating them (public spaces) as separated islands”.
“Beirut Madinati” candidate mentioned that they have been working with “Nahnoo”, and they encourage everything they’re doing for public spaces.
Zeid Hamdan, who also appears in a random video interview we had with him, told us “I grew up in Lebanon during the war, and this beach was full of dirt and garbage. I saw it getting cleaned throughout the years, and saw how the Lebanese were becoming more conscious towards the environment”, adding “I have also seen politicians becoming more corrupt and greedier”.
Hamdan, who used to be in “Soap Kills” band with Yasmine Hamdan, expressed his happiness of being in the event by saying that “I feel I need to be here to express that public spaces need to be protected, and people deserve to have a place that is free for them to access at any time”.
Firas Bou Hatoum, on the other hand, told us: “As civil movements protesting for our right, we met the Governor of Beirut Ziad Chebib, who pledged that there won’t be any works on Ramlet al-Bayda”. He added: “We are participating in Nahnoo’s event to confirm that we insist that this public beach stay for everyone in Lebanon”.
Arabi al-Andari viewed the event as “a nice evening for people to come and have fun or to confirm their rights of having free access to public spaces”, adding that “we are being deprived of breathing clean air… so we need to highlight this point as well”.
Public spaces are part of our environment… without them, we will surely be less engaged with our roots and culture. Along with greenery, they form a very important part of our lives, and having such initiatives like the one “Nahnoo” did is more than amazing. Let’s have more of them!!
In the above video, scouts are performing bonfire rituals before lighting it…
