News

The international conference of donor which was convened in London yesterday pledged some USD11 billion for humanitarian needs to refugees from Syria to be released in two batches over a period of 4 years. Over half total aid is allocated for this year and the rest for the period 2017-2020 and will be earmarked first to direct assistance and secondly to better integrate the displaced in the host neighboring countries through the provision of food, education, medical support and job creation. Britain which co-hosted the conference was the first to pledge with a top-up of GBP 1.2 billion to be fully disbursed by the year 2020, increasing its total current contribution to GBP 2.3 billion. For its part Norway pledged USD1.17 billion over the next 4 years, Germany USD2.57 billion, the European Union USD3.36 billion and the United States USD 890 million. Except for Kuwait, the other countries of the Arab Gulf states were the last on the list of donors. Regarding the pledges made, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, confirmed that the amount allocated for this year, does not meet the UN call for USD 7.73 billion, which was launched to cover direct aid, in addition to the USD 1.23 billion earmarked as aid to host countries of the region. In conclusion Cameron added at the end of the conference, “today we promised, but we need to see the money”. 

As for Lebanon, it was not clear what his share of the pledges would be. In this respect, a Lebanese delegation source disclosed that this will be decided after studying the working paper submitted by the Lebanese government. At the end of the conference, Prime Minister Tamam Salam said, “We are all satisfied with the outcome and the pledge of nearly USD11 billion, adding: “it seems it is the first time that financial pledges reach this high level”. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, February 5, 2016)

 

BLC Bank is organizing the fourth consecutive training session for women economic empowerment.  This new session, which is the second to be organized together with the Global Banking Alliance targets new members of the Global Women Banking Alliance and who wish to set up new banking programme for women or institutions seeking to develop units and programmes.  The event will convene over three days (between 3 and 5 February) with regional and international participation from Britain, Holland, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Kosovo and Egypt.  Participants will familiarize with curricula used for women’s economic empowerment in addition to the role of financial institutions in designing financing and related programmes targeting women through setting and constructing interactive platforms which allow the launch of packages and financial products that are useful for women in businesses and for small and medium enterprises.  On this occasion, the CEO of BLC bank, Maurice Sehnaoui, noted that the position of the bank as the first financial institutions in the Middle East to join the GBA equip it to carry out study and training cycles on the fundamentals of banking programmes targeting women. The assistant general manager of BLC and the head of the GBA, Tania Musallem noted that the new session is an important opportunity for exchanging ideas and showcasing banking programmes targeting women.  This, she added, will facilitate the mobilization of new banks into this vital sector. (Safir, Diyar, and Moustakbal – 4 February 2016)

 

In its issue of yesterday, l’Orient le Jour highlighted the experience of Chef Xchange which was set up by French-Lebanese National, Karl Naim, and by Mark Washington, American national.  Both founders are financial experts and the setup is a website which allows foodies to enjoy a home cooked meal with their selected chef.  The two young men launched their website in February 2015 and chose Dubai as their company’s headquarters.  Last October, the company owners decided to move their management to Beirut to benefit from decree 313 issued by Banque du Liban and which aims at supporting small and medium enterprises which work in the knowledge economy through providing investment capital to enhance production.  Since the launch of this website, 500 chefs have already registered of whom, 100 were selected by the managers of the company. According to Naim, the average cost of the offered meal is USD 50.- including entrée, main course and deserts. Naim noted that they are facing several problems in their move to Lebanon namely in relation to the infrastructure and the high cost of internet compared to Dubai.  Naim added that many Lebanese bank are not aware of the ways of working of emerging companies and how to deal with them also pointing out to the prohibitive costs of legal and other services. (L’Orient le Jour, 3 February 2016)

 

The campaign ‘Do Not Contradict Yourself, Think it Over’ launched recently by Kafa, enough violence and exploitation, revealed some very disturbing facts about the level of racism against migrant woman domestic worker (MWDW). The campaign showed that nearly 51% of the Lebanese people consider the domestic worker who babysits their children as ‘unreliable’; 41% accuse her of having ‘mental issues’; 36% believe that she is ‘stupid’ although she does all the house work and 27% say she is ‘not clean’ while they let her cook and clean for them. The organization based its campaign on a national study conducted in coordination with the American University of Beirut and Anti-Slavery International with the support of the International Labor Organization. The survey which targeted a group of women and men employers, studied mainly the level of knowledge in legislations regulating the employer-domestic worker relationship. In describing the purpose of the above campaign, Kafa said the following: “By pointing at inconsistencies, we are asking employers to think over their perceptions /practices and challenge the dominant prejudices related to class and racism, and challenge their misunderstanding of the current legislations. Kafa said the first phase of the campaign included the production of an awareness film which illustrated the low level of knowledge regarding the work contract. Furthermore, the study revealed the following: only 50% of the Lebanese give the helper a day off (as per the mandatory contract provisions), 24% allow her to leave the house on holidays, 40% do not give the worker her salary regularly while 94% confiscate her passport and finally 44% of employers mistakenly believe that the contract duration is 3 years, while in fact it is only one year. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, February 3, 2016)

 

Amnesty International (AI) published on Tuesday a new report that sheds light on various forms of exploitation, particularly sexual harassment, suffered by Syrian women refugees as a result of plummeting aid from international donors, coupled with the tightened restrictions imposed by the Lebanese authorities. Entitled, ‘I need a safe place: Syrian women refugees uprooted and unprotected in Lebanon’, the report was released two days ahead of the key donor conference for Syria which will be held in London to urge greater financial assistance from the international community. The AI report quoted Syrian women who said that they were taken advantage of by people in positions of power, including real estate owners and employers, and even from police officers.” A great number of those refugees said they struggle to meet the high cost of living in Lebanon and to afford food or rent which puts them at a greater risk of exploitation. Whereas, the strict measures adopted by the Lebanese government have left many of them unable to renew their residency permits, thus living illegally in the country and therefore reluctant to report abuses.

