A little bit of nostalgia and a lot of hope and love...

This sentimental piece by a Lebanese American demanded a post, here. How lovely to read about this fellow's return to Lebanon after three decades away, and to the same neighborhood in West Beirut that I stayed in last year. I have similar photos, too, of the scenes at the American University of Beirut.

All the best to the author, and for our beloved Lebanon.

http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2012/06/syracuse_beirut_lebanon.html

syracuse.com

From Syracuse to Beirut and back again

Published: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 5:58 AM
The Post-Standard By The Post-Standard 
Banyan tree in BeirutDavid A. ShomarThe banyan tree climbed by the author as a child.
By David A. Shomar
It's been 32 years since I saw Beirut. Thirty-two years! How absurd that would have seemed on my last visit in 1980 or in 1976 when I immigrated to the United States.
I could not imagine leaving the "Paris of the Middle East" for long. I planned to finish my engineering degree at Syracuse University and head back to work.
Yet, here I am in the town of my birth, arriving with the anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve, filled with memories, emotions and questions. Did it change much? Will I see friends of old? What will it feel like? How did 16 years of civil war change the jewel of my youth?
I landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport. I expected the same old routine, landing far from the terminal, the airplane's doors opening to a greeting of Beirut air, filled with the sweet smells of jasmine and the Mediterranean Sea. But it was a modern airport, and all I saw was a long sky bridge corridor, air-conditioned and nondescript. Is this a disappointing omen? Will nothing be the same?
I re-learned quickly that Beirut never disappoints. It is a city filled with life and passion. The old mixes with the new, like a tapestry across the ages.
You still hear a multitude of languages, sometimes all in the same sentence. Eavesdropping on conversations, I thought how my wife and sons laugh when I shift languages talking with my mother or friends back home in Syracuse.
This was a business trip and after checking in to our hotel, I excused myself. I wanted to go unaccompanied by conversation on my journey back in time. I aimed to wander on a walk, but with a destination in mind: American University of Beirut (AUB) and the neighborhood where I grew up right outside its gates.
I walked to Hamra Street, the main street of West Beirut. The street that seemed so large in my memory was tiny and crowded.
New, tall buildings seem to pop up on every inch of available land. If you want to see a real estate boom or bubble, depending on whether you're an optimist or pessimist, come to Beirut.
Even so, I found old landmarks as I walked the streets. There was the Strand movie theater and Red Shoe store.
The smells! The gyro sandwich shop mixed with the fresh fruits of the famous Lebanese mountains. They kept teasing memories to life, and I felt 20 again.
I strolled past the butcher shop next to my grandmother's house; now it is a copy place just like Kinko's. The restaurant Faisal, where AUB students gathered and discussed politics, is a McDonalds. The photography store where we got our pictures taken is a Krispy Kreme.
I came to see my old hometown only to find I am back in the States.
AUB College HallAmerican University of Beirut's College Hall. Photo by David A. Shomar.

I walked past our old church where my grandfather was laid to rest. The street was so narrow. I remembered how, with so little room to maneuver, I had my first car accident.
Then, there it was: The majestic campus of American University of Beirut. I went to the main gate where the sign still claimed its place in Lebanese history, “American University of Beirut 1866.”
AUB was a Presbyterian mission, a gift from my new country to my old country. As I entered the campus, College Hall was looking at me. This was the symbol that was bombed during the civil war as an attack on foreign presence. We, the alumni, and the rest of the true Lebanese and Arabs who owe so much to that university considered it an attack on knowledge. It was rebuilt to the exact replica of its majestic self with donations that exceeded the cost of rebuilding.
The campus remained an oasis in the city. There were the green benches overlooking the Mediterranean. The same green stadium field where soccer players mixed with runners. Then, 104 steps to lower campus, there was the banyan tree that my brother and I climbed when we were young, its branches descending as roots as if to say, here the future is built on our rich past.
I passed Bliss Hall, where my mother worked at the math department. It is now the computer science department; the past giving way to the future.
But the past is stubborn here in a city that dates to 2000 B.C. Right there, next to all the technology, was the same drinking fountain that quenched my thirst during hot summers. There was West Hall and its marble steps where we sat to watch girls pass by.
I headed out of campus toward California Street where I lived for my first 20 years. As I approached our old building, I knew that it had been demolished. I braced for disappointment only to be pleasantly surprised at the attractive architecture of the new high rise in its place.
I had been walking for three hours. To quench my thirst, I went into the small convenience store at the corner. This took me right back to my childhood. It had been the grocery where we bought our food.
I approached the register to pay and struck up a conversation with the clerk. I relayed my story and remembering, to my amazement, the old grocer's name, I asked if he knew of the man. To my astonishment he replied, "He was my father." He had passed away last year.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
"I was 12 years old when my mother sent me to get a jar of jam," I told the grocer's son. "When I asked your father to get me one, he became irate and started to scold me and threatened to call my mother." Being from Palestinian origin, the word for jam in our dialect coincided with the word for unfiltered cigarettes in Lebanese slang. He was watching out for me. Now that is a good man who cared about his community and not only his bottom line.
The son and I hugged, and I left feeling right back at home.
The next few days were filled with old friends, family and fantastic meals.
On Sunday we headed to church where my mother's cousin is the priest. His church is in the downtown area that was completely rebuilt after the war by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated while bringing Lebanon back to life.
The rebuilding of downtown Beirut is a story in itself. The utterly devastated buildings were rebuilt with care to reflect the city’s history and culture, using the Arab and French architecture that gave Beirut its style. In the process of excavating, ruins from as far back as the Hellenistic era were uncovered and turned into living museums. Business is business, but it takes vision and passion to save a culture at the expense of another dollar profit.
At Mass, I was moved by the piety of the assembled. Their belief was genuine without being arrogant. I noticed the piety of the Muslim Lebanese as well who attended prayers in the new Hariri mosque with its four minarets reaching to the sky. Not far away, the Lebanese Jewish temple has been rebuilt.
David ShomarDavid A. Shomar

