News updates

Within the framework of supporting the industrial sector and promoting its products, a meeting was held yesterday between the Chair and CEO of IDAL (Investment Development Authority of Lebanon), Nabil Itani, and a delegation of the Syndicate of Food Industrialist headed by its President Mounir Bsat.  Discussions during the meeting revolved around the development of this sector and ways of supporting local and international fairs and exhibitions in which the Syndicate is seeking to participate.
Itani noted during the meeting that IDAL is working on several fronts to develop the food industry sector in Lebanon with the aim of strengthening its position and competitiveness both internally and internationally. He also pointed out to the fact that food products are amongst the top level exports and that the related industry is creating many employment opportunities. Itani emphasized the importance of developing the efforts to promote these products globally as well as increasing their export and penetration of international markets.  Bsat noted for his part the important role that the state should play in supporting this sector whilst stressing the role which IDAL plays as an umbrella for participating in exhibitions and various international events.  The Syndicate is for its part is exerting considerable efforts working to improve products quality as well as opening new external markets.  Bsat called for developing an annual calendar of exhibitions so as to attract a higher number of Lebanese exhibitors.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 17 January 2014

Pepsico and Ajialouna launched the ninth edition of the Tomou7h university scholarship programme for 2014-2015 yesterday under the auspices of the Minister of Higher Education represented by his advisor Mr. Ghassan Chakrun. The Tomou7h programme provides university scholarships to deserving students with ages between 18 to 22 years who face economic challenges in pursuing their educational degrees. The amount of each individual scholarship varies between USD 500 and USD 3000 which are directly channeled to cover university tuition fees.  In its ninth edition, the programme has allocated a 10% quota to students with special needs.  Applications can be submitted until 30 June 2014 and the selected recipients of scholarships will be notified in August 2014.
Source: Al-Nahar 17 January 2014

Labora association is preparing to kick off its training workshops in February 2014 at its headquarters in Antelias.  The aim of this activity is to prepare young [Christian] candidates to pass the civil service entrance exam and secure a job in the public sector.  The training include a combination of theoretical and practical sessions provided by a selected faculty of trainers and will target a cohort of 8000 young women and men according to the president of the association, Father Toni Khadra who noted that a number of educational institutions proposed to offer their training rooms to absorb the number of trainees should it exceed the planned level.
Father Khadra also noted that the fundraising campaign launched last month via SMS messaging through both Alfa and MTC and for the purpose of raising 200.000 USD for covering part of the cost of this programme does not seem to have attracted much responsiveness based on the records of both companies.  According to Father Khadra, this is due to the timing of the fundraising campaign which coincided with the end of the year holidays.  He called for renewed efforts to spread this fundraising campaign in all areas and neighborhoods and via social media tools as well as through personal contacts with friends and families as well as colleagues and so as to “increase solidarity amongst Christian family more than ever”.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 14 January 2014
Please refer to the following link to review the previous news about Labora’s campaign that was published on WEEPortal on 27/12/2013: Labora launches a fundraising campaign to to secure employment for “Christian youth” only!

The Pioneer women in Minyeh and the North signed an agreement yesterday with the “Ma3akom” association paving the way for initiating an English teaching programme targeting 30 women from B7hneen-Minyeh, with the financial support of the Cultural Division of the American Embassy in Beirut.
The training courses will start in mid January and will extend over six consecutive months and will be run at the premises of the Fekr wa Hayat association in Minyeh.  Students’ enrolment will be free of charge and women will receive, upon the completion of the training, a certificate of enrolment co-signed by the Cultural Division of the American Embassy in Beirut and Ma3akom association.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 16 Janyary 2014

Al Akhbar newspaper published today a report about the economic realities of the youth population living in frontline villages of South Lebanon and their hardships due to the degradation of the economic situation in this particular area after more than 13 years of liberation from Israeli occupation.  The report describes the attempts of young people to challenge unemployment through opening small shops despite local competitions and galloping rents which both limit their earnings.  The report relays the dreams of young people which are to either immigrate or to find a formal job. The latter dream is highly unlikely to become reality given that the region has no major factory or any concrete production opportunity.  In fact, even construction activity has slowed down in the region while contractors of small projects are now resorting to cheaper foreign labor.  Thus, the economy of this particular area of the country remains highly dependent on income from tobacco harvesting and remuneration of young people enlisted in political parties whilst remittances have dropped as the conditions of emigrants in the host countries have deteriorated and the chances for migrating have also dimmed.

According to the report, 75 frontline villages have no major factories or industries.  The number of small workshops has also declined leaving thus far only a dairy factory in Aytaroun.  Shoe factories in Bint Jbeil have decreased from 30 in the nineties to only three small outfits which hardly employ 7 individuals.  Pottery and ceramics factories in Rashayya al Fakhar have dwindled from 50 to two workshops.  Traditional trades have also disappeared.  As to the agriculture sector, the total number of farmers has continued to decrease leading to a neglect of formerly planted areas except for tobacco farming still widespread in Aita Shaab, Rmeish, Aytaroun, Touline and Suwaneh.

The report also notes that this new and difficult socio-economic reality is accompanied by an increase in the cost of real estate and construction material. This situation is seriously inhibiting the ability of young people still residing in the area and who make up 17% of the total residing population from owning or renting houses.

