Beirut is stinking because of rotten politics

Few could have imagined in Lebanon the sight of floating garbage meandering its way through middle class Beirut suburbs. But when the rains came in the last few days, the deluge of floating litter was inevitable, with many worrying that the water system in Lebanon is now poisoned.
Yet amidst all this the Lebanese resist. Their formidable steely edge against bullets and bombs reveals itself in the most banal ways; they put on make up on before going to the beach, enjoy fireworks in the daytime and believe it perfectly normal to drive a motor vehicle while writing an angry whatsapp message to their lovers.
Yet even their resilience has its limits as paying for extra water and electricity stretched their patience to breaking point, particularly when it was clear corruption was the nucleus of the garbage crisis. When those same politicians though appear to not even care about rotting rubbish piling up 12 feet in front of their front doors, something snapped.
But has the Youstink phenomenon fizzled out? The movement, a pressure group which bemoans much more than just rotting garbage, helped expose a bigger issue in Lebanon though which Assad Thebian - one of its leaders - explained to me is a political carve up of cash allotted to the various sages of Lebanon's political elite.
The country's own political system is the core of the corruption with many MPs and media on the pay roles of regional power brokers. Thebian believes it's time for the Lebanese to wake up and see the uniqueness of the political system for what it is: a catalyst for embezzlement.
"This system is using sectarianism as a cover for corruption and this is run by a few people in government who are also active in the business world, bankrupting the state whilst filling their own pockets" he explains. "It's not only garbage, it's also electricity and water. For the last 25 years we've spent billions on the electricity infrastructure but we still don't have 24/7 power".
Youstink started with just 40 members in early August. They claim now a following of 100,000 followers which over the summer were demanding a swathe of change in Lebanon, all linked to corruption and driving a point home even to those who have strong political beliefs: the current sectarian system is not only out dated, but it is failing on every level. In fact, the confessional system only seems to serve the very few elite who are at the top of it, which earlier pushed a great number of people over a line at the end of August where the numbers of protestors in Beirut peaked.
Indeed it says a lot about the extent of the graft, when one of the country's leading political sages, Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt was openly accused by media of having his hand in the till, with regards to the garbage contracts, merely responded that the press had done a poor job if he was the only one who could be fingered. Jumblatt, who looks like a comical caricature of a mad professor, seemed to have the last laugh.
But what now? Has the movement lost support from many due to some of the protests turning violent? Or did many pull back due to rumours of a US-backed coup being masterminded through an NGO network which was pulling strings in YouStink?
Perhaps the groups demands were too ambitious. "This civil movement is unlike anything Lebanon has known in four decades" says Professor Sami Nader. Previous demonstrations in Lebanon in years gone by have "rarely touched on the citizens' economic and social concerns, such as the need for clean roads, reliable electricity and job opportunities, among other demands".
On a positive note, a splinter group "Badna nhasseb" ("We want accountability") emerged which calls for those in power to be held to account - a more realistic first step in any velvet revolution which Thebian and his leftist friends might have sparked. Youstink should take a reality check and leave its earlier demands of electoral reform and ministerial resignations aside for a whole new focus on accountability.
They have had some minor successes in niggling the elite, but many now tell me here in Beirut that the demonstrations they organised actually played into the hands of those in power as it served as a relief mechanism for political tension. Surely now they should look entirely at the higher accountability concept and use their popularity to educate the Lebanese on this subject. And they might want to start with the fourth estate.
Martin Jay (@MartinRJay) is a veteran foreign correspondent based in Beirut.