Yes, there are Jewish Lebanese and they remain Lebanese. That is a side of Lebanon that should give us all hope.
Differences divide us in Lebanon, in the United States and elsewhere in the world, but this beautiful country can also show us the path toward coexistence. I long for the day when my fellow Lebanese will use their common piety to see how similar they are in their journey. If they could look past the petty to their common history and culture, they would see what they have achieved. This would be the greatest gift they can bestow on the human race.
I am lucky to have two hometowns to be proud of. From Syracuse to Beirut and back again. Lebanon perseveres, and my hope is that it can show the world the gift of coexistence and lead us to a more perfect union.
David A. Shomar is Regional Director of Middle East Operations at Saab Sensis. He lives in Manlius with his wife and two sons. He can be reached at dshomar@gmail.com.
© 2012 syracuse.com. All rights reserved.

"Global-Local" Cultural Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy

Robert Albro, a public policy anthropologist at American University, summons powerful evidence from communication theory and cultural and public diplomacy practice to suggest that cultural diplomacy (and therefore public diplomacy, at least as practiced by the U.S. government) is an inherently transnational project (http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog _detail/cultural_engagement_as_glocal_diplomacy/). What he argues has important implications for "western" and "secular" governments confronting the emerging "Islamist" governments.

Thanks to Len Baldyga (LJBJBB@aol.com, 5/15/12) and his PD list-serve for e-mailing the link to Albro's essay.

New Film Out Today!

From Nadine Labaki, the director of "Caramel," comes a recent film about Muslim and Christian Lebanese women trying to navigate the tragedies of sectarian politics in their lives (see http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/lebanon-lens/). It opens today, promising to be thoughtful and poignant, with a soulful political message of forgiveness.


High-Context, High-Powered Diplomacy


The piece below (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/can-western-women-tamebr-irans-n.html) offers refreshing insight on diplomatic negotiation. It mentions “relational diplomacy,” reminiscent of the “relational” framework of R.S. Zaharna (American University), so informed by cultural context. Thanks to all the authors and Al-Monitor.

Can Western Women Tame Iran’s Nuclear Negotiators?

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili pose for media before their meeting in Istanbul April 14, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Tolga Adanali)
  
  


