In Lebanon youth relentlessly test the Mediterranean waters by diving into the sea at Raouché in the capital Beirut. Amazing photographer Tamara Abdul Hadi captured these beautiful moments in a photo series on Raouché.
by Simona Sikimic & Wassim Mroueh Daily Star Tuesday, November 16, 2010.
People across the country prepared for three days of relative calm as they planned to gather with family and friends Tuesday to celebrate Eid al-Adha.
The break is viewed by many as much-needed reprieve from the heated political rhetoric that has raged over the impending indictment from the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and engulfed Lebanon in a spiral of mistrustful bickering, threatening to reignite sectarian strife.
Photo Massel Cassel A weapon is positioned at a UN base in southern Lebanon.
The international coverage of border clashes between Lebanese and Israeli military forces earlier this month may have suggested the confrontation was a mere squabble over cutting a tree that went awry in a “trigger-happy” and “conflict-prone” region. Less than a week later, one of several recent speeches by Hizballah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah managed to get brief global media coverage. He presented visual and audio material suggesting that Israel may have assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005.
Deux fillettes se tiennent là, debout, comme figées, et à leurs pieds commence Beyrouth, comme toujours pleine de vie. Leur balcon, comme le reste de leur maison et la plus grande partie de leur camp de réfugiés, est d’une couleur indéfinissable. Sale, comme leurs vêtements. Elles par contre sont belles et radieuses, même si leur avenir ne l’est pas.
Ici, à Bourj el-Barajneh, l’un des douze camps de réfugiés palestiniens au Liban, le temps semble s’être arrêté il y a des années. Génération après génération, les enfants ont grandi dans la même réalité désespérée, punis pour des crimes qu’ils n’ont pas commis, blessés par une histoire qu’ils n’ont pas écrite. Les fillettes se tiennent là, debout, sur leur balcon sale, fissuré, irréparable, à regarder vivre Beyrouth et le monde.
Since the 12th of July 2010, workers of the FuturePipe Factory in North Lebanon have been holding an open sit-in protesting against the closure of the factory. The management of the factory had stated that the reason behind closure is due to significant losses.
Yet the workers clearly indicate that the factory is not making any losses. It is actually generating substantial profit. Only about a month ago, the owners of the factory bought new equipment at a cost of more than a million US dollars. They also opened branches in different Arab countries.
Le collectif Tadamon aimerait exprimer son entière solidarité avec M Samah Idriss, éditeur d’Al Adab (« littérature ») Magazine.
Au sujet de Al Adab
Depuis sa création en 1953, cet important magazine de culture Arabe a joué un rôle clé dans l’encouragement de la pensée progressiste et de la création d’espace de débat dans le monde arabe.
Publié à Beyrouth, capitale libanaise, le magazine Al Adab est devenu un point central favorisant la réflexion critique sur les mouvements démocratiques locaux, mais aussi un espace où les militants peuvent dénoncer aussi bien la colonisation que la dictature à travers tout le Moyen-Orient.
Canada has always been a favorite destination for many Lebanese emigrants. However, the country is now changing its immigration policies and is beginning to resemble a club open to a chosen few who possess the required skills, education and selective criteria to enter.
Last June 26, Jason Kenney, Canada’s minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, announced that to be eligible to apply as a federal skilled worker, immigrants must either have a job offer from a Canadian employer or experience in one of just 29 in-demand occupations.
Photo Stefan Christoff Palestinian youth walk on the streets of Burj el-Shemali camp.
Palestinian refugees, Lebanese activists and civil society organizations are gearing up for a demonstration on June 27 to demand civil rights for Palestinians in Lebanon.
Activists on Tuesday urged massive participation in the day’s protests in which participants will gather in Sidon, Tripoli, the Bekaa, Mount Lebanon and march toward the Parliament building in Beirut.
The activists were speaking before a Parliament session on Tuesday to discuss the civil rights of Palestinian refugees with the aim of pressuring representatives to amend laws discriminating against Palestinians.
Photo: Zoriah (c). Hezbollah logo painted on bullet pocked wall in Beirut, Lebanon.
Responding to the discussion on political Islam begun in the previous issue of Red Pepper, Bilal El-Amine considers the experience of Hizbullah in Lebanon
It is no doubt commendable that Red Pepper has tried to tackle the thorny issue of political Islam and in particular the Iranian experience, a subject that is greatly misunderstood in the west, even in left circles. But unfortunately the discussion created more spark than substance. This can be attributed to both Alastair Crooke’s rather abstract philosophical approach that often clashes with the reality of events on the ground and Azar Majedi’s shrill response, which reduces the legacy of the Islamic revolution in Iran to ‘30 years of bloodshed, oppression, misogyny, gender apartheid, stoning and mutilation’. One wonders how it is that women in Iran make up 65 per cent of university students under such conditions.
NAHR AL-BARED (North Lebanon) – The hip-hop beats ringing through the muddy, unlit streets of this burnt-out Palestinian refugee camp seem incongruous. But the rhymes are camp-grown – and courageous.
“I’m carrying worries / From inside a destroyed camp / I’m preparing an attack / Words that keep turning in my head / Nahr al-Bared is fenced-in with iron bars / In the newspapers they speak about suffering / Every word makes sense”.
