treat could mean the end to the policies grand coalition. in washington. coming up next the struggle to keep protests peaceful in lebanon and meet women putting themselves between demonstrate just police in the program were full to and had on the humphrey thanks for company and see you again at the top of the hour the most. the law. has to come in georgia politics business the militia. in iran people of the islamic revolution are out 4.

opens up making its initial flirtation capitalism strikes in states of emergency. things into chaos. the circuitry split enz the people in the grip of steel. going to 1979. creative today's rate starts december 23rd w. well ron they called in arabic the word means revolution people in lebanon and protesting for weeks. christina a 21 year old student is on the front line in the capital beirut. where it's right now it's doing that and being. i mean at the end of the day what is the point of

going so i think i can stop. it's early morning in the mountains on the outskirts of beirut this is where christina who studies media at a private university lives with her parents. the family is well to do but they're worried because living conditions are getting worse in lebanon for the middle class is too there are few prospects for young people no. powers our country going to thrive if everybody keeps leaving but also how are we going to stay here if there's

nothing for us to stay for for me their pollution is yes getting together but the pressure on the government tried to change everything but for me i don't like it when they block roads and when they put tires and worry when they broke it. when roadblocks were erected christina and her brother were caught and. it brought back memories of the civil war she was just a young girl when whole districts were separated from one another. she started crying and hugged earth because. i mean you can't not i guess when you've lived the things they've lived you can't not have this fear of civil war breaking out again because i mean it's not something pleasant so yeah you can see it i mean my mom is a little bit. through the thing

yet i always say when i was there even younger. i was much tougher when i became a mother. no. that's before we are a civil war. and yet even though i was never afraid but i think it's there you know . you still want to have to live with again yeah of course i don't want you to live it. not me i don't want you to live it there were many women. but like despite her mother's fears christina will not stop protesting. he was there at the today's demonstration is said to be big she's going with her friend gianna whom she knows from university they had a similar childhood living with their families in the gulf states for a long time because the situation was so insecure in lebanon. this is quite typical

there are thought to be about 14000000 lebanese people living abroad and only about 6000000 in lebanon itself. for now. i actually really want to mean. like i saw myself. continuing my life abroad and there's like this newfound newfound love for 11 i think. in the past few weeks i've grown more attached to it than i ever thought but. there is chaos but this time it's caused by the protesters they have chosen to demonstrate on the national holiday to show the government how much support they have. the middle classes are rising up against politicians who have failed to keep the state from going bankrupt. the frustrations with bubbling for decades but if i'm not mistaken it was because of all the necessary thing that started the car makes i start in the dark saying.

things like cigarettes. the protestors are also angry about widespread corrupt. this entire district in central beirut was developed at the behest of the former prime minister who profited massively at the cost of local business owners. all of this is closed all of these aren't even like. taken. most of the population could never afford to live here it's dead capital for the owners. as things stand now there are more cats than people. but there were people who lived here who had stores here before all of this happened and they would either force them out of their homes pay them a small fee. and everything that happened here just cost or they're like renting

out for god knows how much higher the price so it's really it's absolute corruption it's not fair. the main reproach the protesters have against lebanon's ruling class is corruption they say politicians have led the country to bankruptcy the state has massive debts with interest rates consuming half of government revenue the infrastructure has suffered all over the country there's no reliable water or electricity supply. the financial crisis is very noticeable in stores where prices have shot up. to really. think that there's a coffee used to cost 2000 lebanese pounds that was 2500. and this

cheese used to cost 2000 now was 2750. prices started going up weeks ago and continue to rise with the roof over that. when you're in the moment and if you and 5 or $600.00 a week how can you afford this. show and what i used to spend a month is now not enough to cover a week and there's some you can see that's 1000000. i recently heard that we're running out of grain which is massive. if we keep running out of these things and we don't have the money to a 4th of course it's $35.00 it's very scary because they're going to be found these are people who can't. get flu mist so this is another reason why she and the other protesters refused to give up. today their meeting opposite their group a cultural center and museum about the 15 year long civil war which killed 150000

people between 19751990. today's protests are about unity bringing together all the 18 officially recognized religious groups in lebanon the protesters are walking along the former line of demarcation the green line which once divided east and west beirut separating mostly christian and mostly muslim neighborhoods. can extend. that yet to. get out they saying get out if you are all corrupt. and then they continue on to martyr square which existed well before the civil war and commemorates martyrs executed there under the ottomans it's in the heart of the capital now former activists and people affected by the civil war are also commemorated here. in the street below. my grandmother and her

friends and she believes in change to basically although she. see you soon i think you know. she did live through the civil war as well. although she had to carry an belonging i think she just gave up on it and she sees me and her daughter were all you know fed up with the system so she gets to you know sectarian divisions are what. contributed to the civil war and the aftermath and the 5 women that they played a big role but for us it's more about breaking this this. ridiculous wall down there. john is a druze with palestinian roots christina is a christian with a syrian palestinian and italian rich but they both consider themselves simply lebanese. as just christina's boyfriend omar who is

a sunni muslim this has logistical implications more than anything else it's not an issue for you but sometimes parents are a bit more conservative. as the truth of the so what happens is when 2 people from different want to get married they have to change their religion on paper from the just where. a lot of people who are very informally and they just do it for 3 other people think you can marry me but it's really frowned upon by yeah the rest of the family usually when someone wants to convert so you know like the why did why are you going to convert why this why the why don't they convert for you. if mixed couples have children they automatically take on the father's religion in this case and he children would be much more like oh my generally christina's christian parents accept him. but i think they like nope i know they love him they love remove my mom will sometimes. see you christina i love all if only he worked with

only looked like you know one of them except for the person you know. this would not be an issue at all if civil marriage. sisted in lebanon and women generally had more right but according to the world economic forum's gender gap report lebanon ranks $140.00 out of $149.00 we kind of fetish are with the idea of a woman as a mother but we don't really go beyond that and see that she's an individual and a human and she she can achieve just as much as a man. so the women here are also fighting for their rights and using a particular strategy if the situation gets dicey they go out onto the front line and a calculated move to contain the violence they hope to keep the peace by standing between the police and male demonstrators and effective stressful tactics.

i was crying and screaming at them to stop telling you enough is enough all the fights that i've seen that happen between men and they always happen over some city misunderstanding that escalates so what we are trying to do is just kind of calm everyone down. overall the protests have been peaceful and the idea is for them to continue in the same spirit. christina and her fellow demonstrators know that there can only be real change if they show they are determined. it's going to last until we get what we want. which is going to take time and i think it's important for people to realize that it's going to take time but i think it's also important for the people in power to realize that we will not stop until we get what we want if it drags on till christmas been until christmas to hear i will be a. lot. like god.

if we. here at christmas time europeans celebrate with meals the line looking at each country will tie tradition in this season's miramax mission. in our series christmas carols this time with turkey and christmas pudding. the taste of a new delicious britain. new world magazine announced. it was the speech of his life perhaps his best certainly his most difficult. the speech by colin tristen on december 19th 1989.

shortly after the fall of the love of the chancellor addresses the people of east germany. the movie's tense the crowd clamors for german unity journalist peter allen borkum was at the scene. 30 years later he looks back on the time interest and starts december 19th on d w. christmas is coming and we check out the world's largest trust history here on the our lives .