News

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, declared that the national five year tourism strategy will be released shortly.  The strategy takes into consideration the internal and external context of tourism as well as the tourism of expatriate.  As such, the strategy will be comprehensive and will address the realities of tourism at all levels. Pharaon spoke during a field visit he had made to monitor a local community action involving the cleaning of solid waste carried out in the area of Nabeh el Safa and that is as part of a broader cleaning action implemented by Lebanon Mountain Trail Association in various villages within the framework of their awareness raising programme on the importance of water resources. During his visit, Pharaon insisted on the importance of ecotourism for the development of that region and especially in villages having natural water springs which provide the needed water supplies.  He insisted on the importance of water springs in supporting ecotourism and the importance of rationalizing their use.
Within a related vein, l’Orient le Jour published a report last Friday focusing on academic t study in tourism as a specialty offered by Saint Joseph University.  The newspaper interviewed the responsible of tourism sub-department at the university, Rita Zaarour, who indicated that studies in tourism will allow graduates to be able to seek jobs in tourism agencies, expanding tourism products, facilitating touristic activities, working in hotels and municipalities as well as tourism consultant in related ministries.  To be noted that this specialty is part of the geography department at the faculty of literature and humanities at the university and also allows students to pursue master’s and doctoral studies in this field.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour 14 July 2014

According to a study released by the UNFPA, young Syrian displaced suffer from vulnerability at the health, educational, social, psychological, livelihood and economic levels.  According to the same source, 41% of those surveyed considered committing suicide and 53% have never felt safe and secure in Lebanon.  Their desire for death reflects their apprehension of life and the crisis they are going through.  In addition, cases of harassment and abuse are prevalent especially amongst women and girls.  This affects their mobility and encourages early marriage in addition to mistreatment as many displaced are forbidden from drinking and work more than 15 hours.  Furthermore, relations between host communities and the displaced have become more complex and tense.
The study entitled “Situation Analysis of Youth in Lebanon Affected by the Syrian Crisis” was conducted by UNDP in collaboration with UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, and Save the Children and coincided with the subject of the international population day, namely “investing in youth” which is celebrated on July 11th of every year..  The study was released in Beirut last week during a ceremony which highlighted the issues of concerned and which called on governments and international agencies to place more focus on youth as they are the most vulnerable category during conflict.
Ross Mountain, the UNFPA representative in Lebanon, noted in his keynote address during the event that this study is an important report especially since the humanitarian impact on this category has not been properly recorded or addressed before.  Mountain added that the study shows that 16% of the registered displaced whose number has reached 1,070,803 in June 2014 are young people aged between 15 and 24 and have particular experiences as a result of the crisis and, as such, special intervention and support should be designed for them.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 14 July 2014

Rola Yaakoob’s family is still awaiting the decision of Accusatory body regarding the appeal it submitted last January 25th in response to the decision of Judge Alaa al-Khatib to release her husband initially accused of killing her.  Although the legal period to respond to such appeal is 15 days, judge Rida Raad of the Tripoli court has not yet responded.
Given the fact that no new developments have taken place since then, Kafa released a statement last Saturday demanding justice for Rola and her family and asking about the difficulties that have made it impossible for judges to address this appeal.  Kafa reiterated its continued support to the case of Rola Yaakoob and further reiterated the questions it had raised as to why the investigation has consistently overlooked hard evidence in this matter. For her part, Rola Yaakoob’s mother asked the judiciary to be fair and address the request for appeal.  She further asked as to the reasons why there were too many discrepancies between the reports of the forensic doctors and the affidavit of Rola’s neighbor’s who had taken her to the hospital.  She reiterated her demand to clarify all matters related to the murder of her daughter and re-confirmed that Rola’s husband caused her death.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 14 July 2014

