I'm not bragging...I'm just saying...

Lebanon is located between three continents, Europe Africa and Asia. Its geographic diversity, mountains to plains and its strategic location both resulted in very complex historical realities.

In fact, the Lebanese coast has originally been inhabited by Phoenicians who founded the commercial cities. It was a nation of middlemen who provided a link between ancient empires and different civilizations.

Phoenicians chose the cultural conquest as their main contributions were trade and the Phoenician alphabet, hence communication.

It is probably no surprise that the Lebanese today are eternal migrants, dispatched on all continents. People of Lebanese origin are 9 million outdoors while the Lebanese on site do not exceed 4 million.

The Egyptians, Babylonians, the Hyksos, the Hittites, the Persians, Greeks and Romans all fought for the domination of Phoenicia.

Today, Lebanon is home to eighteen religious communities: the three monotheistic religions and their divisions making it an ideal meeting place with an opening to the West (the seaside) and an extension of the East (through the plains).

So I’m not bragging, I’m just saying that this multicultural blend should be our strength and our uniqueness. Our history dictated this evolution and we, citizens of Lebanon, should embrace it with open tolerance for our future can never and should never be differently built.

Above: the contribution of the Phoenician alphabet

Who gives a damn about Environment?

Believe it or not…but some people in Lebanon have decided to take action and write about tons of important issues happening today in our Lebanese society. No field is rejected: Politics, Economics, Environment, Social etc.
And let me just say that raising awareness in our dear country has often been worthless. We do not like to open our eyes because we usually feel powerless about these problems; we think that tomorrow will take care of tomorrow. We are too busy planning our upcoming parties and crushing ourselves in pointless political conversations.
Truth is, no major strategies are being applied today to fight against our lack of sustainability.
Our roads are dirty, our eco-systems are very fragile and our interest for recycling, forestation, waste and resource management is simply insignificant.

What do you think about the following titles?

Take action: Migratory birds face peril death in Lebanon sanctuary (thanks to irresponsible hunters we don’t have any birds left in the sky!)

Product of the week: The green bag (Waste is a new brand of bags made of recycled materials. Green is the new “it” factor!)

Solid waste management in Lebanon: a dead end (no, really?)

Are they catchy enough? Every week, Iloubnan.info sends out strong messages…we just have to have the curiosity…to “click”!

Reprise ou re-crise?

A vos marques, prêts, lisez !

« Les économistes vous ont parlé des subprimes mais avez-vous déjà entendu parler des ALT-A et des options ARM?

Les économistes vous ont parlé de la finance islamique et de la micro finance, survivants de la crise, mais avez-vous déjà entendu parler des fonds du vice?

Les économistes vous ont parlé d’une reprise en V ou W mais avez-vous déjà entendu parler de la reprise en O?

Après la lecture de ce livre, vous ne pourrez plus penser que le plus dure de la crise est derrière nous. Vous ne pourrez plus penser que le G20 a été efficace dans la gestion de la situation.

Et surtout vous ne croirez plus à une reprise imminente…

Dans cet ouvrage, les jeunes auteurs Thomas Porcher et Halim Madi font une autopsie minutieuse de la crise et montrent que le « subprime » n’était qu’un avant goût, ils nous livrent une analyse claire et pointent du doigt les dangers à venir. La crise en cache probablement d’autres et probablement plus tôt que prévu…

Cet ouvrage clair, percutant et iconoclaste répond aux interrogations sur la reprise un an après la crise. »

Je félicite M. Porcher, un professeur exceptionnel que j’ai connu à la Sorbonne et mon ami Halim Madi, étudiant du Magistère Banque-Finance-Assurance de l’université de Dauphine, pour cette belle collaboration et pour ce livre très instructif en plein dans l’actualité!

Le livre est actuellement en vente à Gibert Jeunes, la Fnac et Amazon !

A year in Lebanon

After earning my bachelor degree in Economics, I left Paris in July 2009 to come to my country and gain some professional experience before pursuing my graduate studies. I am so eager to get back to my blog with some fresh and local posts! I am currently an intern in a great NGO called Fair Trade Lebanon
More info will be coming up about my stay. Stick around ; )

Beautiful Mess-Protests and Strikes

Being in a leftist public University in France, I experience strikes and protests every year. French universities are profoundly attached to their Revolutionary spirit. Today, Research and Education are defended. Some of the biggest outlines of the government's potential law are:

-The separation of the Research from the Teaching; meaning that if a Professor is considered more efficient as a researcher then as a teacher, he will be asked to dominantly work in research and neglect its teaching (and vice versa).

