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After more than a three month detention, the General Security (GS) deported last Saturday a member of the Council of the Syndicate of Male and Female Domestic Workers, the Nepalese MWDW Rosi. (: http://bit.ly/2jvv3FS). The decision of deportation was preceded by a similar decision to extradite her colleague and fellow Council member, Sujana, following a raid on her employer’s house, on January 30. To note, the GS action has triggered the anger of human rights organizations who argued the arrest was linked to activism work. But despite a decision to delay deportation of Rosi until hiring an attorney for her as stipulated by the Judge of Urgent Matters in Beirut, Jad Maaluf, last December 14, upon a request from the General National Federation of Trade Union of Workers and Employees in Lebanon (FENASOL), the Nepalese worker was deported on Saturday without trial. For his part, Castro Abdallah, FENASOL president, maintained that the lawsuit filed to the court is still in process, pledging to follow up the case until the return of Rosy and Sujana to Lebanon and in order to prevent similar actions in the future. )Al Akhbar, February 2, 2017(

 

Previous related news:

After two Nepali women activists, GS detains two other women on charge of espionage for the enemy

Judicial decision halts the deportation of activist, Rosi

Weak mobilization in favor of Sujana and Rosi

Appeal in favour of two detained MWDW unionists

 

In an interesting article today, Al Akhbar newspaper reported that women refugees in Europe had more power (qawamat) over men, pointing to the intervention of specialized associations to resolve disputes between couples. In normal circumstances in the Arab community, problems between a married couple are usually resolved by the relatives, friends or parents. The wife’s opinion in such cases is influenced and mollified for fear of divorce and the social stigma attached to it, while these doctrines are devalued in the European society. According to Al Akhbar, divorce has increased among Arab refugee households in Europe especially that there are incentives inspiring women to be independent, free and self-reliant away from the patriarchal community which gets in the way of their ambitions. On the subject, Al Akhbar spoke to Hanan (woman refugee from the Syrian city of Daraa) who said that her parents forced her to marry her husband when she was still 16. “They did not consult with me, and differences continued between my husband and I for 11 years,” Hanan stated. “I have been divorced many times and every time I went back to the marital home after family mediations,” Hanan added. “Differences continued when we reached Germany, but I finally decided to leave him for good, and this is what happened,” she proudly told the reporter. On the subject, social worker and family care activist, Carolina, disclosed to Al Akhbar that instances of divorce among refugees have increased remarkably, with women filing for divorces outnumbering men. Women, Carolina argued, have become more aware of their right to equality and therefore refuse to be demeaned or ill-treated by men. For more on the subject, please visit the following link: http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271913. (Al Akhbar, February 1, 2017)

 

 

 

 

The General Directorate of Internal Security- Public Relations Department, announced yesterday that it received a report on January 30 from a Syrian woman stating that her minor daughter (barely 11 years) has been raped by the family’s landlord (a 47 year old man  from Lebanese nationality). On the same day, the ISF statement said, the Department succeeded in arresting the culprit who confessed to his crime and handed him over to the Judicial Police Unit for further investigation. The ISF Department also reminded citizens and residents of the country to be more watchful of their children and provide them with proper education and awareness, and encourage candid communication on all matters, stressing the importance of speaking up of unusual encounters to help put perpetrators in check and hold them accountable for their crimes. In a related incident, a young 27 year old Syrian man kidnapped a Lebanese girl (15 years) in front of Amchit Public High School and blackmailed her mother in order to give in to his demands. The kidnapper, to note, used to work for the father of the abducted minor. The family of the child has appealed to the minister of interior to save her with the help of the security forces. The IS General Directorate tweeted later that the purpose of the kidnapping was marriage and circulated a communique for investigation as ordered by the competent judiciary. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Mustaqbal, February 1, 2017)

 

 