By: Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin posted on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012
Photos of the high-stakes Iran nuclear talks held in Istanbul earlier this month tell their own story.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Summary:
Three high-powered women are the principal negotiators for the P5+1 team in the Iran nuclear talks, which creates a novel working environment for their Iranian counterparts, because women generally can’t get top government jobs in the Islamic Republic. This raises an intriguing question: Could the presence of women across the table from the Iranians change the dynamics in the nuclear talks?
Author: Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin
Published on: Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012
Categories: Originals  Iran  
In them, the top two negotiators — European Union foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili — stand smiling in front of a mural depicting Istanbul’s bridge over the Bosporous, wearing what almost looks like yin/yang versions of each other’s outfits.
Jalili is in the Iranian male uniform of black suit and white, collarless shirt; Ashton wears black pants and a cream blazer over a black top, with a white scarf discreetly wrapped around her neck and shoulders. In one photo, Jalili looks to be genuinely amused and grinning as Ashton, arms outstretched in a “ta-da” pose, moves toward him for a photo spray. What a contrast from a year ago, when a strained-looking Jalili stood, eyes averted and brow furrowed, at a clear distance from Ashton.
Unusual for such talks — and particularly novel for the Iranians — Ashton is but one of three high-powered women who are the principal interlocutors for what is known as the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
Ashton’s deputy is Germany’s political director, Helga Schmid, who is to meet with Jalili’s number two, Ali Bagheri, for preparatory talks before the next plenary round in Baghdad May 23. The US delegation is led by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.
The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran allowed more women to become educated and to enter professions denied them in Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia. An Iranian woman — Shirin Ebadi — was the first Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize and she and others have figured prominently in civil society and political protests. But a host of discriminatory measures regulate women’s behavior in Iran and they generally cannot rise to senior jobs in the government of the Islamic Republic.
Which leads to this question: Could the presence of women across the table from the Iranians change the dynamics in the nuclear talks?
While Western governments credit tough sanctions imposed over the past year for prodding Iran to adopt a more constructive posture, Ashton worked hard to set up an atmosphere more conducive to re-launching negotiations.
Measures included messaging Iran through multiple interlocutors on the need to demonstrate seriousness, to kicking off the meeting with a three-hour, rapport-building informal dinner with Jalili at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul the night before the talks.
Before the meeting, Ashton also reached out to policy makers from Latin America and Central Asia, where the Iranians “have personal relationships, to send the right message,” said a European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. The focus “was on how to create a special opportunity which is easier seized than rejected.”
Atmospherics also played a role. Another Western diplomat who participated in the negotiations told Al-Monitor that the women negotiators made a conscious decision “to dress conservatively” to avoid making the Iranians feel uncomfortable.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the EU's Cathy Ashton look strained at the stalemated Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul January 21, 2011.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the EU's Cathy Ashton look strained at the stalemated Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul January 21, 2011.
“We want to create an environment, an atmosphere that is more likely to” be conducive to compromise, the first Ashton aide explained.  
Farzaneh Milani, a professor of Persian literature and women’s studies at the University of Virginia, says the fact that the top Western negotiators are women could have a positive impact.
In her 2011 book, Words, Not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom of Movement, Milani describes two means of conflict resolution in Iranian culture.
The first is captured by the Persian proverb, “Kill a cat in the nuptial chamber.” It describes how a groom tames a notorious shrew on their wedding night by ordering a cat to bring him a glass of water and beheading the unfortunate animal when it fails to do so. The terrified bride, presented with the same request, immediately complies; the conflict is resolved through male dominance and violence.
The second model is that of Scheherazade. She volunteers to wed the murderous King Shahriyar, who, after his favorite wife betrays him, marries a series of virgins and kills them after the wedding night. As we all know, Scheherazade tames her husband using words, not swords, by spinning tales for 1001 nights.
“She took her stories there and her patience and her knowledge of negotiations,” Milani says. “She empathized with the king and tried to come to grips with the past of the man she was dealing with…The first story is an example of “how men resolve conflicts, the other is how women do it… I’m very hopeful that they can do something that men have not managed to do.”
Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, says while the Scheherazade saga is “not a good comparison,” the Iranian negotiators have come to respect their female interlocutors.
“They have by now concluded that Ashton is a very tough cookie and cannot be pushed around,” Esfandiari said. “They have probably adjusted themselves to dealing with her. Spending three hours having dinner with her for Jalili was a very big step. She is his counterpart and they have developed a very professional and cordial relationship.”
As for Sherman, Esfandiari said the Iranians had “done their homework and know she is an expert” who led US negotiations with North Korea in the Clinton administration.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the EU's Cathy Ashton look strained at the stalemated Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul January 21, 2011.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili offers a welcome to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as they pose for photos at nuclear talks in Istanbul April 14, 2012. Photo by REUTERS/Tolga Adanali
“What impressed them is the professionalism and businesslike attitude of these women,” Esfandiari said, conceding that “a little charm” doesn’t hurt either.
Sherman and Schmid moved into their jobs, which include overseeing day to day running of Iran nuclear negotiations, last year; Ashton has held the title of EU high representative for foreign policy since 2009.
Ashton “is trying to walk a tightrope,” the European diplomat told Al-Monitor. “She wants to show [the Iranians] in word and deed that these negotiations are a genuine opportunity to move forward. But [she is also trying] not to be hoodwinked and fooled by negotiators who have [in the past] strung out and wrapped negotiators in games of politics.”
 “Where Cathy can be strong is she has a very easy way with people,” the diplomat added. “She can bring difficult interlocutors to a place they feel more comfortable and could compromise.”
Though Ashton carries among her sometimes-bewildering titles that of “Baroness,” she doesn’t come from a privileged background. Rather, Ashton, 56, a former antinuclear activist and British Labour Party worker, got the title when she was named to the House of Lords by Tony Blair in 1999. In fact, she comes from a working class family of coal miners in northern England and was the first member of her family to attend university.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was an administrator and later treasurer and vice-chair of an anti-nuclear activist group, the UK campaign for nuclear disarmament.
That youthful activism is “obviously a good thing for her” in the eyes of Iran’s nuclear negotiators, the European diplomat said. “It shows her attitude on nuclear weapons from her youth — which has been used at points in the West as an argument against her — is an argument in her favor” in the view of the Iranians, who have frequently railed against perceived international “double standards” that permit other countries to have nuclear weapons but sanction Iran for its as-yet weaponless nuclear program.
A relatively junior European Commission trade official in Brussels, Ashton landed her present job as a compromise candidate and has “done reasonably well” in the confines of a 27-member bloc that works by consensus, an American diplomat who worked on Europe but asked not to be named told Al-Monitor. “She can’t be pushed into places where there isn’t consensus.” In the case of Iran, where there is, Ashton “is delivering,” he added.
While her lack of pretension and un-posh style have made her the occasional object of snobby derision in the British press, her modest roots may be another asset in dealing with the Iranians.
“She is totally working class,” the European diplomat said. “The criticism from the British press if anything is that she is from northern England, and speaks with a northern accent…Her manner and style are not that of a globe-trotting foreign minister. She has a subtle way of working. Her brand is relational diplomacy, whereas for the US, it’s power diplomacy.”
It is, of course, far too soon to say that these negotiations will succeed. Jalili refused to meet one-on-one with Sherman and in his final meeting with Ashton, he relentlessly pressed her to delay an EU embargo on Iranian oil due to go into effect in July, Al-Monitor discovered.
 “He tested her, [but] you can expect that,” the European diplomat said of Jalili, who holds the title of Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and the paramilitary Basij. “Of course, they test and prod and push. They are keen for sanctions relief. They would like to get it for absolutely nothing. And she headed them off.”
Laura Rozen reports on foreign policy from Washington, D.C. She has written for Yahoo! News, Politico and Foreign Policy. Follow her on Twitter @LRozen. Barbara Slavin is Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where she focuses on Iran. Follow her on Twitter @BarbaraSlavin1.


