News

A group of Palestinian associations and institutions, including the Palestinian Civil Committee, began developing programs to train women to become professional Palestinian dress embroiderers. PCC Women's Committee officer Amina Awad noted that her association is focusing its activities on the revival and promotion of popular Palestinian traditions, especially among the young generation in the Palestinian camps. This endeavor comes in response to piracy and confiscation attempts by the Israeli Occupation, Awad added, that the purpose of the workshops is to invoke heritage as a means to revive Palestinian culture and uphold the national identity. According to Awad, the outcome of the first training round was promising, with the participation of women of 18 years and above. Products from the training were displayed in an exhibition in order to support financially the families of Palestinian martyrs, empower women and encourage them to work. (Al Diyar, 19 June 2015)

As part of its aim to support women role in political life, ‘Loubnaniyoun’ Association launched a joint platform agreed with several Lebanese parties and aiming at designing plans to speed up women’s access to leading political and decision making positions at the level of parties and national institutions. In this respect, a delegation of the organization headed by Nadine Daher visited the offices of the Progressive Socialist Party in Beirut. To be noted, a large conference will soon be held to formally launch the platform following the endorsement of the document by the various political parties involved in this initiative (Tayyar Al Marada, Future Movement, Free Patriotic Movement, Jamaa Islamiya, Amal Movement, Hizbullah Party, PSP, Lebanese Forces Party and the Lebanese Kataeb Party). In preparation for the document, Loubnaniyoun organized a series of meetings with the motto ‘women in politics’ bringing together women party representatives to review the role of women in public life so as to draft a joint action plan that will support the active participation of women within the political parties and national institutions. (Al Mustaqbal, 19 June 2015)

Lebanese newspapers publish almost on daily basis statements by officials and experts or field reports describing the general deterioration of the economic and living conditions and blaming scarce job prospects on the influx of Syrian refugees. Usually, these feature stories or articles largely overlook the collective responsibility of political parties in dealing with key issues, particularly their failure in dealing with the refugee problem, a failure resulting from political polarization and political exploitation of the humanitarian dimension of the problem. In an attempt to snub the real causes of the deteriorating conditions, officials boast the latest statistics of unemployment warning of the worst yet to come while mobilizing their constituencies against Syrian workers whom they say are at the root of the problem. In doing so they fail to pinpoint to the responsibility of many who benefit from the low paid Syrian labor. High but still uncertain figures on unemployment figures range between 25% (according to Labor Ministry sources), to 50% among youth (according to As Safir) and 40% among the labor force (Al Diyar). There is no doubt that unemployment rate in Lebanon was high before 2011, with some analysts even saying that the problem is structural and is closely related to the function of Lebanon in the world economy. However, the escalation of the problem following the start of war in Syria is largely due to the failure of the Lebanese government to agree on national priorities and on how to regulate the influx of displacement across the border.

‘When employers meet with domestic workers, is the title of a conference organized yesterday by ‘Insan’ Association under the patronage of Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi. The conference which coincides with the International Domestic Workers Day was opened with a presentation of challenges facing migrant workers in Lebanon and the role of the Ministry in improving their conditions. Head of Inspection at the Labor Ministry, Jumana Haimur, tacked in her intervention the new measures introduced by the Ministry to end abuse of domestic workers, and which include: supervising recruitment agencies, activating the role of field inspectors, in addition to the signing of new bilateral memorandums of understanding with countries of origin. In this respect, the head of the Syndicate of Owners of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon, Hisham Burji, underlined the need for introducing a compulsory insurance that compensate the employer in the event of the domestic worker leaving her employer’s house. According to Burji, the introduction of this new insurance will restrict infringements on the freedom of movement of the domestic worker or withholding her passport. The Conference was concluded with both employers and workers agreeing on the need for reforming the present “Kafala” sponsorship system. (Al Mustaqbal, 18 June 2015)

L’Orient Le Jour daily published a feature on June 13 on the challenges of Permaculture in Lebanon quoting 8 women farmers from Qosaybeh village located in the southern mohafazat of Nabatieh. These eight women were trained on the principles of that sustainable form of agriculture and have prepared the land for the cultivation of tomato, besides lemon, lettuce and tobacco. The training workshop was held in the village of Saydoon, in Jezzine was organized by “Toorab” environmental association with the participation of 12 people including women from Qosaybeh. According to Rita Khawand from Toorab the training session focused on practical rather than on theoretical knowledge. For his part, agriculture engineer, Fadi Kanso clarified that environmental trends in Lebanon have been developing slowly but surely due to the difficulty encountered in introducing new innovative agricultural techniques to the and instead of reliance of conventional techniques, using mainly pesticides and fertilizers. It should be noted that the Permaculture approach which emerged in Australia in the seventies is based on agricultural and human approaches that are designed to be environmentally sustainable, self-sufficient, and is aimed at alleviating the human and automated work. A world day of Permaculture is celebrated each year on May 3rd. (L’Orient Le Jour, 13 June 2015)

