Protestors are clear: they do not want reforms, they want a revolution.

By Zeidon Alkinani and Nur Turkmani

In Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square, a group of protestors gather around a beating drum and chant, “From Iraq to Beirut, one revolution and it won’t die.” In Baghdad, protesters hold a banner with the words, “From Baghdad to Beirut, we shall continue. No Sunni no Shia; our state must be secular.” As the two countries erupt in protest, social media brims with such messages of solidarity, sent from Iraq to Lebanon and vice versa.

Some scenes from both countries bear uncanny resemblance: young, working class men revolting shirtless; women leading the chants, standing defiantly in front of security forces; satirical songs, aimed at the ruling elite, spreading like wildfire; previously-deserted concrete buildings occupied, floor after floor, by demonstrators raising flags; and protesters swaying to “Mawtini, Mawtini”, Iraq’s national anthem, and for many that of Palestine as well, equally emotional and angry, their raspy voices calling out for the downfall of a sectarian regime.

Protestors in Lebanon chanting: “From Baghdad to Beirut one revolution that will not die”

Read more from the source: Open Democracy