An image circulating on social media of the ceremony that took place in the courtyard of the Second Rafic Hariri High School in Beirut, bearing the logo of the Mehdi Scouts, is at the origin of the controversy with the school's parents.
For several days, images of a ceremony organized in the courtyard of the Rafic Hariri Second High School in the Zokak al-Blat neighborhood of Beirut — dedicated to the “religious duty” of young girls marking their first wearing of the hijab — have sparked anger among parents whose children attend the school.
The school has been closed since the start of the conflict on March 2, as it is hosting hundreds of displaced families.
“We have nothing against the displaced people or against religious duties, but holding this ceremony with elaborate decorations and partisan flags has nothing to do with displacement anymore, and has become a real provocation for the displaced students and their parents,” a mother told L’Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity.
Photos of the event show dozens of people gathered in the school courtyard in front of an improvised stage under a portrait of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, a reference figure for the Sunni community. While no Hezbollah flag is visible in these images, the flag of the Mahdi Scouts, an organization linked to Hezbollah, can be seen.
Since Hezbollah opened a front against Israel on March 2, during the war with Iran, more than a million people fleeing Beirut’s southern suburbs and south Lebanon — mainly Shiite areas — have found themselves in reception centers in the capital and elsewhere, mostly in public schools. Despite the cease-fire declared last April 16, fighting continues in the South, and the return of residents has been only partial and slow.
In this school, displaced families were reportedly received “by force and without the consent of the administration, with the support of armed elements who continue to guard the entrance to prevent the school administration from accessing it,” said another source close to the parents, without explicitly naming Hezbollah.
“This ceremony was not the first — there have been other activities that were clearly religious and political in nature, such as a celebration of ‘victory’ at the announcement of the cease-fire,” explained Ikram Saab, another mother of a student who has closely followed issues related to Rafic Hariri Foundation schools as a journalist, to L’Orient-Le Jour. She said parents’ exasperation also stems from the fact that students have been relocated to several other buildings.
Beirut MP Waddah Sadek believes these “provocations against the residents of the capital” do not come from the displaced themselves, but from certain groups, whether partisan or otherwise. He is convinced that “it is Hezbollah that is preventing the displaced from leaving, even though all aid now comes from the Lebanese state and not the party itself.”
A solution within 7 days?
The school principal, Nada Akoum, acknowledges that the school has had to be relocated to several other buildings in order not to interrupt the academic year. “The parents are exhausted, and are especially wondering whether the school will reopen its doors,” she said.
On Thursday, the parents’ committee organized a sit-in downtown to demand that displaced families be relocated to other reception centers. “A delegation from the committee was received by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail, and he promised to find a solution within seven days,” Saab continued.
A government source said the issue concerns, in addition to this high school, six private schools in Beirut. The source specified that since the parents’ meeting with Nawaf Salam, efforts have focused on transferring displaced families to public institutions in order to free up space in public schools.
Hezbollah denies responsibility
Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri (Beirut) formally denies that the high school was taken over by force. “All reception centers were selected in coordination with the emergency committee under the Office of the Prime Minister,” he said. He added that the party “was the first to ask the Ministry of the Interior to deploy officers in front of each centre for added security; this is the only armed presence at this and other facilities.”
Commenting on the controversial ceremony, the Hezbollah MP denies any involvement by his party. Such ceremonies related to the wearing of the hijab, he said, are organized by families and were therefore “set up by the displaced themselves.” He also maintained that there was no “partisan demonstration” during the event.
Sherri added that the party is “available to facilitate dialogue between the school administration and the authorities to resolve the issue.”
Nevertheless, the affair has sparked controversy after taking on a sectarian dimension, mainly Sunni-Shiite. Some protesting parents, who demanded the resumption of classes in the building, reported being “insulted on social media.”
The episode comes amid heightened tensions in Beirut and its suburbs following two incidents last weekend that raised fears of a deterioration in security — first in a Sunni neighborhood after an arrest, then in a Christian area after a priest was assaulted.
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