Afak Association, the Center of Rashaya and West Bekaa Development, organized a seminar on pesticides and their associated risks at the Kamal Jumblat Socio-Cultural Center in the Chouf mountain area. The event was held as part of the agricultural extension program carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture across Lebanon. During the seminar, the head of the Agriculture Department – Mount Lebanon, engineer Aboud Freiha, noted that farmers are suffering from the spread of agricultural diseases as a result of the irrational use of pesticides. He called for the rational and moderate use of pest control agents and for their replace with organic non-toxic products. He went on to explain that pesticides affect human beings on the long term and may lead to chronic and cancerous diseases. He urged farmers to comply with Agriculture Ministry instructions on the use of such agents, warning against the chemical precipitation on vegetables and fruits. (Al Diyar, 18 June 2015)

Data and Investment Consult Lebanon held yesterday its second meeting of experts for small and medium enterprises at the Coral Beach Hotel in which it announced the launch of the first electronic business incubator and insurance assessment system in the Middle East. Work groups specialized in developing and assisting such enterprises to activate their merger with digital economy was also formed. In his opening speech, the Company’s Director General Maan Barazi stressed the need to create a legal formula that allows the legislator to give those enterprises a comparative advantage in market access and enforcement of taxes. The first work meeting was headed by Adnan Hajj, editor of As Safir newspaper’s economic page who disclosed that 80% of nearly 54 thousand enterprises in the country recruit between 5 to 20 employees and are thus classified as small and medium. Hajj pointed out that the overall size of the presently 16900 subsidized loans has reached LBP 8700 billion but that SMEs are the least to benefit from these loans. Likewise, Director of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Najeeb Shucair revealed that the number of debtors in 1993 stood at 32 thousand (both individuals and institutions), amounting to a total of USD3 billion in loans. But with the progressive credit facilities and incentives, he explained, the number has now increased to 800 thousand debtors with a total value of USD 52 billion in loans, thus outweighing GDP. (As Safir, 17 June 2015)

Al Diyar daily published recently an article on the growing phenomenon of large malls which globally mushroomed throughout the past 20 years and grew remarkably in Lebanon during the past five years. The newspaper met with the president of the Beirut Traders Association Nicolas Shammas who noted that big shopping centers are part of the social and economic fabric and have become a basic pillar in the way of life of middle class communities. He added that his association encourages their development because of their positive economic impact. He stressed the need for a balance between the traditional open markets and malls as each have their unique function. Compared to other countries in the region, mainly the United Arab Emirates, the number of large commercial complexes in Lebanon is still relatively small particularly in terms of the size of the population, Shammas explained. Similarly, Mar Elias Traders Association, Adnan Fakhani noted that Lebanon should not stay away from the global developments, of which malls represent a spectacular feature. As to their impact, Fakhani dismissed any negative impact since prices of goods in the traditional markets remain 10-15% less than the same products showcased in malls. Finally, he urged the Municipality of Beirut to create new parking spaces in Mar Elias main street so as to promote fair competition with giant malls. (Al Diyar, 17 June 2015)

Media activist Hayat Mirshad refused on June 10 to appear before the Cyber crime Bureau in Beirut on charges of libel and slander on cyberspace as per the complaint of plaintiff Tony Khalifeh, a local media figure. Mirshad to be recalled has criticized Khalifeh on the his handling of the subject of violence against women, particularly the video aired on most TV channels showing a lawyer beating his wife in public and then justifying his act on Khalifeh’s program. Activists staged on June 10 a sit in at the Barracks of Martyr Colonel Joseph Daher in solidarity with Mirshad. The protest aimed to “provide support for Mirshad in the face of conservative and reactionary thought seeking to suppress and silence progressive feminist voices” as was announced in the invitation. For his part, Lawyer Nizar Saghieh, following up on the case, explained that in the event of a lawsuit against a journalist, he or she are not to be questioned by judicial police, but by the competent judge in the presence of an attorney, so as to prevent intimidation of journalists at police stations. According to Saghieh, Judge Karam initially refused to summon Mrashad on the grounds that she is not a member of the Syndicate of Journalists, notwithstanding the documents which clearly support her claim. However, the Judge under public pressure was forced to reverse his decision and asked the Cyber crime Bureau to close the file. (L’Orient Le Jour, 16 June 2015)

Al Diyar daily published one week ago an interview with head of the Economy Committee at the Chamber of Trade, Agriculture and Industry in Zahle and Beqaa, Tony Tomeh, to discuss the advantages of introducing new crops as alternative livelihoods to the cultivation of hashish. Tomeh accused the government of neglecting and of relinquishing its responsibilities in providing the basic services and rights to farmers, thus forcing them to resort to the growing of hashish. There are many alternative crops, he explained, that could generate additional income for the country, primarily cereals, (like wheat, barely, lentils, etc). He emphasized that the growing of wheat on lands now cultivated by hashish, help the country achieve food self-sufficiency and even export some surplus. It is to be noted that presently Lebanon imports 80% of its food requirements at a cost of USD 300 million. He went on to say that the growing of aromatic herbs like thyme, rosemary, lemon-balm, oregano, sumac and damask rose which are processed into perfumes and tisane or herbal teas will also create new job opportunities and will lead to the setting up of new processing factories. Finally, Tomeh highlighted the important role that sunflower growing can play in boosting the economy, increasing exports and decreasing the deficit of the balance of payments. (Al Diyar, 16 June 2015)