Democracy First Responders - Lebanon - Makram Rabah
b'In this series of Global, we\\u2019re meeting some of these \\u201cDemocracy First Responders.\\u201d We\\u2019ll travel around the world \\u2013 virtually, of course \\u2013 and talk to politicians, activists, medical workers, journalists, tech pioneers, government officials, and everyday citizens like you and me. These are very different people, but everyone we spoke with has one goal in common: To respond to this crisis successfully and protect their country\\u2019s democratic institutions \\u2013 or even build new ones.\\n\\nBefore the coronavirus, Lebanon was home to one of the world\\u2019s most vibrant people-powered protest movements, demanding accountable, transparent government and rejecting entrenched elites. But restrictions on gatherings are straining this movement, and ruling elites \\u2013 and foreign powers \\u2013 are using the crisis to challenge their gains and reestablish their own support. \\n\\nCan Lebanon\\u2019s protest movement \\u2013 and movements like it \\u2013 adapt or even thrive in this new reality? To find out, Global spoke with Makram Rabah, an activist, journalist and professor of history at the American University of Beirut. Makram has been active in writing about Lebanon\\u2019s protest movement and exposing efforts to silence it. Makram has also been calling for reforms that respond to people\\u2019s demands for change.'