In conclusion, Amnesty International made three key recommendations that will presumably immediately improve the lives of many women refugees. Firstly, it urged the Lebanese government to facilitate the renewal of residency papers for those women; secondly, it appealed to the world’s wealthiest states to meet their commitments by instantly increasing the financial allocations in support of refugee host countries in the region, including Lebanon; finally, the organization urged countries of the world to share greater responsibility in resettling more refuges.

(For full report: https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/i_want_a_safe_place_lebanon_report.pdf) .(Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour, February 2, 2016)

 

In coordination with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Trade in Saida and the South organized yesterday a training workshop for rural working women, and entitled: ‘You Are Half the Society, Join Us to Expand Your Dreams’. This training activity was held as part of a program in support of those women cooperatives in the South involved in food processing. The workshop tackled a number of topics, notably: methods and significance of marketing rural products, namely: the review of various marketing channels, cost and price analysis; awareness on food safety specifications; ways for enhancing the quality of products, and finally, the causes, sources and types of food pollution. During the workshop, the head of the agriculture department at the Chamber, Rola Kar3uni, underlined the importance of cooperative work in rural development, while her colleague, agriculture engineer, Hania Chahal, gave another lecture on the same topic. In conclusion, Joelle Ajeel, the director of the food testing laboratory in CCIT of Saida & the South, underscored the importance of food testing in order to safeguard public health safety. (As Safir, February 3, 2016)

 

The announcement by the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon to issue visas for Syrian drivers working on Lebanese trucks stranded on its borders has eased the tension the Lebanese productive sectors and the transportation unions have been living in the wake of the ‘compulsory visa’ order by Ankara last January 8. Some 200 Lebanese trucks loaded on a ship have been cut off at Marsin Port while on their way to Zacho and Erbil in Iraq coming from the northern harbor of Tripoli, and that is following contacts initiated by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry with competent departments in both Iraq and Turkey to resolve the problem.

Commenting on the subject, the chief of the Beqaa farmers association, Ibrahim Tarshishi, appealed to the Lebanese government to coordinate with Jordan for the reopening the Daraa crossing in Syria. “We miss the old days of normal road transport” Tarshishi lamented, while questioning the fairness of the present situation where Lebanese trucks are forced to cross all the way through Turkey, in order to reach Iraq and to deliver export products. He also stigmatized the dire general situation presently prevailing in the Arab region in the absence of Arab solidarity, and whereby very harsh obstacles were raised in front of free Arab trade circulation. (As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, February 1 & 2, 2016)

 

The Syndicate for Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night Clubs and Pastries in Lebanon held a meeting yesterday in Beirut at its Ain Mreiseh premises in the presence of two women board members, Maya Bakhaizi and Mireille Hayek and some 20 other business women active in the catering sector. The meeting which was headed by the syndicate’s head, Toni Rami, outlined the achievements since the election of its new board of directors and highlighted the advantages and benefits of membership. At the end of the meeting, Bakhaizi and Hayek underscored the importance of women’s active participation in the life of the industry “particularly if they were successful on par with men.” They went on to say that presently a large number of restaurants are run by women entrepreneurs, noting that membership in the syndicate will assist in boosting its performance and will enable them to achieve their demands. (Al Diyar, Febraury 2, 2016)

 

The Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon signed yesterday a twinning project between the Mzaar Kfardebian Ski resort and the French Courchevel resort, pointing out that winter tourism has grown by 18% last year whereas it declined in other countries. Pharaon hoped to see further developments at the various ski centers. For his part, the representative of Kfardebian municipality, Antoine Akiki, stressed the importance of a ski resort in the region which helps to create jobs and encourages the participation of the town’s locals in initiatives that boost winter tourism in their country. On the twining project, the Courchevel representative confirmed that present techniques used at Courchevel resort will be placed at the disposal of the ski center at Mzaar Kfardebian. For his part, Minister Pharaon expressed his commitment to further improve public safety the and technical capacity at all resort centers. (Al Diyar, February 1, 2016)

 

L’Orient Le Jour newspaper highlighted the Distant Learning and Pedagogical Innovation (ADIP) project which will become accessible to Masters students at Saint Joseph University (USJ) and the Open Arab University (OAU) particularly those majoring in bank management, IT engineering, and hotel and hospital management, starting the current month of February. The project which is run by the Middle East Office of the Agency of Francophone Universities (AUF) aims to transform traditional curricula to match the needs of the labor market and to develop a communication network between universities and companies. On this subject, Nathalie Bitar, the regional project coordinator, told L’Orient Le Jour that the project idea emerged from the fact that university education does not always equip graduates in their search for jobs, particularly that employers and business owners require particular skilled and qualified personnel. This, Bitar explained is often not available because of the out-dated university curricula that have not been updates to meet the needs of the current labor market. According to Bitar, ADIP will seek to assess students skills by developing a chart for each student that will allows him/her to record the particular know-how and knowledge gained during her/his years of study, like for example, training. She underlined the importance of strong direct communication between students and instructors and urgently called for the passing of a national legislation that promotes distance learning. 

L’Orient Le Jour, January 29, 2016