Now this is effective activism.
The guys at the Anti-Racism Movement [ARM] snuck in a camera and filmed a black woman being refused entry from Saint-George Yacht Club & Marina in Beirut on the grounds that entry is members only. [See the above video]
Then they, as non-black Lebanese, tried the exact same thing and were allowed entry if they paid the 40,000LL (US$23.33) cover charge.
A few years ago, the ARM did a similar thing at Sporting Beach Club, with a similar outcome.
Earlier this year – to their credit, but at long last – the government passed a circular to establishments banning discrimination based on race, nationality or handicap. Sadly, racism is endemic in Lebanon and tackling beach clubs is a small, but important, step in changing attitudes to race.
Following ARM’s latest undercover footage, on June 2, the relevant authorities were informed. The charge is currently under investigation, according to the written message by ARM which can be found below the YouTube clip.
The message stresses that it does not single out St. George Beach club and plans to compile a comprehensive list of violators, perhaps similar to a list NOW Lebanon created in 2010.
If you witness such discrimination and want to contribute to ending this flagrant act of racism, you can: 1) call the tourism police right away (hotline: 1735), and let them know; 2) Inform the ARM by email at: [email protected] – they stress that they will maintain your anonymity unless otherwise agreed.

Now Lebanon