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| Communist bar offers departure from
regular Beirut fare But bizarre nightspot only admits new customers by recommendation from regulars |
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| Hussain Abdul-Hussain Daily Star staff Nightlife in Beirut has become monotonous, with most pubs and nightclubs offering similar drinks, music, setting and atmosphere. Only the variation in decor sets one apart from the other. But at Abu Elie, a small pub on the outskirts of Hamra, the scene is different. Abu Elie’s small pub accommodates a maximum of 25 customers and has its walls filled with pictures of late Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Lebanese politician Kamal Jumblatt and South African leader Nelson Mandela, in addition to pictures of the pub’s regular customers and its owner. The owner Naya Shahhoud, 47, was a fighter for the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) during the 1975-1990 civil war. Shahhoud, known as Abu Elie, joined the LCP in 1973 at the age of 17. He is married and has two sons, Elie, the elder, and Ernesto, the younger, named after Shahhoud’s favorite, Ernesto Che Guevara. Shahhoud’s pub has attracted several journalists from around the globe to write about his “revolutionary” abode. Cuba’s flag, pictures of the revolutionaries and two antique century-old rifles hanging behind the bar impressed these writers, who reported about the home of retired militia fighters and young leftist militants. Few were the stories that examined the human and non-political side of Abu Elie. Naya, as the regular customers call him, was born in 1956. His grandfather wanted to name him Port Said following the tripartite offensive on Egypt in the aftermath of the nationalization of the Suez Canal. But Shahhoud’s mother had made a vow to the Saidnaya Monastery in Syria” “If my newborn is a boy, I will call him after the name of the monastery.” The Shahhouds saw the birth of their first baby boy and for practical purposes, they shortened his name from Saidnaya to Naya. The little boy grew up in Achrafieh and left school during his elementary education. Communism fascinated him and he joined the LCP. He fought rounds of battles during the civil strife to the extent that Shahhoud today is surprised he survived all of them. “I’m alive by coincidence,” he tells his friends. Like most militiamen, toward the end of the war Naya found himself unemployed. He moved to the coastal town of Rmeileh south of Beirut and opened his first restaurant. Later, he moved his business to Beirut. But the well-known communist proved to be a lousy businessman. “I don’t have a bank account because I don’t have enough money to open one,” Shahhoud said. His business is selective and his pub has become more of a private club. New customers are not welcome unless accompanied by patrons who introduce them to the club’s members. The music at Abu Elie does not appeal to a vast majority of people. Sheikh Imam, Fairouz, Marcel Khalifeh, Ziad Rahbani, Kurdish tunes and other national revolutionary songs are the most popular. Only regular customers may suggest what kind of music they want to hear. The food menu has even less variety and depends on what Shahhoud cooked for the day. The variety of drinks is limited and includes whisky, beer, vodka, tequila and wine. All customers know each other by name. On Sundays, they organize trips outside of Beirut. “The family atmosphere is this place’s unique characteristic,” said Ahmad Sabbagh, a daily customer. “Outsiders might think we talk about politics day and night,” Sabbagh said. “But that’s not true. We talk about everything just as if we’re sitting with our family at home.” Regular customers include ex-fighters in leftist militias, university students, teachers, journalists and self-employed people. They talk about every-day life, politics, economics and war memories. Shahhoud often receives at his pub communist celebrities such as the Japanese Red Army’s Kozo Okamoto, who led an attack against Israel’s Lod Airport; the LCP’s Soha Beshara, who attempted to assassinate South Lebanon Army commander Antoine Lahd; and singers Khaled Habr and Sami Hawwat. Pictures of these guests are also everywhere on the pub’s walls. Shahhoud does not charge his distinguished customers. “They have offered a lot of sacrifices for the sake of our cause and the least I can do is offer them free drinks,” he said. Over all, Shahhoud does not maintain an owner-customer relationship. Customers get behind the bar, grab their drinks and make themselves at home. However, there is an implicit consensus at Abu Elie that every one of these customers endorses a Marxist belief. “Communism is something that you practice in your daily life,” said Shahhoud, who has not renewed his LCP membership since 1990 in objection to the party’s politics. Even though Shahhoud’s visitors also include prominent communist figures and members of the party’s leadership, he believes that the party should run some reform and attract the “huge number of communists” who are not currently party members. “No politics,” is one of Shahhoud’s Ten Commandments hanging on one of the pub’s walls. “Intruders who come here to preach are not welcome. They can grab a drink while remaining silent, but we don’t provide the floor for heated debates,” the middle-aged communist told The Daily Star. And who needs political debate anyway? “Most of us are frustrated with the world’s socioeconomic and political injustices and there’s no need for us to reiterate our ideology every night,” Youssef Haddad said. “We come here for a drink and to distance ourselves from the daily pressure and politics,” Haddad added. |
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