The Municipality of Dhoor el Chuwayr – Ayn el Syndyaneh organized last Saturday under the auspices of the Minister of Education a special day for women.  This event was part of the annual festivals and was held with the participation of many associations active in this field.  The event aimed at highlighting the creativity of Lebanese women in various professional sectors as well as their inactive involvement in cultural and social life and their role in educating the new generations. A ceremony was organized for this occasion and included a lecture on women’s involvement in the armed forces and a lecture by the National Commission for Lebanese Women.  Women pioneers were also recognized for their achievements namely late Professor Rania Abou Khair, May Khalil on the women & sports category, Vera Yammine on the women & politics, Maguy bou Ghoson on women and art, Lina Jebran on women & will, Marya Sawaya & Sabah Mouja3ess on women & education, Michline Mouja3ess on women & public affairs, and Hayfa Shedraoui on women & immigration.
Source: Al-Akhbar 14 July 2014

As Safir newspaper published a report on the numerous challenges facing wheat growers in the Beqaa especially that this year's harvest is expected to total only between 35 to 40000 tons thus with a drop of 10000 tons compared to earlier years and that is mostly due to the scarcity of rain.  Farmer Khaled Shuman noted that the Ministry of Economy and Trade has yet to issue clear instructions on the mechanism for pricing and collecting harvests.  He added that delays in delivery will force hundreds of farmers to pay for double warehousing and transportation costs which is estimated at LBP40 per kilograms and thus eroding their profits.
Wheat growers noted that the Ministry of Economy and Trade is the sole responsible for this erosion of their profits due to these delays.  The municipal head in Terbol and one of the wheat farmer of the Beqaa, engineer Fadi Khury, demands that the Ministry sets up warehouses for stocking wheat harvest in the Beqaa adding that the initial decision was already taken to set them up in village of Terbol which donated land for that purpose. To be noted that the feasibility studies for this project was completed and all that is needed is to commission the work.  Al Khury told As Safir that setting up such warehouses will mean that wheat will be delivered directly from the fields to the warehouses thus making wheat growing profitable and effective.
The report adds that the scarcity in rain water has had a negative effect on this year harvest has resulted in low productivity and increasing cost of production which have all concurred to raise production cost to LBP100,000 per dunum due to the use of artificial irrigation.  Farmer Amr al Mayyas demanded though As Safir that compensations to wheat growers be approved since they were badly affected by scarce rainfalls which is considered to be a natural disaster.
Source: Al-Safir 11 July 2014

LBCI is hosting during the month of Ramadan a daily show presented by journalist Asmaa Wehbe and entitled "Al Sayyedah" which highlights successful experiences by Arab women through interviews during which women share the strength in their journeys. Each episode has three axes namely the past, professional and personal achievements and future plans. Guests also speak about their own insights of what is happening in the Arab world.
Wehbeh notes that the idea behind the programme is to present models of women who can inspire people and societies and challenge stereotypes of women as mere seductresses. She added that this programme tries to relay the message that women are able to be leaders in their community through their achievements. The show also addresses the exclusion of women from decision making during revolutions at a time when they were active in bringing about change.
Al Sayyedah airs daily at 9:00 pm on LBCI
Source: Al-Safir 11 July 2014

UNHCR released yesterday a report entitled “Woman Alone: The Fight for Survival by Syria’s Refugee Women”, which shed light on the daily struggles of displaced Syrian women in order to secure basic needs for their families. The report said that more than 145 thousand Syrian families that fled to Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, which represents 1 out of 5 families, are headed by women who have to face alone the suffering of displacement. These women are now the primary caretaker and breadwinner of their families in the absence of their husbands and of traditional community support systems. Alone, these women are exposed to exploitation and blackmailing almost everywhere, at their residencies, at the work place, in aid distribution centers and in public transportation.
The report gave the following estimates for the numbers of displaced Syrian women heading their families: 13,911 women in Egypt, 57,421 women in Jordan, and 7,267 women in Iraq. In Lebanon, which has the largest population of Syrian refugees, the total number of women responsible for their families reaches 70,189 women.
According to the same report, and though there is in Lebanon more than 150 associations active in providing different services to displaced Syrian women and their families, severe livelihoods conditions have forced some of these women to depend on themselves and to find solutions to their daily problems. The outcome is that many have now acquired a sense of autonomy and empowerment, having taken over non-traditional roles as main providers to their families. The report reveals that only one out of 5 women works for a salary, one other out of 5 women is supported by relatives, while some depend for their survival on members of the hosting community, such as landlords that allow these women to reside in houses for free. The report adds that many women are forced to send their children to work in unfair circumstances, while only 25% actually receive financial aid from the UNHCR or other humanitarian organizations. It is to be noted that the launch event of the new UNHCR report included a the showing of a documentary film which narrates the story of Lina, a Syrian displaced woman, living in Lebanon with her children. To watch the film please click on the following link: Lina’s Story

