«You Can’t Stop a People Who Are Dancing»: When the Energy of the Heart Fights Despair

Tuesday books - Hélène Lavoyer

When Sarah gets on her Part (a 125-cm motorcycle³) in 2015, four years after her return from Syria, the reality of conflicts—which most people know only through media accounts—was already deeply ingrained in the young woman’s mind. Yet, guided by an inner fire and armed with a welcome dose of audacity, she sets out on the journey that will take her to the mixed territories of Lebanon, which she brings to life for the reader by combining sarcastic and spontaneous humor with a serious, which is inevitable when discussing the «survival» forced upon people in the midst of these wars, where multiple actors vie for the upper hand.

In a five-part narrative, the thirty-three-year-old author depicts the beauty of a people who, through his story, find themselves addicted to the here and now, haunted by a past that has traumatized their memories. In this region, alongside the Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis, and Ethiopians, coexisting and navigating around one another, preserving a delicate balance that could be shattered by every new bomb or every new upheaval—a balance maintained by the injustice to which these communities, both Lebanese and Palestinian, are subjected. You can't stop a people who are dancing. Lebanese Chronicles, published this year by the Swiss publishing house L’Aire, is a compelling and exciting book with a social cause.

What do we know about the conflicts that have been erupting and ravaging the Middle East for nearly a century? Here in Switzerland, from the comfort of our homes, news has been pouring in for a long time, and the media continue to spread information provided by both governments and their special correspondents. But, deep down, only those who have set foot there to experience it firsthand truly know the reality on the ground—like Sarah Chardonnens and certain authors she likes to quote (Flaubert, De Nerval).

«The greatest misfortune afflicting the Palestinian people—and which, paradoxically, is also their greatest hope—is called «the right of return.» […] Under no circumstances should they be allowed to settle down, have a roof over their heads, a job, or a modicum of dignity, because they are expected to return to their homeland at any moment. […] I say this today—at the risk of causing offense—this must stop! We must face reality head-on! Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been living under the same conditions since 1948! […] But the pace of politics is not the same as the socioeconomic realities of populations in distress. The Palestinians have been waiting for a country for seventy years!»

So, if this book offers a lesson to the media, European governments, and anyone who reads its pages, it is not solely because it is about Sarah Chardonnens’s struggle. No. The facts speak for themselves, serving as a moral lesson to readers and anyone who gives even the slightest thought to these issues. Chardonnens understands this, and she writes about these events—these intertwined stories at the crossroads of peoples in forced exile—weaving in snippets of conversation with the people she met in Lebanon.

By confronting us with the socioeconomic realities of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanese camps, and by immersing us in the multitude of actors operating in this minefield where external conflicts spill over, the writer fervently defends the human cause and humanity as a value, while demonstrating the unfathomable complexity facing these populations and pointing the finger at the many political levers held by the Hezbollah, Daesh, Bashar al-Assad, and many others.

But Sarah Chardonnens’ work stands out neither for its poetic enumeration nor for its analysis of Lebanon’s geopolitical and social situation. Nor does the book’s merit lie in its denunciation of propaganda mechanisms, biased educational strategies, or activism that is at times overly prominent. After reading this book, the burden of suffering, injustice, inequality, distress, despair, and powerlessness is lightened by a keen awareness of the situation and a sense of inspiration conveyed by the author.

«Everyone should be at war. Regardless of our background, education, or profession, each and every one of us should feel responsible for the tragedy unfolding right on our doorstep. The direction we choose to take with our commitment is up to us. But the responsibility to get involved […] should be collective, because the repercussions are global.»

A kind of frenzied energy, fueled by anger and the inability to let things take their course, stirs the reader’s heart as they gradually draw closer to different cultures, ways of thinking, and paths, going so far as to share with the author a visit to a Palestinian refugee camp, a visit to a Beirut hospital, a blood-red sunset mingled with the rosy glow of the city lights and its pollution, observed in silence, a disgusting cigar in hand.

Sarah Chardonnens
You can't stop a people who are dancing
L’Aire Publishing
2018
326 pages

Write to the author : [email protected]

Photo credit: © Hélène Lavoyer for Le Regard Libre