Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai isn’t one to shy away from controversy. Even before becoming patriarch, he set the bar very high, once threatening anybody who criticized or slandered the church and its leadership with excommunication. With the recent announcement, and his own personal confirmation, that he would accompany Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories, Rai is back in the headlines. Continue reading “Will he Stay or Will he Go?”
Fouad Chehab for President
It seems that his campaign pictures are being put up across Beirut and the presidential sash is ready. He has been there before and done that before. But does this mean he can’t do it again? Continue reading “Fouad Chehab for President”
April 13: How can we not forget?
Today is the day we commemorate the war. We reflect on the fact that 39 years ago, the life of a country and that of its people would change and never be the same again. We reminisce on what was and what could have been. We believe, or would like to believe, that things have changed, but in fact they have never been more the same… Continue reading “April 13: How can we not forget?”
Dignity is sometimes too much to ask
You may be easily able to imagine yourself reading a book in a car or eating in a car, but could you imagine living in a car or even dying in a car?
When in London, Join the Protest: On Lebanese Women and the Police Force
What began as preparations for a modest protest in London – in solidarity with the March 8 protest in Beirut for Lebanon’s Parliament to pass the Law Protecting Women from Family Violence – ended as an invaluable lesson in law enforcement, civics and the rule of law. Continue reading “When in London, Join the Protest: On Lebanese Women and the Police Force”
لبنان: التسمية و التشهير هو واجب
Note: this piece is a translation of Eye on the East’s previous post “Lebanon: ‘Naming and Shaming’ as a Duty.” The below Arabic version was published in the March 1-6 2014 issue of Zahle weekly Al Rawaby.
يتعذر علي ان اتذكر عدد المرات التي سمعت فيها المقولة السائدة في لبنان “دون ذكر الاسماء” عبارة قصدها تجهيل الفاعل والتعامي عن قول الحقيقة ورفض تسمية الاشياء باسمائها, فنشعر بالاسى لغياب الوضوح و الشفافية في كيفية عمل النظام اللبناني. Continue reading “لبنان: التسمية و التشهير هو واجب”
A Warm Welcome to Lebanon’s New Cabinet
After 11 long months of political deadlock and childish bickering, Lebanon finally has a cabinet. Although some are satisfied just by having a cabinet and with it some illusion of normalcy, not many are happy with its composition. And in true Lebanese fashion, “what difference does it make anyway,” some will say: if it’s not the same faces on the cabinet table, then it is the same faces behind the scenes that brought them, and if there has been some alternation in portfolios (based on political affiliation and sect), it all remains part of the same game of sectarian and power politics that has brought so much misery to the majority of the Lebanese throughout the years, and will continue to do so in the years to come… Continue reading “A Warm Welcome to Lebanon’s New Cabinet”
Lebanon: ‘Naming and Shaming’ as a Duty
I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve heard the “let’s not name names” or “دون ذكر أسماء” refrain in Lebanon and feeling at a complete loss for words and hopeless, yet again, about the way this country works. Continue reading “Lebanon: ‘Naming and Shaming’ as a Duty”
Even in Lebanon, Some Deaths are Preventable
Death is not something that is under our control, but sometimes it is… Continue reading “Even in Lebanon, Some Deaths are Preventable”
The Time for Justice has Come…
…or so some would say.
Nine years after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the court proceedings of the ‘Special Tribunal for Lebanon‘ (STL) have finally begun. Created for the purpose of bringing those responsible for this crime (and many others that followed it) to justice, the tribunal is considered unprecedented on many levels. While it is the first time that an international court will be trying a case based on terrorism charges, it is also the first time in contemporary Lebanese history, if ever at all, that so much effort and resources have been allocated to bringing criminals to justice. Lebanon may have become used to wars and politically motivated crimes, but it has become even more accustomed to never knowing the truth behind those crimes and taking for granted that nobody in Lebanon is ever brought to account. Continue reading “The Time for Justice has Come…”
Eye on the East 