I thought the days when I kicked burning tyres off roads had ended. I used to clear the road in Belfast in 1972. Then, often, I did the same in Beirut.

But there I was yesterday, as my faithful driver Selim waited patiently for me to shake hands with the local militiaman and explain why I wanted to get to Damour (about 12 miles south of Beirut) and wave my little Lebanese press card in his face, slowly using my best brown shoes to push his burning tyres off the highway.

They were hot. Just to look at the flames made my eyes hurt.

That’s what burning tyres are supposed to do, of course. And the Lebanese drivers, backed up behind us like rabbits, turned round and went home.

Well, we got through. And drove and drove and drove, and laughed that we had done so. But this was a very serious matter. The army stayed away; the police advised motorists to go home. Law and order – you remember those old words? – were less important than the lawful right of way. But, for several hours, Selim and I exercised our own right of way.

Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Show all 20 1 /20 Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Protesters, mainly civil activists, started demonstrating in the downtown area of Beirut on 17 October, condemning proposed taxes in the 2020 budget EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes An unexpected addition to impose a daily fee for using WhatsApp calls caused outrage. However, according to the Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair, the charge will not make it through the government palace after the impact it has made on the streets Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Protesters take a selfie as they block the Dora highway EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Protesters clash with riot policemen AP Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes A statue of the Virgin Mary in the background as black smoke rises from burning tires EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes A Lebanese demonstrator stands in front of a tire fire during a protest against dire economic conditions in the Zahrani district in southern Lebanon on October 18, 2019. - Public anger has simmered since parliament passed an austerity budget in July to help trim a ballooning deficit and flared on Thursday over new plans to tax calls on messaging applications such as Whatsapp, forcing the government to axe the unpopular proposal. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images) MAHMOUD ZAYYAT AFP/Getty Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes A demonstrator holds a phone as he stands close to a fire during a protest over the deteriorating economic situation in Beirut, Lebanon October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir MOHAMED AZAKIR Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Demonstrators bring tires to be set on fire during a protest targeting the government over an economic crisis, at Barja area blocking off a main road leading from southern Lebanon to Beirut, October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho ALI HASHISHO Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes epa07929850 A protester throws a tire on a fire to block a Metn highway during a protest in north of Beirut, Lebanon, 18 October 2019. Protesters, mainly civil activists, started to demonstrate in downtown Beirut on 17 October, condemning the proposed taxes that would go along with the 2020 budget, especially an unexpected government plan to impose a fee of 0.20 cents a day for using WhatsApp calls. This charge will not make it through the government palace according to the Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair after witnessing the impact this made on the streets. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH WAEL HAMZEH EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Protesters clash with riot policemen AP Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Demonstrators sit together during a protest over deteriorating economic situation, in the city of Jounieh, north of Beirut, Lebanon October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Imad Creidi NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES Stringer . Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes epaselect epa07928866 A protester gestures by a fire of plastic barriers and trash set by protesters to block a road during a protest in Beirut, 17 October 2019. Thousands of protesters, mainly civil activists, demonstrated in downtown Beirut on 17 October, condemning the proposed taxes that would go along with the 2020 budget, especially an unexpected government plan to impose a fee of 0.20 cents a day for using WhatsApp calls. This charge will not make it through the government palace according to the Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair after witnessing the impact this made on the streets. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH WAEL HAMZEH EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Protesters in front of the Government Palace in downtown Beirut EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Demonstrators burn wood and debris AFP/Getty Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes An anti-government protester makes victory sign, as he holds a Lebanese national flag and walks fire of tires that sits to block a road during a protest against government's plans to impose new taxes in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. Demonstrators in Lebanon are blocking major roads across the country in a second day of protests against proposed new taxes, which come amid a severe economic crisis. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Hassan Ammar AP Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes A demonstrator lights a torch during a protest over deteriorating economic situation in Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir MOHAMED AZAKIR Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Demonstrators take a selfie in front of burning tires during a protest targeting the government over an economic crisis, at Barja area blocking off a main road leading from southern Lebanon to Beirut, October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho ALI HASHISHO Reuters Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes epa07929616 A protester flashes victory signs in front a fire set by protesters to block a Dora highway during a protest in north of Beirut, Lebanon, 18 October 2019. Protesters, mainly civil activists, started to demonstrate in downtown Beirut on 17 October, condemning the proposed taxes that would go along with the 2020 budget, especially an unexpected government plan to impose a fee of 0.20 cents a day for using WhatsApp calls. This charge will not make it through the government palace according to the Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair after witnessing the impact this made on the streets. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH WAEL HAMZEH EPA Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes Lebanese protesters wave placards during a protest against dire economic conditions in Zouk Mikael, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut on October 18, 2019. - Public anger has simmered since parliament passed an austerity budget in July to help trim a ballooning deficit and flared on Thursday over new plans to tax calls on messaging applications such as Whatsapp, forcing the government to axe the unpopular proposal. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images) JOSEPH EID AFP/ Getty Lebanon protests erupt after government plan to impose new taxes epa07929908 A protester runs by burning tires that were set fire to block a Metn highway during a protest in north of Beirut, Lebanon, 18 October 2019. Protesters, mainly civil activists, started to demonstrate in downtown Beirut on 17 October, condemning the proposed taxes that would go along with the 2020 budget, especially an unexpected government plan to impose a fee of 0.20 cents a day for using WhatsApp calls. This charge will not make it through the government palace according to the Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair after witnessing the impact this made on the streets. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH WAEL HAMZEH EPA

For the most part, the men lighting these fires belonged to the Amal Movement, the Shia group controlled by Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament. Or so they told me, and I did not argue about it.

This tells it own story. Some were very poor, and looked it, and I don’t really blame them for their actions. Lebanon has never been a very rich nation – save for their Sunni merchants and Christian bankers – and these were the people who did not have enough to eat. For days, they had been protesting their fate. The Lebanese pound had fallen, the price of food had rocketed – all true, I promise you – and they protested.

I was not surprised, yet there was something new and surprising about this. All this week, the mountains of Lebanon have burnt. Their great glory of pine trees and wonderful mountainsides have blossomed with flames. The government’s three anti-fire helicopters lay rotting at Beirut international airport – the government did not maintain them – and it needed Greece, Cyprus and Jordan to send its aircraft to quench the burning hills. My own apartment on the Beirut seafront stank of smoke. On Wednesday night, God visited Lebanon – he does come here occasionally, I have decided – and drenched the country in rain and tempest. On Thursday morning, my balcony was covered in sand and ash.

But there is something far more serious going on here. The physical rage of Lebanese people is not just a militia outburst. It’s not because ordinary people are hungry – and they are – but because an unjust system (ever more taxes, ever higher prices) is making it impossible to work to bring home money and food.

Let me ask just one small question. On the corniche seafront where I live – the Avenue de Paris, as the French mandate decided it should be called in the 1920s – almost every apartment block is empty. Save for those who share the small bloc where I live, there is nothing but darkness. You can drive downtown from here, for miles to the centre of Beirut, and you will not find a light. These buildings are owned as investments – by Iraqis, for the most part, but also by Syrians and Saudis – and no one lives there.

In a country where the poor of the Beqaa Valley and the refugees from Syria and the Palestinian refugees (of whom of course we no longer speak, since they are the wreckage of the Israeli state) exist in shacks, these mighty sentinels of cash stand triumphant: empty, rich and shameful.