COVID-19 City Tales: Beirut. “The government has taken advantage of this situation to pass really problematic economic policies”.
A conversation with… Nadim, 22, Social Science Researcher, Hamra. Self-isolated since March 11th.
Firstly, can you let me know if you are self-isolated or quarantined? How many days has it been?
I have been self-isolating since March 11th.
Are you spending it alone or with company?
I am commuting between apartments, so spending it both alone and direct family.
How are you coping with confinement?
Exercising (even if it’s just stretching at home in the mornings), reading, meditating, relaxing (movies, series, music, naps), not feeling bad for not being “productive” at work.
Describe the area where you live. Did you know your neighbors much before this happened? Has your relationship changed since this started?
I’m commuting between my apartment in Hamra, near downtown Beirut, and Shemlan (a village in Mount Lebanon, 35min away from Beirut). My street in Hamra is quite busy and loud. I used to hear more honking and car sounds prior to the pandemic, now it tends to be dogs barking or door banging.
Shemlan is quiet throughout the year, and it is even more so now. It is an ideal place to isolate and enjoy nature.
What was the last thing you did before isolating?
I went to the office. I don’t remember much about it. I do remember that I was caught off guard the day I found out the offices were officially closing. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon.
Do you miss the outdoors? Why?
I really missed the outdoors before commuting to the mountain house. I felt restless and emotionally down at home. It was gloomy, lonely, and difficult to get my mind off of what is going on. Leaving to my mountain house and regaining some connection with nature really helped me a lot.
Do you agree with the way your Government has handled the crisis? What would you change?
The government began implementing lockdowns relatively early on in the crisis. It has somewhat helped contain the crisis, but there’s also been mistakes and some excessive practices. A number of planes from countries with hundreds of reported cases were let into the country in the early stages of the pandemic. This helped spread the virus. The reasons the flights were let in were in part political (particularly the flights from Iran).
As of last week, the government has also banned restaurants and grocery stores from opening to deliver food past 5pm. I find this measure excessive and really harmful to local businesses and employees. If they can deliver between 7am and 5pm, there’s no reason to stop them at night. Also, the government has taken advantage of the situation to pass really problematic economic policies, because they know that people can’t go to the streets to protest. They’ve also arrested people who have protested, and forcefully removed or burnt down tents that had been put up in squares since the start of the October revolution.
Do you think this will have positive consequences as well?
The only positives I see is the potential of solidarity and mutual-aid amongst different people. This sense of communal support can help people regain some hope in humanity, and remind folks that they can count on one another. In other words, less individualism and more communalism.
Lastly, tell me something new you’ve learnt about yourself during isolation.
I’m not as good as I thought at being alone. I spent 4 years in college living alone in a dorm room, so I assumed it would be easy to do it now, but I realize that I really value being around other people, and don’t enjoy being alone for multiple days in a row.
You can follow Nadim and his work as a researcher for The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies on Twitter at @NadimElkak.