Following the appeal by Beqaa dairy farmers to the President of the Republic to put an end to the unprecedented fall in milk prices, the ministers of economy, industry and agriculture held a joint meeting on January 14 to discuss the matter. On the subject, L’Orient Le Jour daily cited a 2014 report by the EU funded LACTIMED project for promoting Mediterranean dairy products noting a fall to 15 thousand tons in the production of dairy products, cheeses and labneh during the period between 2003 and 2009, with a 9% drop in the domestic use of similar products in the same period. According to the Chamber of Commerce of Zahleh, Saeed Gedeon, one liter of milk has been sold recently between LBP 350 and 500 (USD 0.2-0.3) against a production price of LBP 800 (USD 0.53) and a selling price of LBP 1000 per liter of milk in 2014. Gedeon attributed this to a decreasing demand by dairy factories and a corresponding increase in the import of similar items from neighboring states and the EU, being facilitated by free trade agreements signed by the Lebanese government. In this respect, the Chairperson of Libanlait, Marc Waked, maintained that factories prefer imported powdered milk over the fresh locally-produced milk. And according to Customs figures, the size of powdered milk imported primarily from Sweden and France has reached nearly 6 thousand tons by the end of November, 2016 (at USD 15 million), which is equivalent to double the quantity imported back in 2012. Regarding liquid milk, it is imported chiefly from Saudi Arabia. The industry minister, Haj Hassan, revealed to L’Orient Le Jour that his ministry will halt as of February 1 the sale of unpacked labneh and cheeses, which will eventually rein in the smuggling of foreign goods and the closure of illegitimate factories. Haj Hassan added that his ministry, in cooperation with the ministry of agriculture, is seeking to reactivate the Committee in charge of the milk sector in order to discuss the pricing and the relationship between factories and milk producers. (L’Orient Le Jour, January 23, 2017)

 

 

 

Following the launch by Berytech Incubator last week of the Agrytech center specialized in agri-food innovation in Lebanon (:http://bit.ly/2jBJ94p), the Embassy of the Netherlands and Berytech, in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agricultural in Saida and the South, organized yesterday a workshop to introduce the above program. On the occasion, the Chamber’s president, Mohammad Saleh, emphasized the aim of the project namely the preparation of a business environment that inspires creativity and entrepreneurship among the youth, as well as extending the needed administrative and funding facilities. The project also supports the business sector in keeping up with the knowledge-based economy and the fast changing technology at a cost effective rate, Saleh said. He pointed out that the Chamber seeks to create an environment that fosters supportive programs in industrial innovation in all the productive fields, with special focus on technology. This, Saleh mentioned, brings about an increased reliance on the industry sector as a prime source of income and not just a complementary division of other economic sectors. For his part, Berytech representative, Rami Abu Jawdeh, gave participants in the workshop a detailed presentation of the project stressing its importance in the advancement of agriculture through the enhancement of irrigation methods and the quality of production. In addition, he pointed to the agri-food industries and their compatibility with the domestic and external markets. Likewise, Engineer Elias Shnei’i drew attention to the beneficiaries of the Agritech, the economic size of the agriculture sector and challenges it faces.  (Al Diyar, February 1, 2017)

 

As the new government has yet to address pending agricultural files, Bshareh MPs, Sethrida Geagea and Elie Keyruz, demanded the current Minister of Agriculture, Ghazi Zeaiter, to urgently implement the cabinet decision of October 6th 2016 which stipulates the distribution of subsidies to apple growers (c.f: http://bit.ly/2jPodKx).  Citing relevant sources, An Nahar newspaper noted that the distribution of compensation is set to start next March as the Ministry of Finance has already transferred funds amounting to LBP 40 billion to the Higher Council of Relief.  Zeaiter also noted that he has discussed with the Egyptian authorities a number of issues during his last visit to Cairo including apple export to Egypt.  The president of the association of Lebanese farmers, Antoine Howayek, noted for his part that the issue is larger than that of apple export.  Howayek said that compensation for apple growers is but a temporary solution as the crisis has yet to be resolved and is likely to recur within the coming few months.  In addition, citrus growers in South and North Lebanon are still suffering from marketing challenges notably due to the closure of the Lebanon-Syria border.  Within the same vein, the member of the Syndicate of citrus and fruit exporters, Abdallah Fadel, called on relevant ministries as well as on IDAL to raise the level of subsidy from LBP 100,000 per ton to USD 300.  He also called on the government to waive taxes on agricultural drugs as a way to relieve farmers’ burdens.  The vice president of the coalition of Southern Farmers, Rida Fadel, raised red flags calling on the government to find marketing outlets especially for citrus produce in Akkar and ensure that immediate mechanisms be put in place for that matter including halting the illegal entry of products from Syria. (Al Mustaqbal and the Daily Star, January 21st, 30th and 31st 2017)