-The Evaluation of the Research level should be more frequent and have a better controlled financial budget.

More details of the law must be considered of course and I am not the best person to enumerate all of its factors and judge its consequences. Nevertheless, I have read a very interesting point of view about it.

According to the Solidarité et Progres* Party, a creative researcher needs time and independence to publish high quality work. Our society should support and encourage its researchers (Professors, Doctors, Chemists…), while organizing this endorsement on a wider level instead of leaving it all to the deans of universities.

Over the years, the share of Research in the French GDP has dropped from 3% (During the De Gaulle and the Mendes era) to 2% today. Given the fact that we are encountering a very delicate financial phase, monetary restriction could be justified as a measure for limiting Public expenses. However, we shouldn’t mistake that as a sacrifice of Research which, by no means, could ever slow down expansion. Research is synonym of innovation, of product simulation and of responsible societies. It is what we can call the necessary expenses; the compensation it brings is far greater then the amount of money allocated for it. It is like a medical insurance that protects you to a certain extent from the unknown ahead. The US has understood that a long time ago while France is still paying the price. Brain drain is real, it is everywhere and some of our top-notch French Professors have left the country and crossed the Atlantic where their desires and demands are quite easily met there.

*Solidarity and Progress

Persepolis

In her autobiographical comic strip Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi tells stories from her youth in revolutionary and then war-torn Iran. I had heard so much about it last year and I am probably one of the last people in France to discover it this late! A couple of days ago my friend lent me the first part of the four comic strips. I couldn't not post a little something about it.

I really enjoyed Satrapi's courage and insolence and I am very impressed by the life she has led. In Persepolis, we discover that at the age of ten, she is compelled to wear a veil, understand the class differences in her society, the political affiliations of her family and overcome the loss of her dear uncle Anouck (killed in jail after the Islamic revolution). She is then sent abroad to Austria to pursue her schooling. After graduating from highschool, she goes back to Iran for university.

Her work was all adapted into a movie which was co-produced with Vincent Paronnaud. Persepolis earnt the Jury Price in 2007 at the Cannes Film Festival. I have found some nice trailers on the internet that I believe are worthy of your attention:

Persepolis was banned in Lebanon because apparently it could "create tension with the Iranian government"...I just don't get it, why should anything stand in the way of intellect?...Our people can think and judge for themselves. Of course. the movie never made its way neither to Kuwait nor to the whole region. Marjane currently lives in Paris, and is going to stay out of Iran for the meantime.

The pieces finally fit

So what do you do when you are born in a foreign country? And when you spend 20 years away from your own land? How can you still connect? Who do you become?
I wonder how the 8,584,000 Lebanese live in Latin America...Those who have left Lebanon decades ago...Do they have regular Lebanese Nights organized? Do they also enjoy a nice Fairuz song at night?

What about the 2,570,000 lebanese in North America?

Here is what I think:

At one point, you will face two main options;

- You can either draw a line on your past, and rediscover yourself in a new environment...since you never liked the words "aysh" w "laysh" anyway!

-Or you could live abroad the same way you would have been doing in Lebanon: hanging out each time with 10 other lebanese friends, all longing for one quick visit to Beirut, all smiling at the idea of Arak and Mezzé in Faytroun

I decided that I wanted a third option, I wanted to be all the countries I have been in: I am Kuwait, Lebanon and France.All three of them taught me to keep my head high. Kuwait with its soft cocoon, Lebanon and its solid ground, and France which showed me the true value of freedom of speech.

This helps me keep serenity hanging, it helps me belong. I thank them all.

How blurry is tomorrow?

Across the street I heard them.

I went to see.

Why, why does history always repeat itself?

From Paris to Gaza..Hang on.

Étourderies

Je n'aime pas avoir les ongles mal limés
Je n'aime pas mon ascenseur en panne et mes six étages à monter à pieds
Je n'aime pas le chauffage qui étouffe
Je n'aime pas les pigeons parisiens
Je n'aime pas le mascara qui coule
Je n'aime pas ces mots: "bébé" "poulette" "oui...mais bon" "échaffaudages" "quiche" (et pleins d'autres)
Je n'aime pas mes factures Bouygues Telecom
Je n'aime pas les mots de passe sur internet
Je n'aime pas les magazines de beauté
Je n'aime pas les lignes 5, 9, et 2 du métro

Je n'aime pas les mecs indiscrets

Mais...