Lebanon takes a big step toward absentee voting for the diaspora

The following passage in the April 25th edition of Naharnet (2012) (http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/38077-cabinet-approves-mechanism-allowing-expats-to-vote-in-polls) reports:
The government approved on Wednesday a mechanism that would allow Lebanese expatriates to vote in the 2013 parliamentary elections and approved a reduction in the weight of the Arabic bread pack to appease bakeries.
The government is scheduled to hold a meeting at the Grand Serail next Wednesday to discuss the details of the mechanism and ways to implement it, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session held at the presidential palace.
Another session will be held at Baabda palace next Thursday, he said.

As the snipet implies, there are lots of political and logistical obstacles to implementing this step. Stay tuned.

A Lebanese Daily sums up the President's visit to Australia

The following piece (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/ArticlePrint.aspx?id=170965&mode=print)
is about President Sleiman's remarks after returning from Australia recently. Sleiman is the principal Christian leader in the national government, along with the Shi'i Speaker of Parliament and Sunni Prime Minister. I have highlighted places where Sleiman lays out key planks in his platform for relations with the diaspora and the Australian government.



Sleiman back from Australia, calls for boosting ties with expats
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman praised Saturday the Lebanese diaspora in Australia and called for boosting ties with them as well as improving consular services in that country and other parts of the world.

“The Lebanese diaspora in Australia forms an important and unique Lebanese presence and contact with these Lebanese at all levels is important and beneficial,” Sleiman, who arrived in Beirut Saturday, told the National News Agency in an interview.

During his week-long official visit, the president made stops in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, where he met with top officials as well as various segments of the Lebanese diaspora in Australia.

Sleiman said his visit would have a positive impact on encouraging expatriates in Australia to form stronger ties with their home country.

“The fruits of this visit will emerge rapidly, particularly concerning the return of expatriates to Lebanon,” he said.

“This return will not be a physical one as I have not called on them to leave Australia for good ... but [the return] through their links to Lebanon in order to preserve their lands, houses and so that they can invest, put forward political opinions, attend national and religious occasions and the like. This is what I mean by a return and this is what I urged them,” he added.

Sleiman praised the Lebanese diaspora in Australia, citing their diverse participation in the country, and said continued contact with Lebanese in the country was required.

“The Lebanese have a wide influence in Australia. The sons and daughters of the diaspora hold prominent positions at the political, economic and social levels and what is required is that we specify our needs to them and that contacts be intensified according to productive mechanisms,” he said.

“I felt they [the Lebanese diaspora] demonstrated all the readiness to be branches of the mother nation and what is required of us is to secure continuous communication with them,” Sleiman told the agency.

Sleiman said Lebanese consulates and embassies throughout the world needed to be supported.
“The embassies and consulates in diaspora countries, particularly in Australia, need to be supported in order to secure the needs of expatriates for routine matters that relate to personal status issues. This diaspora ... should not be neglected,” he said.

Noting that Australia would soon be joining the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member, Sleiman said his visit was also aimed at conveying Lebanon’s stance regarding regional issues such as Palestine, particularly the condition of Christians in Jerusalem, the Middle East crisis and the “Arab Spring.”

Sleiman said he conveyed to officials that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could “not come at the expense of Lebanon.”   END OF ARTICLE


The passage in which Sleiman discusses the Lebanese Australians' transnational political role -- 

'This return will not be a physical one as I have not called on them to leave Australia for good ... but [the return] through their links to Lebanon in order to preserve their lands, houses and so that they can invest, put forward political opinions, attend national and religious occasions and the like. This is what I mean by a return and this is what I urged them,” he added.'

-- is vivid sensemaking about diaspora relations with the homeland underpinned by the context in the rest of the article where Sleiman describes how the diaspora participates in Australian civic life. Sleiman's platform of more attentive relations with the diaspora is ambitious and controversial among Australian officials (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012 /Apr-23/171064-sleiman-ruffles-feathers-inaustralia.ashx#axzz1srem6E2y).


