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The civil society of Akkar in the North rallied yesterday to step up efforts aimed at reopening the Kleiat Airport. In cooperation with the Federation of Municipalities of Akkar Plain, residents and local dignitaries gathered in the town of Tal Hayat under the banner ‘Kleiat …is taking off’ to stress the development purpose of the protest which, they say, does not have any political or partisan linkages as it is entirely aimed at rehabilitating the airport planned to generate nearly 6 thousand jobs in the first phase, and up to 21 thousand prospects with the completion of the project, according to activist Jamal Khodr. Similarly, the Mufti of Akkar appealed to the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, who advocates for change and reform, to give priority to this vital matter, and called on the prime minister to take a historic decision to this end. In a related development and according to Al Diyar newspaper, Akkar residents blame the successive Hariri led governments for impeding the reopening of the airport for many reasons. One reason, is that these governments were reluctant to delocalize trade and the economy away form the capital. Another reason, Al Diyar wrote, is that since the airport is anticipated to create 20 thousand new jobs to citizens of Akkar, this new project may divert political allegiance towards local political forces. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, February 9 and 13, 2017)

 

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Demands to re-open Kleiat airport in the North to create new jobs

Kleiat airport in Akkar still a political hostage

 

 

Concurrent with the ongoing debate on upcoming electoral law, the Minister of State for Administrative Development, Inaya Ezzideen, repeated on Saturday her full commitment to the adoption of a women representation quota. Ezzideen was speaking in the Beqaa during a ceremony convened by Amal Movement on the occasion of the Arab Women’s Day. “If an electoral law based on proportional representation is seen as conducive to equal representation of all political and confessional entities, then a women quota will undoubtedly be a prelude to women’s participation in political life” Ezzideen stated. This situation, the minister explained, will herald a political atmosphere that recognizes a comprehensive participation of men and women, not only in voting, but also in decision making, as she said. For her part, the vice-president of the Lebanese Women’s Affairs Association, Randa Berri, urged the Lebanese people to contemplate and acknowledge the importance of women’s contribution to politics, economy and development issues, noting that the women’s quota is mandatory in any forthcoming elections law, regardless of its structure. Berri reiterated the full support of the House Speaker, Amal Movement and the Liberation Parliamentary Bloc to a quota (not less than 30%). On the mobilization front, the Lebanese Council of Women (LCW) announced that it will organize a meeting on Friday, February 17, 11 am, at the LCW premises in Shwayfat, to be followed by a demonstration by women to the town’s municipal serial, to urge concerned politician to work on the subject. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, February 11, 12, 13, 2017)

 

The Lebanese Cultural Space, Ninar, organized a meeting on February 7 entitled: ‘Women in Lebanon: Reality and Rights’ which was moderated by a lawyer and a journalist. Nisreen Salhab, a lawyer in entrepreneurship law, considered that despite all efforts to help establish their rights, women in Lebanon are yet deprived of the social and political entitlements. Salhab lamented the dominion of the patriarchal system which prevents any progress in this direction, drawing attention to the role of the Constitution in substantiating this system. The hitch is precisely in Article Nine of the Constitution which requires compliance with the Personal Status Law formulated to appease the patriarchal mindset that extends authority exclusively to the father, Salhab maintained. Stressing that the personal status laws incite and promote gender inequality, Salhab criticized Lebanon’s reservations to certain stipulations of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), namely those related to mothers granting nationality to their family members. Salhab also called attention to the low participation of women in the political life, mainly attributable to two key reasons. The first is the domination of prominent political families that exercise some form of political monopoly or control over relatively independent parties; and the second, is the absence of a women-friendly political culture that inspires and supports women’s participation in public decision making. Salhab underlined the urgency to adopt the women representation quota to this effect. (L’Orient Le Jour, Februay 9, 2017)

 

In the latest incidents of domestic violence in the country, the Directorate General of Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced on Wednesday the arrest of a 37-year old Lebanese father who recently abused his 2 underage daughters in the northern district of Qubayat . Citing the testimonial of the girls, the ISF statement said the violent father brutalized his girls (11 years and 13 years) by beating and burning them with a heated iron rod after locking them inside the bathroom. The medical report of the coroner has shown the presence of burns on the faces and hands of the victimized girls, ISF statement concluded. (Al Diyar, AL Mustaqbal, February 9, 2017)

 

 

The Director General and CEO of Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), Nabil Itani, inaugurated on Wednesday the Lebanese pavilion at the Berlin Fruit Logistica 2017 expo (on February 8,9,10) in the presence of a large group of local agricultural exporters and enterprises. To note, the 77 square meter booth is supported by the Federation of Lebanese Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture under the sponsorship of IDAL. Organized for the fourth consecutive year, Lebanon’s wing at the international exhibition hosted this year some 49 exporters and 14 companies involved with the production and marketing of fresh agricultural goods and with associate services. Lebanon’s participation comes to underscore the dynamism and resilience of made-in-Lebanon goods in competing at world markets, according to a statement released by IDAL on the occasion. The exhibition provides a dynamic opportunity for the Lebanese exports to access European and global markets, the statement said. Itani pointed out that agriculture boasts big potentials for growth and investment. The exported goods are competitive not by their size but high quality that is line with international specifications, Itani said. For his part, the chief of the agriculture committee at the Federation, Rafleh Debaneh, underlined the significance of participating in similar shows that facilitate the marketing of Lebanese agricultural produce. (Al Diyar, February 9, 2017)

 