J'aime la soupe au potiron

J'aime le beau temps apres la pluie

J'aime avoir les boucles des cheveux bien disciplinées

J'aime les céréales au petit dej

J'aime prendre le bus a Paris

J'aime les gens qui continuent a sourir malgré tout

J'aime me couvrir comme un cadavre sous les draps

J'aime une glace apres une journée à la plage (et j'aime l'odeur de l'écran solaire!)

J'aime faire l'etourdie devant ma soeur

J'aime faire rire ma soeur

J'aime rire jusqu'à pouvoir en mourir

J'aime mes cours de TD avec Frankie

J'aime la pelouse

J'aime les smoothies: Fraise & Banane & Orange

J'aime faire un exposé sans lire mes notes

J'aime les courbatures apres le sport

J'aime rencontrer des gens ordinaires avec des idées extraordinaires

J'aime beaucoup en ce moment: James Grant, Barack Obama, Muhammad Yunus, Bill Drayton

Change has come, Barack Obama.

Today, January 20th 2009, the whole world will commemorate the day Barack Obama takes office as the 44th President of the United States. Today we will put eight years of anxiety behind us. Eight years of misjudgement and ignorance. We had watched the news, heard the speeches and underwent all the disasters of the Bush Administration.

But, today, we witness change, and a new page in history is being written. Two million people are expected at the presidential Inauguration.In a couple of hours, under the eyes of the world, the White House will greet someone who has real faith in the future of the United-States, someone who has long believed in its values, and in its ability to reset an example.

Dear M. Barack Hussein Obama,

I wish to you a safe journey. It will surely not be easy but keep reminding us that yes we can still bring change. And that the 21st century will take a new turn because we, as nations, can cooperate and dialogue. I know that the USA can still represent Unity. And that the American dream is back in the hearts.

The Middle-East needs you, its morale has been shattered. Thousands of civilians have been killed, injured and displaced and we don’t know where to go from there anymore. Together, we can restore this land; we can negotiate a solution, and it is not a hopeless case.

Africa too is on the edge of breaking down, diseases have gotten out of control and poverty is striking hard; I ask you M. President to please not forget that beautiful continent the way many of your predecessors had unfortunately done.

And although the financial crisis is creating a lot of worry, we should remember that the West is not alone in it and that its widespread will create a bigger issue. This is our chance to reach out for each other, beyond religious distinctions or racial segregation.

Finally, I want to thank you, for being the incomparable dream Martin Luther King had once endorsed and died for.

R.

Beirut

I have never walked the streets of Beirut in day time. Neither have I sat in an ahwé (café) to order a mint tea there.
I don't know what it is like to breathe Beirut. I have no idea where Hamra street is. I don't know if Ashrafieh is in Beirut or not. I wouldn't know how to give you directions to go to Beirut or to come back from zwérib Beirut.
When I say "Beirut" I think of Majida El-Roumi's glorious song "Ya Beirut". And every time I listen to this song, my heart races because I feel like I have left my own child behind. I have left my Beirut behind without ever turning back. I simply woke up one day in Kuwait and decided that I would not think about this Capital. Why should I anyway? I had never lived there. I was never interested in visiting the tiny roads or the common dilapidated houses. And I know I am to blame, but I am not the only one. The truth of the matter is, we are nothing but little fragments of dust in this beautiful city and She does not need us anyway. Beirut was torn to pieces and rebuilt seven times. Never did She give up on herself. She stood up against all odds. She stood up in the face of people like you and me. She held her head high in front of all the wars, the hunger, the corruption and the violence.
And every time She did so, She looked a little brighter, She smiled and She forgave.

In this life, you come across people and events that somehow contribute in shaping you into becoming another person. A couple of weeks ago, my sister thought of me when she heard about a book that was newly released in Lebanon. She simply said to me "Randa I feel like you might like this book" And Randa did.
Beirut, I love you is a memoir written by Zena El Khalil, in which this author describes her long story of love and hate to Beirut. She actually thinks of Beirut as a woman that has a constant power on us, that we occasionally try to defy, but most of the time we naturally succumb to her Beauty.
I am half way through this book, and I already miss Beirut, although, like I said, I have never truly been there. Of course I have been to Virgin Megastore, to Downtown Beirut, to Gemayzé, to the Mathaf (the museum) and the Corniche. But, still, I haven’t been there either.
Yet, I do miss its joy. I miss its Muslim, Christian and Druze community living together. I miss the tea and the smiles, the old buses and the kids playing in the streets. I love its lebanese man'oushé and the Bonjus Orange (even though it is slightly bitter but very refreshing).

If I fail, I will try again, and again...

