Army arrests Nusra emir’s relatives
The Lebanese Army arrested the sister and son of a Nusra Front commander Monday, a security source said, as Lebanese...
Monday, 16 February 2015
Rifi confirms attempt to ‘liquidate’ Samaha foiled
Fatfat criticizes Nasrallah, says not pro-Lebanon
Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat Tuesday hit back at Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, accusing him of thinking only of the...
Fatfat criticizes Nasrallah, says not pro-Lebanon
BEIRUT: Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat Tuesday hit back at Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, accusing him of thinking only of the region and regional wars, but never of Lebanon.
“We talk about a state, but he [Nasrallah] talks about no state,” Fatfat told local daily Al-Joumhouria. “We talk about Lebanon, where as in his speeches there is nothing called Lebanon, but the region and regional wars and conflicts.”
Fatfat said Nasrallah has gone beyond basic political issues “by emphasizing the regional role and that there is no such thing as neutrality, independence and sovereignty, and spoke about a regional battle that determines the fate of the region.”
Nasrallah has even tried to show himself different from the others, according to Fatfat.
“He even appeared to be hinting to Saudi Arabia that he can be its ally, not ISIS, which is trying to reach Mecca and Medina.”
Fatfat, however, stressed that dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement was not a waste of time.
“If we can defuse [Sunni-Shiite] tension why not?” But Fatfat believed Hezbollah should do more.
“To east tension, this requires a change in the political speech and this never happened.”
In a speech Monday, Nasrallah urged the Lebanese Army to get ready to face threats from Islamist militants near the border with Syria when winter ends.
Speaking at an annual rally to commemorate the Israeli assassinations of ex-Hezbollah chief Sayyed Abbas Musawi, commander Imad Mughniyeh and Sheikh Ragheb Harb, Nasrallah devoted most of his speech to highlighting the danger posed to the entire world by ISIS and the Nusra Front, Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, after they committed atrocities that tarnished the image of Islam.
He called for combined global action to confront the two militant groups, which have beheaded and burned to death some of their captives.
Over 1,500 children working in streets across country
BEIRUT: A new study found that over 1,500 children in Lebanon are involved in street-based child labor, but the problem is manageable, the deputy regional director of the International Labor Organization said Monday. The report also found that some 73 percent of those 1,500 children are from Syria. Lebanon hosts more than 1 million Syrian refugees – half of them children – who fled their country’s ongoing civil war.
“If we only wanted to attack the problem of street-based child labor that would be relatively manageable because it’s a small number,” ILO’s Deputy Regional Director Frank Hagemann told The Daily Star.
His comments came during the launch of a new study titled “Children Living and Working on the Streets in Lebanon: Profile and Magnitude.” It was completed in a partnership between the ILO, the United Nations Children Fund and Save the Children International, at the request of the Labor Ministry, as part of a wider examination into the problem of street children in Lebanon.
The problem in Lebanon is relatively small when compared to massive urban hubs such as Rio de Janeiro and Lagos, Hagemann said.
“We know what has worked there and the same could work here,” he added.
Hagemann said that the problem of street-based children is only a small percentage of the larger child-labor problem in Lebanon.
He estimated that there were 200,000 to 300,000 children engaged in labor in Lebanon, in fields such as agriculture and construction.
The report looked specifically at the issue of street-based child labor across 18 districts in Lebanon. It found that the average street child makes less than $12 per day, works six days a week, and is between the ages of 10 and 14.
Half of the children were found in Beirut, with Hamra, Al-Tariq al-Jadideh and Mathaf having the highest concentration of all the places surveyed. On the other hand, Sidon had the lowest number of street children.
According to the report, 80 percent of street-based child laborers are either beggars or street vendors. Some of the remaining are involved in illicit activities such as prostitution.
In 2013, the Labor Ministry launched Lebanon’s National Action Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor by 2016 to tackle the problem.
Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi was present at the launch of the report. During his speech he detailed that a committee of all relevant Cabinet members had been formed – with the help of Prime Minister Tammam Salam – to address the issue of child labor, as well as human trafficking.
