HERMEL, Lebanon: "The tires that we set fire to didn’t block the road completely because they burned too quickly - some cars were able to cross and continue on their way."

This was the most important conclusion reached by Mohammad, Hasan, Ali and Youssef, four young men in their 20s who have organized several street protests in Hermel over the past week.

Their latest action on Monday was agreed to during an evening gathering the night before at Ali's house.

After the decision, they contacted others by mobile phone, telling them “the protest will be begin at midnight on the Orontes River bridge."

The four then resumed their discussions, and focused on the problem of tires that burned away too quickly during their first two road-blocking protests.

Large rocks and dirt, they reasoned, would serve as a more impenetrable obstacle to traffic. They decided to pool their resources and rent a tractor in order to haul the new elements to the protest site.

A second round of telephone calls ensued, to ensure that various friends and acquaintances would show up at midnight.

After taking a break by sharing coffee, cigarettes and jokes, they left for the bridge, where the number of young men assembled for the protest began to grow.

Some of the men used the tractor to gather the rocks and dirt, while others began setting fire to tires that they had gathered from the sides of the road.

By 4am, the highway was completely blocked in several spots, thanks to boulders, dirt and burning rubber.

The young men were successful in stopping any vehicle from getting through, including those of the Internal Security Forces, as the number of curious and angry drivers, unable to cross, began to grow.

According to Mohammad, a part-time agricultural worker, the protests have received scant coverage from local media, "because the only one with a presence here are Manar Television and Nour Radio, both affiliated with Hezbollah, while others are completely absent.”

Mohammad said the protestors, who don't bother with releasing formal statements or or detailed list of demands while gathered on the highway, have refused to allow Manar to cover them.

They are demanding a live broadcast because they’re afraid that the station will edit out what they really want to tell the public.

"They'll make it fit with the policy of Hezbollah, which is a part of the government," Mohammad said.

One of the main demands in the Baalbek-Hermel region involves a securing a government subsidy on diesel, also used as a heating fuel for homes, as winter sets in.

Mohammad points out that Hezbollah hasn't championed such a policy in the Cabinet; instead, local officials from the party have criticized the protestors as “trouble-makers.”

Ali, who works as a mechanic, said the four young men distributed a leaflet in various neighborhoods, calling on people to take part in the protest. The leaflet isn’t the work of “professional” activists, just angry locals who want immediate action on the subsidy issue.

Hasan, a bus driver, the father of two children, says his daily take-home pay is LL20,000, while he needs LL15,000 to pay for heating oil alone.

"How can I live on LL5,000 a day?" he asks, saying that he and his friends are interested in "social, demand-specific" issues, without any broader political objectives.

Youssef, a sanitation employee with the Municipality of Hermel, has a monthly wage of LL500,000, but without social benefits or transport compensation, even though he works long hours.

He complained that he will have to wait until he is 40, or even older, before he can save up enough money to get married. This is his motivation is for staging the protests.

"We want to shout and make our voices heard, because we can't take it anymore. We're being marginalized, and no one is listening to us," he said.

Ali stressed the fact that Hezbollah was failing to address such socio-economic issues. An ex-member of the party, he blamed its officials, with the exception of Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, as being concerned with only their own interests and ignoring the demands of ordinary residents. Even party members, he said, need “connections” to secure economic or other assistance from Hezbollah, which is what caused him to leave the group.

Ali added that his gang of four would like to branch out beyond Hermel, since "we realized that being limited to here means that the politicians will never pay attention to us.'

The next planned protest will also target the international highway, but with large banners and better media outreach, to ensure more coverage.

He summarized their demands as a subsidy on diesel and government action on spiraling inflation.

As the young men blocked the road, heated discussions broke out with some of the stranded drivers. Finally, at around 1pm, an army officer relayed a “final warning” to disperse. The army then brought in heavy vehicles, and even more personnel, to clear the road and deal with the situation.

After consulting with each other, the protestors decided to abandon the highway and head straight for the Hermel government Serail as their next gathering-point.

In the chaotic move, a few enthusiastic protestors decided to burn a few tires in front of the Serail, which prompted action by the army personnel who had followed them.

Five young men were detained while the rest, who included Ali, Hasan, Mohammad and Youssef, managed to escape, promising to continue their protests, whether it's on the Baalbek-Homs road, or, eventually, in front of the Grand Serail in Beirut.