Sleiman ruffles feathers in Australia
By Hasan Lakkis
BEIRUT: Australian authorities are irritated by President Michel Sleiman’s call for Australians of Lebanese origins to get engaged in Lebanese politics, diplomatic sources told The Daily Star Sunday.

The sources said that during Sleiman’s visit to Australia last week, Australian authorities informed the president’s delegation of their annoyance with Sleiman’s attempts to involve Australians of Lebanese origins in political affairs which bear no relation to Australia.

According to the sources, Australia believes that any Australian, whether of Middle Eastern or other origins, should have no “national” political affiliation other than with Australia as long as he or she has become an Australian citizen.

During his visit, Sleiman visited with members of the Lebanese community and stressed what he considered their right to take part in 2013 parliamentary elections, promising that polls would be held on time and that their participation would be allowed.

He encouraged expatriates to register their names in embassies and consulates. Although Lebanese expatriates were granted the right to vote in parliamentary elections in 2008, some officials are worried that the mechanism for out-of-country voting won’t be ready in time.

Sleiman said that he did not expect a high expatriate turnout for the 2013 elections, but didn’t consider this important as he voiced confidence that such turnout would gradually increase over the years.

The president said that Lebanon’s concern for its expatriates would encourage them to care for their homeland in return.

Which election law will be adopted in next year’s general election is currently the subject of heated debate, with Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri supporting proportional representation while Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt openly opposes it.

The sources called it unacceptable that a guest in Australia, namely Sleiman, would ask Australians of Lebanese origin to interfere in the politics of the country from where the guest originated.

In a number of speeches during his visit, Sleiman tackled Lebanese politics, stressing that political assassinations would not hit the country again.

“We have respectful security forces that are fully ready, after a long period of neglect, to uncover crimes quickly and within a few days. This is reassuring because it prevents assassinations. There will be no return to assassinations in Lebanon,” he said.

His assurances came in light of fears expressed by some March 14 officials about a return to political assassinations after Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea survived an attempt on his life on April 4.

The president also voiced concerns over the yearlong crisis in neighboring Syria, which he said is linked to Lebanon by “strong family, geographical and historical ties.”

“I hope that [Syria] will transition to democracy peacefully and smoothly and that the Syrians will talk to each other without the intervention of anyone to find the best way to apply democracy.”

The sources explained that Mexican authorities conveyed a similar message to Lebanon following Sleiman’s visit to Mexico earlier this year. END OF ARTICLE

Lebanon's political and financial situation have of late been precarious, due to the civil strife in Syria and general pressure of the civil society uprisings around the region, and lack of a Palestinian homeland. The Lebanese economy is turning down, although there is no increase in instability there,  and need for direct foreign investment increasingly strong. Remittances and business investment by the diaspora is needed more than ever. Also, Lebanese around the world have wanted to be able to vote from abroad, but the legislation and infrastructure to establish a worldwide voting process are not yet in place. Pressure grows to complete the legislative and technological procedures before the 2013 parliamentary elections.




The Lebanese President Works on Two Relationships In Australia




Politics - Sleiman wraps up official visit to Australia

Politics - Sleiman wraps up official visit to Australia

Fri 20/04/2012 16:56
حفظ اطبع هذا الموضوع | اغلق هذه النافذة

NNA - 20/4/2012 - President of the Republic, Michel Sleiman, assured Friday that Lebanon currently owns a decent security system capable of unveiling crimes and cutting the way to assassinations' reoccurrence.
"Political assassinations in Lebanon are gone for no return," the President announced, assuring that security apparatuses would always be alert and ready to fight crimes, after long years of negligence.
Sleiman who concluded his official visit to Australia confirmed that the Lebanese Army proved, by way of addressing national affairs that "Lebanon is united and always will be."
"I am aware of your concern over the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East, yet I reassure you that latest developments are nothing but the regular outcome of public freedoms and technological progress towards democracy," the President avowed.
"We are also concerned over the situation of our neighbor and brother state, Syria, to which we are historically and geographically tied," he admitted, hoping that this country would manage, somehow, to reach democracy by peaceful means, on top of which inter-Syrian dialogue.
He accordingly confirmed that Lebanon was not a scene for settling accounts or for sabotaging any country whatsoever.
Skimming through the Taef agreement issue, Sleiman told Lebanese Diaspora members that the role it played in ending the war and establishing stability was of major importance; however, it [Taef] has to be reformulated and renewed for the best of the country.
Separately, Sleiman tackled the health conditions of the 26 year old woman, Pamela Abou Sejaan, who suffers from leukemia and needs marrow bone transplant. The President called on all Lebanese residents and expatriates to look for potential donors which could possibly have the same blood type.
Sleiman promised the young woman's family to be in full charge of this humanitarian situation, until a donor was found.
After his meeting with the Lebanese Diaspora, Sleiman and the accompanying delegation left Melbourne airport, wrapping up their six-day official visit to Australia.
D.K. 