“Religious extremism is not the only reason behind increasing terrorism, but poverty, tragedy and frustration with society fuel negative feelings among children which could later develop into ideological strays and sometimes into terrorist action,” Azzi said. “Combating terrorism starts with taking care of children.”
The labor minister recommended setting up institutions that specialize in housing street children and providing them with psychologists, social workers and physicians.
The report stressed the importance of educating children to alleviate the problem of child labor. Forty-two percent of the children in the survey were found to be completely illiterate and 40 percent had never attended school at all.
When asked what they would like to be doing, most children’s first choice was to attend school, the report said. Many have very high aspirations: The most sought-after professions were ones that required a degree, such as engineering, medicine and accounting, the report added.
Nasrallah backs Hariri’s anti-terror stance
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah voiced support Monday for former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s call for a national strategy to fight terrorism, while exhorting the Lebanese Army to get ready to face threats from Islamist militants near the border with Syria when winter ends.
He also prodded the rival Lebanese factions to resume talks to break the 9-month-old presidential deadlock and not to bet on regional changes to elect a new president.
Speaking at an annual rally to commemorate the Israeli assassinations of ex-Hezbollah chief Sayyed Abbas Musawi, commander Imad Mughniyeh and Sheikh Ragheb Harb, Nasrallah devoted most of his speech to highlighting the danger posed to the entire world by ISIS and the Nusra Front, Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, after they committed atrocities that tarnished the image of Islam. He called for combined global action to confront the two militant groups, which have beheaded and burned to death some of their captives.
“We in Hezbollah, in the face of the danger of terrorism, support the call for drawing up a national strategy to fight terrorism. The political parties can agree on this,” Nasrallah said, speaking through a huge screen via a video link at the rally held at a Hezbollah complex in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The rally was attended by hundreds of Hezbollah’s supporters waving the party’s yellow flags, a number of Hezbollah lawmakers and political and religious figures.
Nasrallah was responding to Hariri, who called for such a plan in a speech Saturday, noting that terrorism is a common enemy.
The Hezbollah chief warned of attacks by ISIS and the Nusra Front when the snow melts along Lebanon’s border with Syria where the two groups are entrenched. He called on the Lebanese Army to prepare to face jihadi threats.
“There are Daesh [ISIS] and the Nusra Front at the opposite eastern mountains [in Syria]. When the snow melts, the state must make up its mind on how to deal with this danger that exists on hills and mountains,” Nasrallah said. He renewed his support for the Army and security forces in their battle against terrorism.
Nasrallah called for coordination between the Syrian and Lebanese governments and their armies to face the jihadi threats and the Syrian refugee crisis, saying Lebanon should not be wary of a re-emergence of Syrian tutelage over the country, describing it as a thing of the past.
Referring to the presidential vacuum after Parliament’s failure to choose a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, Nasrallah called on the March 8 and March 14 parties to resume talks to break the deadlock and not to wait for the outcome of the U.S.-Iran negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program or a Saudi-Iranian dialogue. “I say to all those who are keen on preventing the [presidential] vacuum, do not wait for changes in the region and abroad because the region is headed for further confrontations and crises,” he said. “Let’s resume internal efforts to end this issue.”
Nasrallah said Hezbollah would continue dialogue with the Future Movement, which he said had produced “positive results within our expectations.”
“We hope to reach a positive and good conclusion,” he said. He reiterated his support for talks between any rival parties in Lebanon.
Responding to Hariri’s fresh call Saturday on Hezbollah to withdraw from the war in Syria, Nasrallah invited his rivals to join the party’s battle against extremists that he said had their sights set on taking over as much territory as possible.
“To those who call for Hezbollah’s withdrawal from Syria, I invite you to come with us to Syria ... and I invite you to come with us to Iraq,” he said.
Nasrallah said that ISIS’ main target was Saudi Arabia, and Mecca and Medina specifically, noting that its self-declared caliphate would not be complete without enforcing dominance on Islam’s two holiest sites.