 

The Talal Abou Ghazaleh group and the “Silatuka” company in Qatar signed an agreement yesterday stipulating the building of the Khadamati electronic portal which seeks to link artisans in Palestine to those seeking to use their services.  This portal provides artisans job seekers with the capacity to market and advertise their services and skills.  Employers for their part advertise their needs and the Portal works on matching both parties.  The aim of the initiative is to curb galloping unemployment in Palestine through facilitating employment for graduates of vocational and technical institutes who are in the 20-29 age bracket.  To be noted that unemployment has reached 39% in the West Bank and 52% in Gaza.  The portal will also have a monitoring system which will allow it to assess the work of each artisan as well as encourage him/her to work according to high standard so as to improve his/her potential to secure additional work.  The portal will also provide services to both parties, job seekers and employers, to communicate and exchange continuously, to reach out to artisans, and to judge the credibility of the artisans through their profiles on the portal.  The portal provides a digital scoring system as employers will be given scores when they offer employment and these can be used in exchange of advertisements, discounts, and membership. (Al Mustaqbal, January 31st, 2017)

 

American Techstar accelerator, a major global player in this field, organized last Friday a discussion session about the importance of emerging companies in the Internet of Things sector.  The purpose of this event was to support a number of emerging business to kick off and start their operation in Lebanon.  To be noted that the Internet of Things is an advanced IT concept which assumes that all daily equipment can be connected to the Internet and can receive data to perform tasks without human intervention.  A number of concerned experts in the digital economy in Lebanon took part in this event.  Although the head of the selection of eligible companies is Lebanese, Christopher Badawi, yet, this is the first time that this programme targets Lebanese companies.  Badawi assessed a number of companies active in this field and consequently selected a few to partake in this programme.  Badawi further noted that the selection criteria are tough but that the programme will provide selected companies with USD 120000 in a first phase and in the second phase, the selected companies will be able to exchange contracts wuth large international companies in the digital world such as Bosch, General Electric, Verizon and PWC.  Badawi considered that memorandum 331 issued by Central Bank in 2013 helped in developing and encouraging emerging companies in Lebanon but these still face some challenges such as the continuous electrical interruptions as well as internet speed. (L’Orient le Jour, January 30th 2-17)

 

Kafa issued a statement yesterday warning about certain lawyers who offer their services to women whilst deceptively using Kafa as a reference and asking for monetary rewards in return for their services.  Kafa noted that it has come to know of a number of such lawyers who are taking up cases pretending that they are affiliated to Kafa.  Kafa clarified that the only way to access a Kafa endorsed lawyer is to call on the association directly, speak with a case worker and then appoint a Kafa lawyer.  Any lawyer not following this procedure is not affiliated to Kafa.  The association further clarified that it does not request any monetary compensation for its legal or any other service.  The statement concluded by inviting women to be vigilant and to be cautious of any lawyer who states that he/she is following up their case with a judge on behalf of Kafa when the defendant in question does not have a case file with Kafa.  Kafa hoped that women approached by such lawyers would contact Kafa immediately so that necessary procedures be taken against concerned lawyers. (Al Akhbar, January 31st 2017)

 

The Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, Jean Ogassapian, emphasized in an interview with L’Orient le Jour, on the Ministry’s plan to reinforce women’s rights in addition to communication and networking with institutions concerned with women’s affairs.  He added that his Ministry is currently working on launching its own website to inform the public about its course of action. In addition, Ogassapian revealed that his Ministry is currently working on a project approved by the Council of Ministers, which  includes a study on the conditions of women and the impact of conflict and extremism in Lebanon and the region.  Ogassapian indicated that the major challenge that women face, is to arrive at an increase of their participation in the public sector, considering that this will require a social, political and cultural transformation in attitudes. In the same context, Ogassapian noted the achievements of women in the private sector, which is backed and supported by society, whereas the situation is different in the public sector, where the women’s weak representation is surprising according to the Minister. (L’Orient le Jour, January 30, 2017)