News

The Lebanese-American Renaissance Partnership (LARP) in cooperation with the Lebanese-American Chamber of Commerce organized a conference on Lebanon’s political neutrality as well as other economic and development topics. The event held in Beirut is the third of its kind bringing American business people of Lebanese origin with the purpose of enhancing networking between Lebanese-American companies and Lebanon. The event also aimed at developing work prospects between companies in Lebanon and their US counterparts as well as motivating both the public and private sectors to launce initiatives that will stimulate economic growth. Furthermore, the conference sought to secure grants to government-run institutions as well as to non-government organizations. During the conference, an in-kind donation (uniform collection) to the Lebanese Civil Defense Service was announced and several seminars and interventions organized involving some 15 Lebanese and American government officials and economic experts. (An Nahar, 27 June 2015)

Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development in collaboration with the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at AUB (ESDU) and with the support of Dr. Scholl Institute launched the first phase of its ‘Social Kitchen’ project in Old Saida City aimed at empowering women within their households. The initiative targets Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian women and girls of Old City and its environs, who possess cooking skills but need some support. To this end, Hariri Foundation organized a training workshop for over 20 participants on food safety, healthy diet and kitchen management. Nutrition experts Marwa Subra, Dominic Anid and Salwa Tawk from ESDU gave an elaborate presentation on nutritive ingredients, their benefits and role in the vital body functions and the ultimate conditions for a healthy diet. (Al Mustaqbal, 27 June 2015)

Alfa for Communications held last Friday its annual media Iftar under the patronage of Communications Minister Boutros Harb. In his welcoming speech, Alfa Chair and CEO, Marwan Hayek, revealed that the company has succeeded in expanding its services to nearly 2 million subscribers over 20 years, a growth which represents 3.5 times more than the total number of subscribers in 2009 when Orascom Telecom took over the management of Alfa. The latter, he said, offers its services through a wide network extending to over 2700 relay stations with 99% coverage across Lebanon. He went on to say that this huge progress in the number of clients has resulted in an upsurge of mobile service incidence in the country from 35% in 2009 to some 94% at present. Hayek pointed out that the communication sector constitutes a basic pillar of the national economy, accounting for about 9-10% of the Gross Domestic Product. He disclosed that mobile services alone account for 3.27% of the nominal domestic product, a figure which is the highest in MENA region. Finally, Hayek disclosed that Orascom Communications has created some 500 new direct jobs over the past six years. (Al Diyar, 27 June 2015)

Silk production can be a profitable industry, yet artisans and crafters in the field are very rare, including one or two loom workers operating in the old Zouk souk east of Beirut. Resolved on preserving cultural traditions, the Municipality of Zouk has been providing the necessary facilities and encouraging the remaining small number of artisans to save their heritage. Zouk ‘Souks’ are famous for their extravagance and exorbitant prices due to the slenderness of manual work and silk embroidery. A member of the municipal court boasts the annual festival organized in the old market to feature this now dwindling artistry. The municipality of Zouk, he said, is determined to sustain the hand loom which has become symbolic of the Old ‘Souk’. To be noted that “silk bureau” was closed 15 years ago, according to As Safir newspaper which published an article on this subject last year (click here for more info.), thus ending with this closure the era of silk production in Lebanon. Michel Leon, the last general director of the “silk bureau”, noted that turning the page on silk production in Lebanon was a non recoverable loss adding that this sector did not put any additional burden on the treasury but rather would have secured economic income as well as social advantages in terms of income for rural families as well as traditional handicrafts. Leon noted that the silk bureau was created back in 1956 and played a distinct role in agriculture, industry and development, stressing that it was the first independent institution in Lebanon. Leon went on to elaborate that this sector is not very demanding and can create jobs for rural people, hence stop the tide of migration to cities. He also emphasized that raising silkworms takes only one month and would have absorbed masked unemployment especially amongst women, retired people as well as other sections of the population. (Al Diyar, 25 June 2015 and As Safir, 18 October 2014)

In an interview with daily Al Diyar, the Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi clarified his ministry’s determination to control illegal Syrian labor force in Lebanon by every possible means. He listed several measures taken so far as follows: stringent mechanisms in granting work permits; intensive investigative and inspection action; issuance of violation control records against law defying institutions and record keeping by the General Security of all Syrians entering or leaving the country. However, Azzi admitted not being able to properly manage the situation because of low staffing while throwing the blame on employers and agencies who recruit Syrian laborers through illegal and twisted manners. He also reiterated that the fines on violators are set at LBP 2700 thousand. Azzi stated that his ministry has approved only 900 out of 2600 work applications it received recently. In his response to the series of protests and complaints by agricultural unions and contractors against the so-called Kafala sponsorship system, Azzi chose not to address the problem of labor shortage while arguing that the Kafala system is internationally recognized and is not peculiar to Lebanon. He described requests to cancel the GS or insurance fees or reduce the Labor Ministry fees as unlawful. (Al Diyar, 26 June 2015)

The harvest season in the southern plains of Al Wazzani are perishing due to shortage of Syrian labor, disruption of export routes and saturation of domestic markets. Overcome by the problems, farmers decided to destroy thousands of acres of planted watermelons, tomato, cantaloupe and the Egyptian cucumber thus incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. It is also to be noted that the frost and hail storms that hit the area last winter delayed production for 10 days thus enabling production from the Beqaa areas to gain first access to domestic market. Adding to the misery of farmers, was the General Security’s decision to restrict the entry and residency permits of Syrians in Lebanon through the imposition of the Kafala sponsorship system resulting in a decline of 70% in Syrian labor force. All these factors compounded to affect the harvest season. Farmers of Al Wazzani areas were forced to leave non-harvested their fruit trees, like apricots, peaches and prunes and other agricultural produces. Farmers are now appealing to authorities to revise the decision on labor sponsorship decision in the interest of the agriculture sector. (An Nahar, 26 June 2015)

Intaliqi – Arabic for “set yourself free” – is an association which aims at empowering women through a series of skills-based programs. It empowers marginalized women located in the geographical area extending from Beirut to the Beqaa, while offering training, and aid assistance, so as to help women become more active and productive in their communities. The organization which was founded in 2013 by Zeina al-Zein and Lynn Tabbara, targets women in need of assistance regardless of nationality (i.e. Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian women). More than 30 refugee camps are now receiving aid from Intaliqi, including much-needed food and medical supplies. In Majdal Anjar, the organization has leased a piece of farmland where up to 20 women from the nearby camps of Marj are currently working. The women learn how to plant and harvest crops, thus acquiring skills that can be useful for their future, and enabling them to reach a higher level of economic independence. Another empowerment program is the Ramadan kitchen located in Dalhamieh. The kitchen facilities, is fully equipped to prepare Ramadan meals. Hot meals prepared by women are then distributed in various refugee camps where Intaliqi is currently working. (The Daily Star, 24 June 2015)