Lebanon's President Conducts Public Diplomacy with the Lebanese in Australia ... and the Rest of Country


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Apr-14/170244-sleiman-visits-australia-to-tackle-diaspora-concerns-bilateral-ties.ashx#axzz1sDqc1W5P


The Daily Star


Sleiman visits Australia to tackle diaspora concerns, bilateral ties
By Antoine Ghattas Saab
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman leaves Saturday for a one-week official visit to Australia, where his agenda will range from the concerns of the Lebanese diaspora to bilateral ties and fighting terror.
Sleiman will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moukbel, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, with the delegation scheduled to stop in the capital Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
Baabda Palace sources said the visit will focus on sounding out the Lebanese community on their participation in next year’s scheduled parliamentary elections after officials in Beirut promised to ensure that expatriate voting abroad will take place for the first time.
However, the sources said, Mansour has informed the president that enthusiasm in the diaspora appears to be lacking for now, even though his ministry has completed the necessary logistical arrangements for the process.
The sources said that while an estimated 11,000 Lebanese residing in Australia voted in the 2009 polls by flying to their country of origin, fewer than 10,000 people, according to Mansour, have registered at the Lebanese Embassy in Australia for the right to vote while remaining at home.
Sleiman’s trip is expected to focus on several concrete areas of improving bilateral relations.
One is cultural and educational exchange, as Lebanese officials hope to benefit from Australia’s multi-ethnic experience and establish stronger ties between universities in the two countries, which would lead to cultural and educational exchange programs and projects.
The Lebanese delegation is also expected to discuss the two countries’ trade balance, which is in favor of Australia, and seek Australian help for Lebanon’s agricultural industries.
As for the strictly political component of the visit, Sleiman and his accompanying delegation will hold talks on Middle East-related issues. The sources said that although Canberra is a staunch ally of Israel, it does support a two-state solution in Palestine.
The Australians are also concerned about combating terrorism, the sources continued, and Sleiman is expected to raise the issue of a number of Lebanese who spent time in Pakistan before heading to Australia, and whether they constituted a danger by embracing extremist ideologies.
The sources said that Sleiman’s visit will be important in terms of raising the morale of the Lebanese community abroad, by convincing members of the diaspora to visit and engage with their mother country.
The sources said rectifying the diaspora voting issue, and promoting interaction in various fields, will play a huge role in determining the visit’s success.

Copyrights 2011, The Daily Star - All Rights Reserved
14/04/2012

Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Happy Eating!

Almost a year since I went to Lebanon, I am feeling nostalgic. My first full day in Beirut was Easter Sunday, in a year when the Orthodox and Western Easters fell on the same day. As I toured the city that day, I got a glimpse of the Beirut Synagogue, but was not allowed to get close or photograph it, because it is near some secure sites.

Anyway, the history of the Lebanese Jews has been on my mind since before then. And this week, during Passover and Easter, I am thinking of them, again. And what do I find but a Lebanese Jewish cook in Brooklyn. I will try to visit her kitchen, someday.

Here is a blurb about her from "The New York Times."

February 15, 2012
DINER'S JOURNAL; Food Stuff: Kosher Foods, for Cooks And Noncooks

By FLORENCE FABRICANT
A bountiful array of glatt kosher prepared foods, traditional and innovative, is the star attraction at Prime Butcher Baker, an elaborate new market created by Joey Allaham, who owns the Manhattan kosher restaurants Prime Grill, Prime KO and Solo. But there is also plenty for those who prefer to do the cooking.

At the entrance of the Upper East Side shop, which opens on Wednesday, is a temperature- and humidity-controlled glass case for aging steaks like rib-eyes. Beyond are a bakery and counters for fish, groceries and meat, including kosher wagyu and organic beef. Lining one wall are freezers filled with Lebanese stuffed vine leaves, flatbreads, kibbe and meat pies, along with soups, quiches, knishes, kugel, ready-to-cook sliders with various seasonings, and scores of other dishes.

Souad Nigri, a Lebanese caterer, prepares the Middle Eastern specialties; her stuffed onions and other vegetables are not to be missed. All the baked goods, including cookies, pastries, tarts and cakes, are pareve. The cheesecakes are made with tofu.

Prime Butcher Baker, 1572 Second Avenue (81st Street); (212) 616-1502 . Open Sunday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

PHOTOS (PHOTOGRAPHS BY LIBRADO ROMERO/THE NEW YORK TIMES)

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And, so as to reflect properly my eclectic upbringing, here is a short video about Beiruti Christian celebrations of Easter. It is produced by Press TV, the Iranian government's media outlet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3AGtZN-DiM

A Review of Anthony Shadid's New Book

I heard an interview on National Public Radio a week or so ago. It was with Mr. Shadid's widow; the subject was his new book, just published. "House of Stone" is about rebuilding his ancestral home in the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun. Here's a review: http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-04/books/31118636_1_family-moves-stone-middle-east. It makes me think about the infinite ways we can think about what "home" is.

