{"id":16341,"date":"2012-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/16341\/horsh-beirut-public-space-private-rules"},"modified":"2012-06-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T00:00:00","slug":"horsh-beirut-public-space-private-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beirut.com\/en\/16341\/horsh-beirut-public-space-private-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Horsh Beirut: Public Space, Private Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

For over 20 years, Horsh Beirut, a 40,000-square-meter pine forest on the edge of the capital, has largely been closed off to the Lebanese public. Now, a campaign spearheaded by the local youth NGO, Nahnoo, to reopen the massive green space has sparked a complex debate about the municipality\u2019s responsibility towards the park and the public\u2019s ability to help preserve it.<\/p>\n

To enter Horsh, you must obtain permission from the Beirut municipality. But even then, you must be over 35-years-old and married, according to Nahnoo Executive Director Mohammad Ayoub. There\u2019s also the tacit understanding, activists say, that foreigners can simply flash their passport at the gate and gain entrance into the park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think this is discrimination. It\u2019s public property. Everyone should have the right to enter whenever they want and use it,\u201d says Hala Moussawi, project coordinator at Nahnoo.<\/p>\n

The NGO has been working for a year now to campaign for the park\u2019s reopening; an effort organizers say is driven by the desire to improve the quality of life for the Lebanese public, and in particular, young people. \u201cThe rate of youth dropping out of schools is increasing, and we\u2019re also seeing an increase in drug use as well as crime,\u201d says Ayoub. \u201cNot having a space \u2013 especially a public space \u2013 this is one of the reasons we have all these problems\u2026 Space is not just about having a place to play, it\u2019s about having a chance to express yourself. It\u2019s about tackling problems through healthy activities\u2026 but there isn\u2019t space for youth to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The park was damaged during the country\u2019s 1975-1990 civil war and then closed in 1992 under an initiative from the French embassy, in coordination with the Beirut municipality, in an effort to repair the space. France followed through with its part of the deal to replant trees and other green life, but the municipality has still not taken care of its duties to restore the infrastructure, such as installing garbage bins and renovating the bathrooms, says Ayoub.<\/p>\n

Beirut Mayor Bilal Hamad maintains his resistance to reopening the park is mainly due to fears that the Lebanese people will \u201cabuse\u201d it. But Ayoub contends that \u201cHorsh remains closed because of the municipality, not because of the people\u2026 They are just giving excuses. The municipality doesn\u2019t want to pay for cleaning and security. This is the right of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moussawi says she understands concerns that the Lebanese aren\u2019t prepared to take care of public space, and that\u2019s why the NGO is developing an awareness campaign to educate residents about their duties as citizens to help maintain the natural environment. \u201cPeople haven\u2019t been given the chance to practice public space, which is one of the reasons we want to open the park \u2013 so they can practice being civic.\u201d \u201cBut you can\u2019t just say people are bad and don\u2019t deserve to enter the park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the campaign has its critics. Ibrahim Lahham, a 23-year-old architect and self-proclaimed environmentalist, created a group on Facebook<\/a> to protest the reopening of the park. \u201cFirst of all, it\u2019s a natural reserve. It\u2019s not a park. It\u2019s not a garden. It\u2019s not our backyard. It\u2019s not something to mess with\u2026 it\u2019s our last hope; it\u2019s something we have to keep for the next generation instead of jeopardizing it now by opening it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Lahham believes, in line with the mayor\u2019s argument, that the public isn\u2019t equipped with the knowledge to preserve it. \u201cYou cannot just tell people, \u2018here\u2019s the Horsh park, start practicing your social skills on it.\u2019 It\u2019s prone to damage\u2026 people need at least another 10 years to understand how to treat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics have accused Lahham and others who share his views of being racist. But the architect defends his position: \u201cIt\u2019s just the reality. We know ourselves. We know how we treat our society, how we treat the environment. We don\u2019t have the public awareness to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, if they open Horsh, I\u2019m going to be the first one who goes in. We all want green space in Beirut. But in my opinion, we should demand the municipality and government open new areas, to create new parks and more green spaces instead of depleting the last one we have,\u201d says Lahham.<\/p>\n

Ayoub believes Horsh can serve as an important first step in developing future public space projects. \u201cWe have no models. Horsh is a good space to bring people together from different sects and economic classes and to make a good law about protecting the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a town hall-style debate organized by Nahnoo in February, Mayor Hamad pledged to open the park to the public by the end of 2012, but only under what he calls a \u201cprobation period.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m willing to give it a chance and open Horsh to the public. If people abide by the regulations and avoid abusing Horsh, then I will keep it open.\u201d <\/p>\n

Human rights lawyer Nizar Saghieh says the municipality does not have a right to do this, and moreover, that it\u2019s illegal. \u201cYou cannot put a probation period on a public space.\u201d If someone fails to abide by the rules set up for the park, \u201cthen he or she should be fined, but you cannot implement a collective punishment on all of the Lebanese if there are some people who abuse the space,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For Ayoub, the campaign to reopen Horsh Beirut is just the first step in a larger movement Nahoo has planned for the future. \u201cBelonging to a country means you have the right to enjoy its public spaces. We will soon advocate for public spaces in all of Beirut.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over 20 years, Horsh Beirut, a 40,000-square-meter pine forest on the edge of the capital, has largely been closed off to the Lebanese public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":459835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ai_generated_summary":"","_preview_accessed":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[340],"media-embed-type":[],"class_list":["post-16341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-wethepeople"],"authorship":[186],"yoast_head":"\nHorsh Beirut: Public Space, Private Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For over 20 years, Horsh Beirut, a 40,000-square-meter pine forest on the edge of the capital, has largely been closed off to the Lebanese public.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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