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Hayat, Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, The Daily Star 9 July 2014

To read the full report in English, please click on the following link: Woman Alone: The Fight for Survival by Syria’s Refugee Women

Environmental health student at AUB, Sara Moledor, won the Samir & Claude Abillama Eco-Entrepreneurship Award for her project entitled Vermicomposting which uses earthworms to transform organic waste such as vegetable and fruit peels and grass into natural compost to be used as fertilizers thus replacing the use of chemicals. Sarah expressed her appreciation of this award which is a sum of USD 20,000 and added that this money will allow her to implement her project which will in turn save farmers the cost of fertilizers and increase their benefits due to increase of eco-friendly agricultural yield.  Sara had applied her idea in Batlun in Shouf when she was preparing her dissertation.
 
To be noted that Sara is a US citizen and has been living in Lebanon for three years and was one of the 57 contestants for this award which was launched in 2013  as a collaboration between the Nature Conservation Center (NCC) at AUB and the Samir & Claude Abillama Eco-Entrepreneurship Award.  The award aims at encouraging eco-friendly businesses, raising environmental awareness, and increasing investment in bio-diversity.  The award focuses on helping holders of small environmental projects and initiatives which have a local impact.
 
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 5 July 2014

L’Orient le Jour published yesterday an article originally published by a UK newspaper about restaurant in Ibiza called Patchwork and which is classified amongst the three best restaurants on this island.  The restaurant offers traditional Lebanese cuisine including beurek, shish taouk, baba ghannouj and other plates and is run by a French couple.
Also, and according to l’Orient le Jour, Lebanese cuisine has attracted the interested of a number of foreign newspapers including the London Evening which noted that tennis players Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova preferred plate is Shish Taook and Lebanese baklava.  British Daily Mail also wrote that Tabbuleh is one of the preferred meals of Kate Middleton.  The newspaper noted that this is not the first time that foreign newspapers pick up articles on Lebanese cuisine.  Only a few months ago, the Lebanese Cedars restaurant was selected as the best restaurant in the UK.  The restaurant is run by Lebanese-Australian chef Gray Maalouf who won the title of creator of a new style of cooking known as 'Modern Middle Eastern'.  LoJ adds that Lebanese-Brazilian chef Alex Attalah was on the cover of Time magazine as the “King of cuisine”.
 
Source: The daily Star 8 July 2014

Nahar newspaper published an article on the views of the Ministry of Economy and Trade concerning the present social and economic crisis that Lebanon has been going through over the past few months especially in relation to economic reforms and the issue of the salary scale. The Minister of Economy, Alain Hakim, considers that introducing comprehensive economic reforms is a pressing issue for Lebanon.  He revealed the details of a plan that his Ministry has already put into motion namely in the form of an economic recovery plan which involves a number of sectors and which will be discussed with key stakeholders namely Lebanese economic institutions so that it can be later submitted to the Cabinet.  The (old-new) plan focuses on supporting investments through securing flexible loans for the private sector, introducing a taxation policy which will ensure equitable development in all parts of Lebanon as well as facilitate administrative procedures, open new external markets for Lebanese companies, and boost internal consumption through the creation of new work opportunities.  This will go hand in hand with the plans to introduce administrative, financial and economic reforms and to combating corruption and wastage in public utilities and services, strengthening the economic infrastructure through enhancing productive capacities as well as fostering the private-public partnership.
With regards to the adoption of new salaries scales, the Minister confirmed that this matter faces several hurdles, namely of financial nature. He warned of the negative repercussions if not enough domestic financial resources are secured, forcing the government to issue new treasury bonds and thus increasing public debt and deficit with grave repercussions on the financial rating of the country and its monetary stability.

Source: Al-Nahar 8 July 2014