Following the meeting on January 14 between Beqaa dairy farmers and the ministers of agriculture, industry and economy to discuss the constant fall in the prices of milk (https://goo.gl/ApGSeN), the new minister of agriculture, Ghazi Zu3ayter, called, after a joint meeting with dairy farmers, Milk Cooperatives Union and the Lebanese Council of Dairy Producers, for more cooperation between all parties in order to find the right solutions. A small study committee was formed to prepare a work plan that will be later submitted to the minister for proper actions. Zu3ayter also met with the delegation of poultry farmers in Lebanon to discuss the same problem, and also agreed as an outcome to form a committee to study the cost of production of broilers locally. Furthermore, citrus growers in the South staged on 1st of February a sit-in earlier, on Zahrani highway to protest what they called the smuggling of foreign agricultural products into the country, while citrus farmers in Akkar, staged a similar sit-in on February 2, during which the president of the Federation of Municipalities of Akkar warned of escalating actions. For his part, the mayor of Telm3yan waned that if the current deterioration continues agriculture could soon totally collapse. (The Daily Star, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, February 2, 3, 5, 6, 2017)

 

Local and civil community organisations in the North are relentless in their demands to restore work at Qoleiat Airport. In this respect, the president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Center and Coast of Qaita’ Province, Ahmad Meer, said yesterday that the Akkari community is united in its call to reopen the René Moawwad Airport in the northern town of Qoleiat, describing it as a strategic and vital facility. Meer appealed to the president of the republic, the prime minister and house speaker to give the green light for rehabilitation and reparation works. He considered the undertaking as a priority for the development and advancement of the area, particularly that it can promote multiple economic, agricultural, industrial and touristic prospects. Meer stressed the importance of the airport as an “economic gateway for the marketing of domestic agricultural products and the facilitation of air traffic to various world destinations.” Restoring operations to Qoleiat Airport, Meer stated, shall generate thousands of jobs for local residents, reduce the migration of youth and increase their steadfastness to their land. In a related incident, and in cooperation with committees in charge of following up the matter, the civil society of Akkar met on January 20 at the Municipality Hall of Halba with the theme ‘From Martyr President Rene Muawad Airport to the Martyr PM Rafic Hariri Airport’. During the meeting, a national and popular follow-up and mobilization campaign was launched to pressure involved authorities towards reactivating civil aviation at Qulaiat Airport. Participants asked the government to endorse a restoration workshop in preparation for reopening the facility, with the contribution of all the neighboring municipalities in terms of repair of infrastructure of roads leading to it. (Al Diyar, January 21 and February 7, 2017)

 

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The local media aired today news of a migrant woman domestic worker who threw herself from the 5th floor of her employer’s residence in the southern port city of Saida. The MWDW, a Bengali national, was transported in a critical condition to Hamud Hospital for treatment, and as usual, the police arrived at the scene of the incident for investigation. It is to be noted, that news on suicide of migrant domestic workers, are usually treated as miscellaneous in the press, raising no serious attention to the tragic conditions of MWDW. (Al Diyar, February 8, 2017)

 

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Scores of MWDW recruiting agencies suspended and another suicide case in Shiya7h

Another MWDW “suicide” in Iqlim al-Kharrub

Why the recurrent suicide cases of migrant women workers?

Ethiopian MWDW slain in Jarju3, Nabatieh

Yet another suicide attempt by an Ethiopian woman domestic worker in Tripoli

A migrant woman worker assassinated in Beirut for “personal reasons”!

 

 

 

The Outreach and Leadership Academy, OLA, has launched its new initiative “Achieving Creative Entrepreneurship (ACE)” at its headquarters in Downtown Beirut district. The project comes as part of the continuing programs at the Academy inaugurated in Saida in 2015, in partnership with the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development (HFSHD) and the Lebanese American University (LAU). The aim of the initiative is to establish a culture of education and civic engagement, and to develop the youth’s innovative capacities. According to MP Bahiya Hariri, “ACE” seeks to train some 50 young cadres from the various professional sectors on the ABCs of creating ground-breaking concepts in finance, business, commerce, services, programming and electronics. Stressing that the young people are the catalyst for change, Hariri, HFSHD president, pointed out that the workshops are designed to build bridges between schoolwork and real life requirements. She concluded by underlining the importance of inventiveness and initiative taking. (Al Mustaqbal, February 5, 2017)

 

Lebanese students, Michele Tannus and Kristel Bu Karam, won the prizes for the best short movies within the framework of the annual Beirut European Film Festival. Tannus, a Lebanese American University (LAU) graduate, has won for her film “Lamha” and received acclaim from the jury, especially for her skilled archival footage. Tannus was invited to attend the Cannes Film Festival 2017 with the support of the Institut Francais du Liban. Bu Karam, a Lebanese Academy for Fine Arts (ALBA) graduate, has won a recognition for the constant and unpredictable shifting in the events of her film “Ombre” which transcended the viewer to a location different from where it started. Bu Karam has also been invited to attend the 2017 Oberhausen International Film Festival with the complements of Goethe-Institut Lebanon. To recall, around 12 short films, representing 12 cinematic arts schools in Beirut, have been competing at the European Film Festival Short Film Contest this year. Among the schools are, ALBA, Kafaat (KU), LAU, AUT, AUST, Lebanese International University (LIU), Lebanese German University (LGU), Notre Dame University (NDU) Holy Spirit University of Kaslik  (USEK), Lebanese University (LU), Antonine University (UA) and University of St. Joseph (USJ). 

(Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, February 7, 2017)