Sad News of the Past Couple of Weeks

Anthony Shadid, two-time Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who specialized in the Middle East, died of an asthma attack leaving Syria for Turkey last week. A Lebanese American from Oklahoma City, Shadid learned Arabic the hard way, in school as a young adult. There have been almost poetic tributes to him throughout the media because his journalism was uniquely insightful, informed as it was by local people, through countless conversations and intrepid reporting from house to house, cafe to cafe, group to group, and battlefront to battlefront. Here is one remembrance by James Zogby. It emphasizes how Shadid privileged the perspectives and experiences of those who live with policy and politics imposed on them, and how they perish or manage to survive. Shadid died less than two weeks ago; already I notice the absence of his in-depth stories in the mainstream media. Here's Zogby's essay, at: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=OtherOpinions&article=5329&page_order=1&act=print


Anthony Shadid: A man for others
By James Zogby
Friday, 02.24.2012, 04:33am

"New York Times' reporter, Anthony Shadid died unexpectedly this week. With his passing we lose America's finest reporter on Arab World issues — at the time when Americans need his work more than ever. The importance of Shadid’s writings to Americans and Arabs cannot be overstated. His reporting was unique, reflecting both his understanding of the history and culture of the Arab World and his concern for its people.


[Photo description: ] New York Times journalist Anthony Shadid, middle right, interviews residents of Embaba, a lower class Cairo neighborhood, during the Egyptian revolution.

"Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Anthony appreciated the fact that the story of the region didn't begin the day he got the assignment. His reporting reflected a historian's appreciation for context. He understood contemporary Arab realities, because he knew from whence they had come. And for this reason, he also had a better sense of where Arabs were going than most of the pundits and commentators who fill our airwaves with their endless and often wrongheaded chatter.

More than that, Anthony's work was also distinguished by a poet's sense of texture. He wrote not with an ego, but with an eye for detail and an ear for the voices he heard. Where others "embedded" with troops, he walked the streets of war torn Arab countries "embedded" with people, bringing to life, for the rest of us, what ordinary Iraqis, Lebanese, Syrians, etc. were seeing and saying and feeling. He cared about the Arab people. To him, they were not faceless objects or the "other side" of a conflict. They were real people with hopes and fears, with stories worth telling.

What he brought home to his readers were the voices of his subjects and their story as it was unfolding through their eyes. When you read a Shadid dispatch from Baghdad, Beirut, or Tripoli, it was as if you had been transported to the place. The sounds and smells of the streets where he walked, the warmth of the homes he visited, and the emotions, and concerns of the people he met — all came through in full force.

He often put himself in harm's way to bring us stories we needed to read. He was shot and wounded by the Israeli military in 2003, covering West Bank violence; he was at risk in Iraq, staying with families whose lives were impacted by war and terror; he was kidnapped, held hostage and abused in Libya, telling the story of the early stages of that country's revolt; and he died of a freakish asthma attack while researching a story inside Syria that no one else could or would cover in quite the same way. The last time I spoke with Anthony was after his release from captivity in Libya. He didn't dwell on what had happened to him, he was on to the next story to tell. In a way, he was relentless in his passion for his craft. It was more than a job, it was his mission.

For his work, he won two Pulitzer prizes. But for the contributions he has made to our understanding of a region we need to know, but do not, we owe Anthony Shadid so much more.

If not for him, the voices of everyday folks across the Arab World would not have had an outlet to be heard. We would not have known of the dilemma faced by ordinary Iraqis as they struggled with the life and death issues of war and occupation; we would not have seen up close the impact of Israel's horrific bombing of Lebanon; or experienced the Arab Spring, with all its exultation and frustration from Egypt to Syria.

The Arab American Institute recognized Shadid's work in 2007. Following a moving tribute by Hollywood actor, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony took the stage. What impressed everyone most was his quietness. He was a gentle and humble soul. His greatness lay not his projection of "self,” but in his ability to serve as a conduit for others — he told us their stories, not his own; he brought them to life and made us all aware of their reality.

Anthony Shadid was a man for others, for Arabs and Americans. He was our bridge to a world we impact so profoundly, but whose reality we do not know. And now he is gone. I grieve for him and for his family. And I grieve, as well, for the countless souls in a troubled region who told their stories to Anthony so he could relay them to the rest of us. He was a man for others. This was his greatness and this is why we must lament his passing."

Public Spaces in Beirut

I have recently read a couple of articles on usage of public space in Beirut. One I read for pleasure (thanks, Dad), and the other for work-related research.

Rachel Doyle (2/17/12) wrote the first one: "In Beirut, the Zaitunay Bay Promenade Opens" (http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/travel/in-beirut-the-zaitunay-bay-promenade-opens.html?emc=eta1). Reading it reminded me of my first (and sadly, still only) visit to Beirut. I spent as much time as possible during my 19 days there walking along the Med. (As a Jersey girl and sailor, I am most at home on or along the water. It turns out that I was "down the shore" in Beirut!) For an idea of the location of the Beirut Marina, where the Zaitunay Bay Promenade is, look at https://foursquare.com/v/zaitunay-bay/4df7630ab3adec5a0b9a9b84 . When I thanked Dad for forwarding the link to the NYT article, I ragged a bit about the latest of Beirut's post-civil war construction efforts as being elitist. Although an upper middle income country (http://data.worldbank.org/country/lebanon), Lebanon's ratio of government debt to gross domestic product is one of the world's highest, at around 130%, because of the weak central government (see, e.g., http://www.albawaba.com/gross-public-debt-sees-marginal-drop-2011-388901). This means there is less public financing available for free and low-cost services, like spaces for civic and cultural events, parks, and playgrounds. Civil society organizations and the private sector help keep the country going, and the private sector needs to make a profit to do so.