Nasrallah warned that the takfiri movement represented by ISIS posed a threat to all governments, regimes, peoples and armies in the world. “Daesh poses a threat to Islam as a religion and as a message,” he said. “Today, the entire world has conceded that this takfiri movement, Daesh, is posing a threat to the world and the region. Only Israel does not consider it to be a threat.”
He claimed that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, the Central Intelligence Agency and the British Intelligence were behind the creation of ISIS.
Nasrallah offered support for the Bekaa Valley security plan launched last week, saying that its implementation came late. Addressing Bekaa Valley residents, Nasrallah said that it is the responsibility of the state, and not Hezbollah or the Amal Movement, to enforce security in the area.
Security forces last week began raiding towns across the northern Bekaa to crack down on theft and the illicit drug trade. At least 137 suspects have been rounded up since the raids began, according to official figures.
The security plan requires a development plan to go along with it, Nasrallah said, such as the construction of hospitals and schools.
Speaking two days after Lebanon marked the 10th anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, Nasrallah extended his sympathies to the Hariri family and the families of the 21 others who were killed during the Feb. 14, 2005, car bomb explosion in Beirut.
Harb: Govt should adopt new decision-making system
BEIRUT: The government should adopt a new decision-making mechanism while the presidency remains vacant, Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb said Monday after holding talks with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“Until a new president is elected, which should happen as soon as possible, we should come up with a way to make decisions which the country needs,” Harb told reporters after meeting Hariri at his Downtown Beirut residence. “Everybody knows that the absence of a president has a significant effect on the course of politics and on the course of the democratic system in Lebanon and its institutions.”
The Cabinet adopted a system which requires unanimous backing among all 24 ministers to approve decisions after President Michel Sleiman’s term ended last May. With the presidential seat still vacant, the government is still exercising the powers of the president.
The current system, not stipulated in the Constitution, allows ministers to veto any decision, which has significantly hindered the work of the government.
According to the new arrangement, the Cabinet meets with a two-thirds quorum, passes regular decisions with a simple majority vote and major ones, as stipulated in Article 65, with two-thirds of its members.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said that he would not hold more Cabinet sessions before an agreement is reached on a new decision-making mechanism.
“The meeting today was an opportunity to discuss the atmosphere in Cabinet and the confusion faced by executive powers with the lack of a more effective decision-making mechanism, in light of the presidential vacuum,” Harb said.
Harb explained that he discussed with Hariri the possibility of agreeing on a unified vision on how to address the presidential vacuum.
Hariri also met Monday with U.S. Ambassador David Hale, French Ambassador Patrice Paoli and Moroccan Ambassador Ali Oumlil.
Hariri arrived in Beirut late last week to participate in a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of his father’s killing.
Hariri’s last visit to Lebanon was in August following deadly clashes between the Lebanese Army and Islamist militants in the northeast town of Arsal. He has been living outside Lebanon since January 2011 over security concerns.
Congratulating Hariri on his return via telephone Monday were Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh and Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi.
Meanwhile, Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel warned that an attempt was being made to “adapt to the presidential vacuum and manage the country’s affairs [indefinitely] without a president.”
Speaking after the weekly meeting of the Kataeb politburo, Gemayel said those behind this attempt were “playing with fire.”
“This poses danger to the country’s top post, and all sides, particularly Christian groups, are responsible for this danger,” Gemayel said.
He said there was a “regional decision to keep Lebanon in the freezer and keep things under control by refraining from electing a president.”
The lawmaker urged his colleagues from Christian and other political parties to elect one of the contending figures to the presidency under the sponsorship of the Maronite patriarchate.
“Abandoning this means that we are opening the door for external meddling in the presidential election,” he added.
Gemayel said that presidential election should be at the core of bilateral talks taking place between the Future Movement and Hezbollah and between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.
Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat highlighted the need for changing the government’s decision-making system, saying it infringed on the powers of the prime minister, paralyzed the government and even surpassed the prerogatives of the president.
