Lebanese Clubbers Party Against Terror

by **DIONYSOS** » Mon May 12, 2008 3:31 pm

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed for a Daily Star article which was eventually published on the May 1st edition of the newspaper. The article was entitled Some Lebanese turn to nightlife to 'escape' ongoing security, economic crises and was written by Aimée Sayah. I wanted to post the article here but then I thought it would constitute an infringement of copyright laws, so I refrained from doing so. Today I receive news that a website's newsletter cited the article, and since that is available for free I thought I'd share it with you:

Beirut’s Daily Star suggested this week that the city’s thriving nightlife scene is being driven by clubbers trying forget the increasing political uncertainty in Lebanon, days before Hezbollah fighters seized control of West Beirut, following clashes with Government troops.

"Lebanese, particularly the youth, have developed an acute sense of resilience to counter the political instability plaguing their nation," local psychologist Saleem
Baradhy told the newspaper, “Resilience corresponds to cumulative protective factors like partying and is used in opposition to cumulative risk factors like the political turmoil."

The psychologist described partying as ‘one manifestation of the escape process’, a point London based Lebanese minimal-tech producer (and London/ Beirut DJ/ promoter) Nicole Moudaber admitted she recognised.

“We all try to escape, whether you're in Beirut or London; the Beiruties, however, love to party, so it's hard to tell for what reason they're doing it,” she observed.

“I think Beirut clubbers are nowadays immune to the political turmoil, we've lived harder times during the war for 17 years, what happens now in comparison is like a dot in the sea,” she told Skrufff.

Leading Bahrain promoter Karim Miknas, who grew up in Lebanon, concurred saying “there is always a sense of escape in partying, but there is also a sense of living.”

“Music touches you in a core sort of way and reminds you that you are alive and that you are connected as human being to the universe; that where you are per se is of absolute irrelevance,” he told Skrufff.

“In any scenario where people feel a certain desperation they tend to let go a lot harder than in very stable environments where they tend to take what they have for granted,” Karim continued, “The fact that you don’t know what tomorrow may bring kind of turns you into an existentialist of sorts. And Lebanese people are party animals from birth, regardless of religious inclination, political ideas partying is the national hobby,” he added.

Nicole compared Beirut’s current scene to Shoreditch and said she’s still planning to return to DJ on May 16 at the Basement Club adding ‘life goes on and fun is always on the agenda’.

‘Clubs like Basement and Bo-18 are the kinds of places that don’t give up, no matter what,” Karim agreed, “That kind of resilience in and of itself is a big fuck you to the status quo of unknowing,” he added.

Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)