Le comunità online, le pratiche di resistenza collettiva e i processi di pacificazione nel post-rivoluzione in Libano

Lebanese youths have often confronted loss and lived in landscapes of debris throughout their lives. Recently, Lebanon has experienced the expansion of the genocidal violence within its borders. Online communities have emerged as pivotal spaces for solidarity, activism, and the revitalisation of Lebanese identity. But online activism pertains to class, cultural hegemony, self- and collective escape. The Instagram page Live Love Beirut exemplifies this dynamic, having reached over 1 million followers and consistently posting peaceful depictions of Lebanon’s beauty and cultural richness, even during times of severe violence and bombings. This digital space offers a counterbalance to the harsh realities of daily life marked by debris, loss, and devastation, and it generates a dissociation that nurtures hope and collective healing. However, there is an inherent risk in these online platforms. While they allow local and global Lebanese communities to reclaim their narratives and challenge the dominant discourses that marginalise their experience, they can also foster an idealised version of reality that may lack any connection to the lived experiences of those who continue to face systemic challenges. In brief, they are class-biased. This paper delves into the role of digital activism and storytelling platforms in Lebanon’s ongoing struggle for recovery, discussing whether they can be considered a 2019 Thawra complement to the political bottom-top dashed hopes, collective conscientizaçao (P. Freire) strategies or diaspora-based coping methods with no action correspondence.