“We hope that an amendment will happen to facilitate the work of the government so that it becomes more effective ... and more productive,” Fatfat told reporters after visiting Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian. “I know that Prime Minister Tammam Salam is exerting great efforts in this regard.”
Echoing Fatfat, MP Qassem Hashem, from Speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc, said that Salam and Berri were working on coming up with a new mechanism to end paralysis in the Cabinet.
“Everybody is convinced that paralysis will reflect negatively on all parties ... thus, all sides will deal flexibly with steps by Berri and Salam to revive the Cabinet.”
Aoun turns 80, and still determined to run for president
Although MP Michel Aoun will celebrate his 80th birthday Tuesday, the Free Patriotic Movement leader is as determined as ever to stay in the presidential race despite his age, dismissing repeated March 14 calls to withdraw in favor of a consensus candidate to fill the country’s top Christian post.
Aoun, according to many observers, staunchly refuses to quit the presidential race because he is fighting what he views as the last battle in his long political career.
In explaining Aoun’s unyielding stance on the nine-month presidential election deadlock, sources close to him said that the FPM leader still considers himself the most qualified Christian political figure to assume the country’s presidency in these circumstances through which the region is passing and their repercussions on Lebanon in general, and on the Christians in particular.
“Aoun still considers himself to be at the peak of his presidential battle as long as there is no president in Baabda [the seat of the presidential palace] and there are no serious signals so far about the possibility of electing a president,” the sources said.
“Also, Aoun has not yet pondered Plan B, under which he will become the top voter [in the presidential election] instead of being the sole candidate.”
The sources added that the FPM leader would remain adamanton his position for as long as Hezbollah stood firm on its support for Aoun for the presidency – a stance that would not change unless Aoun decided to retreat from the presidential race.
However, the same sources raised questions about the expected results of Aoun’s stubborn stance and whether his assessment of developments was based on wishful thinking or a mix of wishes and facts.
The sources recalled Aoun’s dialogue with the head of the Future Movement, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, when the FPM leader misread the latter’s attitudes toward the presidential crisis and developed misplaced hopes.
During the FPM’s dialogue with the Future Movement last year, Aoun sought to win Hariri’s support for his candidacy, even though the March 14 coalition, including the Future Movement, is backing Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, Aoun’s political opponent, as their presidential candidate.
Although officials from the two rival Christian parties, the FPM and the Lebanese Forces, are still engaged in a dialogue to set the stage for a meeting between Aoun and Geagea, some in the FPM have voiced pessimism about the possibility of success in breaking the presidential impasse through these talks.
Sources familiar with those preparing a memorandum of intent between the two parties have expressed excessive optimism to the extent that they are close to be convinced that Geagea will announce his support for Aoun’s candidacy to the presidency.
Those in the FPM who have doubt that the dialogue with the LF will result in success said that whether Geagea is maneuvering or being serious in his talks with the FPM, it is difficult for him to decide anything on the presidential election before returning to his March 14 allies, namely Hariri. So far, available information does not indicate that the March 14 coalition will accept Aoun’s nomination to the presidency, the sources said.
According to the same sources in the FPM, what has so far been achieved from the FPM-LF dialogue would be good and important if the dialogue had been held in normal circumstances.
But the results and strength of this dialogue, given the primary concern with the presidency, become secondary and could vanish if the two sides fail to agree on the presidential election, the sources said.
They added that the ongoing contacts between the FPM and the LF would not cause any loss for Aoun.
But the prolongation of the presidential vacuum, especially amid an atmosphere that does not underline the need for the presence of a president, would help weaken the Christians’ top post in Lebanon, the sources said.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources close to the Vatican said that French presidential envoy Jean-Francois Girault told Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai when he met him in Rome last week that his talks with rival Lebanese leaders in Beirut did not lead to any positive results that would help hold the election.
The Holy See is mulling the possibility of sending a special envoy to Lebanon in the near future to discuss the presidential crisis with Lebanese officials and political parties, the sources said.