For a Lebanese perspective on Zaitunay Bay, I went to the Beirut-based Daily Star (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Dec-21/157459-zaitunay-bay-brings-back-old-glory-days-at-beirut-marina.ashx#axzz1mwEoDZme). There is reference to the need for public play spaces for kids and more fast-food and less expensive dining venues, but I don't think the average Lebanese could muster $35 for a modestly priced French dinner. I hope that the public and private sectors of Lebanon will continue the (slow but hopefully steady) trend exemplified by the developers of Zaitunay Bay Promenade to open up safe public spaces accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. In my brief internet search, I didn't see any signs of one, but I hope there is a no-fee playground/space for kids in the new area. If not, is there a Lebanese performer who could do a benefit on Zaitunay Bay Promenade to raise money for one? You know, someone with rock-star quality and a big heart...like Bruce Springsteen ;-)

The second piece is "Spatial Transformations in the Lebanese 'Independence Intifada'" by Sune Haugbolle [The Arab Studies Journal, vol. 14, no. 2 (Fall 2006), pp. 60-77.] (This intifadah, or uprising, is known in the West as the Cedar Revolution.) The author shows how the redeveloped downtown area of Beirut was transformed from February through April of 2005 into a vibrant area for free political expression. The activity was precipitated by the demand for withdrawal of Syrian government troops from Lebanon as well as the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (also the principal architect of the downtown development project). Although non-profit civil society organizations (from individual Lebanese, political parties, to scholars to non-profit media organizations) were the main participants/organizers, as with Zaitunay Bay/Beirut Marina, the private sector was involved.

The author provides examples of a cathartic spirit of national unity of over one million Lebanese who demonstrated in two rallies in March. The two rallies were organized by different political groups, the first on March 8th by Hizbullah, the Party of God (which is "pro-Syrian") and the second on March 14th, by the opposition (or mu'arada), which called for the Syrian withdrawal. The author writes that the opposition leaders tried to keep their followers from using harsh or violent rhetoric; unfortunately, the situation devolved over the course of the three-month uprising. It was a brief interval of national unity, though, with people of all backgrounds milling around, much speechifying, a wall for posting whatever graffiti or banners one wanted, a huge banner with a unity slogan in front of the National Museum, and an opening up of once strictly single-sect neighborhoods to mixed sectarian activity.

At the end of Independence Intifadah, Syrian troops retreated from Lebanon, but the spirit of "one Lebanon," to the extent that there was one, dissolved and is yet to be revived in as large a mobilization as one-quarter of the country's population. However, there are small pockets of unity-building that I have observed in civil society and government. I just try to remain hopeful that Lebanon will keep moving along, despite the current Syrian strife surrounding the country, other governments and outside groups with Lebanon-related political projects, internal conflict between the March 8th and 14th coalitions, the Palestinian refugee situation within Lebanon, and Israeli-Palestinian-Lebanese tension along the southern border.

Phew! Time for a walk in the park.

Socializing at work for the good of your organization?

In yesterday's New York Times is an article that caught my eye: "Building a Bridge to a Lonely Colleague, by Phyllis Korkki(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/jobs/building-a-bridge-to-a-lonely-colleague-workstation.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25&pagewanted=print). Social scientists around the world are investigating any links between loneliness, collaboration, and productivity in the workplace. It makes sense that there would be. This may also have implications for integrating ethnic diasporas and other minorities.

Cultural diplomacy--what's not to love?

Though the Australian government and the Indonesian people have their differences, one diplomat from down under has figured out how to connect with at least some music lovers in the country with the largest Muslim population. So far, the arrangement sounds like it's working out: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9007155/Australian-diplomat-becomes-Indonesian-singing-sensation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WhatsNewInPd+%28What%27s+New+in+Public+Diplomacy%29#When:19:55:53Z

Kahlil Gibran's Birthday

Thank you to Garrison Keillor http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ for reminding listeners that today is the birthday of artist-poet Kahlil Gibran. Someday I would like to visit the neighbor in Boston's South End where he lived with his mother after immigrating at age 8 from Bsharri in Lebanon. Gibran died in 1931, famous for many works. See, e.g., http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/gibrn.htm

Gender Inequality in the Foreign Policy Community

I associate this thoughtful piece -- retrieved today from http://www.printfriendly.com/print/v2?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailymuse.com%2Fcareer%2Fforeigners-to-foreign-policy-not-a-womans-world-yet%2F -- with the panel I saw yesterday on Women's Political Participation [or lack thereof]in Lebanon (http://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/2011/11/10/womens-political-participation-challenges-opportunities)as well as with my experience at the U.S. Information Agency. The piece cites Scandinavian countries as examples of enlightened policy and practice. We're back to culture, I see. To deliberate this problem is to challenge cultural norms. Culture is slow to change, and only if we talk about it.