In Paris, the high school students' demands revive in Jad the memory of the demonstrations in Beirut and of dashed hopes. Photo Gilles Khoury/L’Orient-Le Jour Processed with VSCO with e8 preset
It's a scent he knows by heart but never thought he would find again in Paris, where he had immigrated five years earlier, leaving behind what Lebanon had made of his life. That morning in late October, as he left his studio apartment in the 20th arrondissement to take the subway, Jad recognized that eye-stinging smell: tear gas. In October 2019 in Beirut, when he went out to meet his friends from the "thawra" downtown, that same smell burned his eyes as soon as night fell, without ever dimming his hope. Seven years earlier, he would join the crowds every day with the conviction that something might finally be possible. His anger had found an outlet. He felt capable of having some power over his future.Yet that morning, in front of the mobilized Parisian high school students, that same smell twisted his stomach. While he...
It's a scent he knows by heart but never thought he would find again in Paris, where he had immigrated five years earlier, leaving behind what Lebanon had made of his life. That morning in late October, as he left his studio apartment in the 20th arrondissement to take the subway, Jad recognized that eye-stinging smell: tear gas. In October 2019 in Beirut, when he went out to meet his friends from the "thawra" downtown, that same smell burned his eyes as soon as night fell, without ever dimming his hope. Seven years earlier, he would join the crowds every day with the conviction that something might finally be possible. His anger had found an outlet. He felt capable of having some power over his future.Yet that morning, in front of the mobilized Parisian high school students, that same smell twisted his stomach. While he...
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