News updates

In its issue of August 31, An Nahar spotlighted Rana Karazi, from Tarik Jdideh, Beirut, who launched A women-only motorbike taxi three months ago after she lost her job due to the economic downfall. Speaking to the newspaper, Rana, 29, a mother of a young man and woman, said she has been driving a motorcycle for three years for it is faster, easier in traffic jams and cheaper. But she never thought of making it a private business. What sparked the idea, Karazi went on to say, is her friend who said she will pay her to drive her child to and from where he needed to be. “When I completed the assignment, I told myself why don’t I make a private business out of it,” Rana boasted. When asked about the difficulties she is facing in her transport service, Rana said there is nothing worth mentioning. Everyone got used to seeing me driving the motorbike before it became my source of livelihood, Rana said. I trained my daughter how to drive a motorbike and she became my partner, and I had to hire a third woman driver to meet demand, she explained. Rana, who charges LBP 3,000 for every trip within the capital, Beirut, said she hoped to expand her business with the growing demands that exceed all expectations. (An Nahar, August 31, 2020)
 
 

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on August 28 calling on UN member states to increase the number of women in peacekeeping operations as a step to enhance the credibility and efficiency of the missions. Noting, that above draft resolution submitted by Indonesia, a non-permanent member of the Council, called on member states, the UN Secretariat as well as regional organizations, to step up joint action to promote the full, equal and meaningful participation of civilian and uniformed women in peace processes. The resolution stated that efforts should ensure the participation of women at all levels and in all positions, including senior leadership positions. It demanded UN member states to develop strategies and measures to increase the deployment of uniformed women in peacekeeping operations through training and media campaigns, and addressing barriers in their recruitment. It stressed the indispensable role of women in enhancing the overall performance and effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. (An Nahar, August 29, 2020)
 

Last Monday, Lebanese novelist, Dima Abdallah, won the “Anvuay Bar La Poste” award for her first novel “Moves Earp”, which reports events during the civil war through a wonderful story between a young girl and her father. The novel, published by “Sabine Weisspiser” is out in bookshops since Thursday. Recalling, that Dima Abdallah, a late antiquity archeologist, is the daughter of poet Mohamad Abdallah and writer Huda Barakat. She will receive the prize amounting to Euros 2500 on September 8 during a ceremony at Musee de la Poste (La Post Museum), according to An Nahar. The main events of the book start in 1983 during the peak of the Civil War which tore Lebanon apart. While bombs ruthlessly and indiscriminately shelled the capital Beirut, the young writer stayed brave as she was sure she will be safe in the presence of her “powerful” father, the intellectual guy who has never taken sides with any party and who passed on to her his love for plants. (An Nahar, August 27, 2020)
 

In an individual initiative, a group of girls (8-11 years) from the “Zaaroor Hills” created beaded bracelets and necklaces and sold them to the chalet complex residents to help in the relief works from the devastating blast which hit Beirut. This humanitarian and compassionate initiative, according to the girls, comes from their desire to give. It is a shared act of kindness and solidarity towards the Civil Defense martyrs and in recognition of their prized efforts to save the lives of the Lebanese. The proceeds (LBP 1,650,000) reportedly went to the Brumana Civil Defense unit. (Al Diyar, August 18, 2020)
 

Nawfal Clinics yesterday organized a direct interactive session via Instagram about the psychological impact of the massive explosion which shook Beirut on August 4 and ways to cope with it, including psychotherapy. Among the contributors to the virtual session were, Michael Khoury (licensed marriage and family therapist) and Luma Hamdoun (therapist for children and adolescents). According to Nawfal Clinics, the deadly blast has caused substantial psychological effects on residents which could negatively impact their daily lives. The tragic event has also caused a collective trauma that affected entire communities, families and children across Lebanon. (Al Akhbar, August 15, 2020)
 

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential pick in the November 2020 elections. This makes the California senator the first Black American woman to run on a major political party’s presidential post in the history of the United States, noting, that Kamala, 55, has run against Biden for the Democratic nomination. In a brief synopsis, Harris, was born in Oakland, California, to immigrant parents from Jamaica and India. She joined law school influenced by the civil movement protests in which her father was a prominent activist and graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1989. She previously held the position of district attorney in the State of California and was involved in a sweeping police reform campaign amid anti-racism demonstrations across the US. Commenting on her nomination, Biden described Harris as a fearless fighter and one of the finest public servants in the country. The US President Donald Trump on his part, told Fox Sports Radio that some men may feel “offended” by Biden’s bold decision to choose a woman for vice president. And according to BBC, Biden has been inspired in the past few months by increasing demands to pick a woman of color for the position, especially in the wake of the social unrest caused by racial injustices and police brutality against African Americans. (Al Diyar, August 13, 2020)