News updates

A road traffic accident has shattered the life of Sudanese porter, Taha Salem, Sri Lankan domestic worker, Davika, and their five children, Al Akhbar reported today. The family which struggled for 20 years to legalize their condition of asylum in Lebanon or any other country, today faces a decision of deportation which will rift their lives apart between Sri Lanka and Sudan, Al Akhbar said. In the details, the newspaper wrote that the ill luck of the family of seven began 6 months ago when the General Security decided to deport them based on the fact that a foreigner who lacks legal residency should be sent back to their country of origin. The newspaper went on to say, that a group of African refugees last night ended their 15-day peaceful sit-in in front of the UNHCR building in Beirut which is one of a series of past protests to no avail. The majority of demonstrators are Sudanese, besides nationals from Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Al Akhbar pointed out that after two weeks of an open protest action, the protestors failed to meet any UNHCR official. But yesterday afternoon, following the director of protection services at UNHCR’s meeting with the coordinator of the Sudanese Refugees Committee, Yahya Ismail, the sit in ended based on promises to decide on each file respectively. Such promises, according to Al Akhbar, are added to a list of promises by UNHCR to African refugees in Lebanon over the years, namely to Sudanese nationals, to get resettlement in a third country after Lebanon. Some have been waiting for over 20 years now, the newspaper wrote. (Al Akhbar, September 6, 2019)
 

The horrendous killing on August 22 of young West Bank woman, Isra’ Gharib, highlighted the case of domestic violence. Activists mentioned that Isra’ was battered by her male relatives after she posted Instagram video in which she poses with her future husband. Isra’s family has reportedly denied the girl’s accusations, alleging that she "suffered a severe psychological condition and died of a stroke after she fell in the yard". On the subject, the Palestinian Public Prosecution announced in a statement yesterday, that investigations have reached an advanced stage, pointing to the arrest of three suspects in order to break down the events of the past three months and ensuing injuries. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of the West Bank on Wednesday calling for the legal protection of women. They hoisted banners which read: ‘We are all Isra’’, ‘My body is mine’ and ‘I don’t need your guardianship or your honor…’. Similarly, the General Union of Palestinian Women and feminist associations pointed out that at least 18 Palestinian girls and women have been killed this year by members of their families. (Al Diyar, September 6, 2019)
 

Following interrogation with the suspect in the murder of his wife, customs officer, Rana Beaino, (https://bit.ly/2k7RH9C), the Beaino family’s attorney, Imad Rahal, told Al Akhbar daily that five forensic pathologists who examined the body at different stages, agreed that the victim’s fall from a car travelling at 30 kph could not cause all the injuries and marks found on Rana’s body. The case, Rahal noted, is still in the hands of the first investigative judge in Baabda, Ziad Makana. Meanwhile, the newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that the victim warned a relative that her life was at stake after her confiscation of a shipment of laptops and electronic devices sent from one of her husband’s relatives abroad. According to the same sources, the husband used his wife’s position in the Customs to arrange for the illicit entry of goods in coordination with relatives living outside the country. One of them, Al Akhbar mentioned, offered large cash amounts to the victim’s family to relinquish the case for fear of further investigations. (Al Akhbar, September 6, 2019)
 
 

The head of the parliamentary woman and child committee, MP Enaya Ezzedine, pressed for securing the legislative, cultural and social infrastructure needed to ensure equality in responsibility sharing between men and women. Ezzedine was speaking during her participation in the “Women and Democracy” Berlin conference organized by Konrad Adenauer Foundation in collaboration with the German Ministry for International Cooperation and Development. Achieving this, Ezzedine said, is a key proviso for the development and welfare of societies. Ezzedine deplored the slow pace in the process of women’s engagement in political life, stressing the need to adopt positive policies to this effect, notably the approval of the women representation quota. In Lebanon, as in all the Levant, major challenges persist that impede women empowerment at all levels, Ezzedine concluded. (NNA, September 4, 2019)