Thank you Dad for sending me this video... Very inspiring:

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

And I miss you

How do you make sure?

After some of my friends have read my previous post about Kiva...I have been addressed with some curious questions that I thought were interesting to share on the blog. So I chose to display part of my conversation with Jay Ar on MSN Messenger.

Jay Ar:
How do you insure that your money goes to the right person, and how do you insure the person is not going to buy drugs with it, even if he repays u back?

Pink:
That’s a good question ... there is a team of people that works locally. Kiva is based in California and the money it gets online is transferred to local MFIs (Micro Financial Institutions) that are located in the entrepreneurs' countries; They are the "Field Partners".
Those field partners are transparent and have regular credit checks, they gather info about the borrowers, their projects and enter all the data in their files and this is how any default in repayment is obvious. If a borrower does not repay, he is not sued of course, but he is asked to leave the program.
Borrowers are not irresponsible, they know that this money is lent to them…And I kept asking them in Bangladesh: why do they repay? Aren’t they tempted to just take the money and do something else with it? And the truth is, they know that this is their only chance to make it right. A poor Bengali woman who works in craft can be exploited by a manufacturer who would lend her some money in the exchange of buying her work for peanuts.

However, if she goes through a bank like the Grameen one or any other field partner, she can then expand her business, and her profits and once she repays her first loan she can ask for another (to improve her house) and again another (to send her children to university) and so on .. The Grameen borrowers are also encouraged to deposit money (GB is self efficient, it does not even require donations or external lending) We met women who have been with the Grameen Bank for over 17 and 20 years. They love it as it has truly improved their living conditions... we saw their stronger housing construction, the clean environment around their house, the fact that they ate more chicken for supper.. Great stuff.

Jay Ar:
When was the Grameen Bank founded?

Pink:
In 1983. So yes, it took years to develop great blue prints that allowed the system to be duplicated worldwide. Professor Yunus never let go!

When you have such a strong outline that shows how your system should be implemented, you make sure that you are giving it a stronger push and a global widespread.
And this is exactly what he has done. Kiva is one of Grameen Bank offsprings.

Jay Ar ended up telling me that I had convinced him...But what about You? Have I convinced you?

A fistful of dollars

Giving: money, services, ideas, time...are all ways of helping, but how about a solution that could boost someone else's business...and how about a very small amount...that will come back to you after its repayment is done?
And now how about lending money to someone across the globe?

Micro credit has been soaring for years and its outcomes are fascinating: millions of poor people around the world have been having access to financial aid and expanding their self-employment and improving their living standards.
Alleviating poverty should begin by keeping the target you are aiming to help independant from your direct support. Giving a loan is not an act of pity, it is not free and most of all it is working!

You are now sitting behind your computer and these questions are beginning to trigger your attention and you wonder if there were anything you could do from where you are to help a Bengali fisherman or an African farmer, perhaps?

A year ago, I've lent 25 euros to a woman called Carmen Ortega in Paraguay; she needed the money to expand her grocery shop there. Depending on the country's currency and on the projects of the borrowers, your loan will either be the only loan needed for this specific person or it would be part of other loans given from other people you have never met. The point is, a micro loan, is by definition a small amount of money and you won't be lending amounts higher than 25 dollars approximately.

How did I do that? On http://www.kiva.org/
Kiva is an organization that helps lenders choose entrepreneurs online, they later give a loan to one or to a few of them and then get repaid...it is as simple as that

When I gave my first loan to Carmen I was a bit sceptical, but I thought that if this system did not work, then at least I would have tried; I really wanted to get a feel of what it was like to give a micro credit, and I definitely wanted to see if it worked. The money I lent is now back in my kiva account, and I can either withdraw those 25 euros or re-lend them to another entrepreneur, how's that for a change?

There is a video that explains how a fistful of dollars makes its way from London to Cambodia through Kiva; you can check it out here:

http://vimeo.com/2769845?utm_source=jg&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=jg%5FKiva+Newsletter%3A+Coolest%2E+Video%2E+Ever%2E+%28227739263%29&utm_content=randa%5Felchemali%40hotmail%2Ecom

The part where the Cambodian borrower repays the local Micro Finance Institution is similar to what I have witnessed in Bangladesh with the Grameen Bank.

Take a look at the video, it is very well done and then you can even lend some money to change some lives! Enjoy this experience.

Brightness

It's snowing in Paris and despite the cold, the wind, and the slippery ground, I am feeling happy and playful. This is surely due to my LONG stay in Kuwait where we barely had winters.
I feel like a little girl again : )