Finally, the report concludes by highlighting the recent efforts of the Federation of Municipalities in Jabal Amel in creating new employment opportunities.  The president of the Federation, Ali Zein, notes that the border area is blessed with relatively large areas of land which are suited for agriculture and for which the Federation is seeking to develop a comprehensive plan in order to create new work opportunities, The plan will aim to provide agricultural extension services to farmers and to organize training in poultry production, beekeeping and to create new agricultural pilot projects that can be adopted by farmers.
Source: Al-Akhbar 15 January 2014

82% of migrant women workers (MWW) in Lebanon are bound into forced labor whereas 62% of them work between 16 to 20 hours a day and 53% work for more than 17 hours a day.  54% have their salaries confiscated for one or more months and 90% are not allowed to travel on their won.  In addition some 91% are not allowed to have a week-end break and 50% are locked at home.  According to the same source, 10% of MWW are subjected to sexual violence through intimate touching reaching to rape.  The study undertaken by Kafa association also revealed that intermediaries and employment offices in the home countries often abuse the vulnerable situation of workers from Nepal and Bangladesh giving them false information about the nature of the work they are brought into.

The above findings were the result of a study implemented by Kafa and the Legal Agenda, entitled “Trafficking migrant domestic workers from Nepal and Bangladesh into Lebanon” and intended to document some of the violations against migrant women domestic workers in an effort to compare them with the known indicators of trafficking and forced labor.  These results were shared during a press conference, entitled “Promoting Migrant Domestic Workers' Rights by Addressing the Migration Continuum between Origin Country and Lebanon”, and organised yesterday by Kafa in collaboration with Anti-Slavery International, and the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT). The event revealed the clear discrepancy between the actual situation of migrant women workers and the aspirations of civil society organisations on the one hand, and the policies of the Ministry of Labor and the procedures it follows on the other.  As Safir newspaper, which covered the press conference, noted that the results of the study shows a definite match with indicators used to assess trafficking and forced labor.  For his part the Minister of Labor, Selim Jreissaty, painted a rosy picture of the achievements of his Ministry thus far, at a time when civil society organisations are openly demanding that MWW be integrated in the Lebanese labor law.  The Minister insisted that a special new law for migrant worker was prepared for discussion within the cabinet that places MWW outside the remit of the labor law.  He also dismissed any possibility that the National Employment Agency be entrusted with the recruitment of MWW, while describing the latter agency as a dead corpse.
In another vein, As Safir published a report about the situation of foreign women married to Palestinian refugees and the difficulties they are facing in acquiring residency permits and authorizations to enter some camps such as Ain el Helweh.  The report quoted a young Palestinian man married to an Algerian woman who noted that although there have been several demand memos submitted to the Lebanese government with regards to the civil rights of Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon, however, none of these memos addressed the issue of Palestinians married to Arab and foreign women despite their high number which is estimated at 5000 people.  The report ends by pointing out to clause 12th of the Constitution, and which accordingly three years renewable residency permits are issued to those wishing to live in Lebanon provided a cost of 300,000 annually and 1,500,000 for those who wish to work.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 15 January 2014

As Safir newspaper published yesterday an article by Moussa Freiji, an expert in agricultural economy on the present economic policies in Lebanon.  The author criticized the current economic paradigms that have been upheld by consecutive governments.  One of such faulty principles is the assumption that opening and deregulating markets will encourage investment thus the need for Lebanon to join WTO so as to affect its current export levels. Furthermore, Lebanese politicians have repeatedly stressed that by joining the Arab common market, Lebanon is likely to have market access to more than 350 million people in the Arab region.  Freiji also criticized the common held belief that migration is a blessing since it results the increase of remittances which in turn contribute to offsetting the trade deficit as well as the widely held myth that Lebanon is essentially a service and tourist country where the costs of production are high and thus production is not viable and can easily be sacrificed.
Freiji highlights the dire realities that have resulted from following such policies noting the current regression in tourism as well as in a number of industries, such as clothes, shoes, medicines and handicrafts.  He also was critical of the role of IDAL which was supposed to give a boost to external marketing but which became a mere office to monitor and control subsidized agricultural exports.  Most agricultural production have also been negatively affected and now only survive those agricultural sectors enjoying some level of custom protection and those receiving direct financial subsidies from the state such as wheat and sugar beet production.  Meanwhile and also according to the author, 75% of university and technical schools graduates have permanently migrated to Arab and other countries because of the dearth of employment opportunities in Lebanon.
Freiji adds that the solution resides in adopting a broad policy based on job creation through investment in productive projects whilst imposing efficient customs protection, providing investment opportunities for migrant Lebanese to encourage them to return, protecting domestic products, encouraging exports and specific policies that aim at protecting local consumption, national production and intellectual property.  The author also noted that none of the ministerial statements issued since 1990 included any clear and realistic reference as to how the dire economic situation can be addressed save by using some vague and vacuous words.  However, various governments have defended protection policies that have favored non-productive sectors thus further fuelling unemployment and migration.
Source: Al-Safir 14 January 2014

As Safir newspaper published a report on the situation of agricultural exports in 2013.  The report noted that these exports are still on the increase in a way that is largely unprecedented.  Indeed, the figures released by the Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture in Zahleh indicated that more than 10000 exports certificates were issued by 30/10/2013 which represented an increase of 2000 certificates compared to the same period in 2012.  
Hence, the volume of agricultural exports from the Beqaa in 2013 increased by 54% compared to 2012, according to the Chamber’s statistics. The report also recorded a 30% increase in the export of potato.  This increase was confirmed by the president of the syndicate of potato growers in the Bekaa, George Sakr, who spoke of a year that was profitable for potato farmers despite the rise in cost of land transport.  According to the Minister of Agriculture, the increase in agricultural export is primarily due to the positive effects of the Syrian crisis which opened new markets for Lebanese farmers as a result of the decrease in competition, namely in both Iraq and Jordan..  The second reason of this good performance is the increased diversity of agricultural products and the opening of new possibilities for export by land, air and by sea, (the latter now accounting for more than 40% of exports). We also emphasised the efforts expanded by his ministry in improving quality as well as following a policy of rational use of pesticides, insisting on lab tests and the return of IDAL and the programme to support exports.
Source: Al-Safir 10 January 2014