Army arrests Nusra emir’s relatives
BAALBEK, Lebanon: The Lebanese Army arrested the sister and son of a Nusra Front commander Monday, a security source said, as Lebanese authorities detained nine people on the fifth day of a security crackdown in the Bekaa Valley.
Speaking to The Daily Star, the source said the Army arrested the sister of Abu Malek al-Talleh, the Nusra Front’s commander for the Qalamoun region, and her son at a checkpoint at the entrance to Arsal’s outskirts.
The two were detained when they were heading toward Arsal’s outskirts at an Army checkpoint in Wadi Hmeid, the source added.
According to the source, Army units across Arsal, and especially by the entrances to the outskirts, were mobilized in anticipation of a possible revenge attack over the arrest.
A senior Army source told The Daily Star that the military was working on confirming the identity of the detained woman and her son.
The arrest of Talleh’s relatives could serve as a major bargaining chip for Lebanon in the negotiations to release 25 Lebanese servicemen held by the Nusra Front and ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal.
The two groups captured the security personnel during battles with the Lebanese Army in the northeastern town last August.
Meanwhile, members of a joint security force entered the village of Dar al-Wasaa, west of Baalbek, another security source said, adding that other raids took place in neighboring towns previously targeted in the campaign.
The Army released a statement announcing that its units arrested two Lebanese and four Syrian nationals in raids in the villages of Brital, Tal al-Abyad and as-Safir. Hours earlier, police announced the arrest of three others.
The arrests were made in cases of forged entry permits for Syrians and unregistered vehicles.
The statement added that 470 kilograms of hashish was seized in the raids of Dar al-Wasaa, 400 kilograms of which were in an unprocessed form.
The military also found quantities of heroin, Captagon and equipment used for drug processing, according to the statement.
The source told The Daily Star that the force was also searching for members of the Jaafar clan behind the killing of a Christian couple in November last year.
The source said the Jaafar clan is widely established in the village, and the security forces are committed to arresting the murderers of Nadimeh and Sobhi Fakhri in the village of Btedaai.
The security plan also led to the arrest Monday of three Lebanese nationals in the eastern town of Brital, police said in a statement. Police also seized two stolen cars, the statement added.
The latest arrests bring the total number of detainees to 137 since the security plan was launched Thursday.
In a joint operation with the Internal Security Forces and General Security, the Army also discovered many drug factories and confiscated quantities of drugs, stolen vehicles and weapons during the crackdown.
The senior Army source said that the security plan would expand within days.
Lebanon denounces ISIS murder of Egyptian Copts
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s top political and religious figures strongly condemned Monday ISIS’s slaughter of over a dozen Egyptian Copts in Libya and offered condolences to Egyptian officials.
The 21 Egyptian Copts, kidnapped in Libya, were confirmed dead Sunday after ISIS released a video showing their beheading.
The video was broadcasted on a website associated with the group showing ISIS militants forcing victims to kneel on a beach before executing them. The killing was denounced by Lebanese leaders from across the political spectrum, who warned that the region is under threat from extremist groups.
Hariri“No words can adequately express the extent to which we condemn the carnage witnessed on Libya’s coast [which] claimed the lives of 21 Egyptian citizens,” said Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Describing the act as a “bloody” killing, Hariri paid his condolences to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, in a statement Monday.
Hariri said that the 21 victims had been caught in the grip of “demons” terrorizing countries that witnessed uprisings during the Arab Spring.
The former premier, who said he believed Egypt would overcome the threat of extremism through the unity of its people, said that ISIS was engaging in “one of the dirtiest wars, which targets the values of Islam and the standing of Muslims in the world.”
HezbollahIn his televised speech Monday during an annual ceremony to commemorate Hezbollah’s martyrs, the party chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah also offered condolences for the killing of the 21 Copts.
“We offer our condolences to the Egyptian people, government and the Coptic church,” Nasrallah said. “And we express our sadness for this deep misfortune that has befallen on them.”
He said the incident underscored how takfiris pose a threat to all countries in the region and to Islam, adding that a national counterterrorism strategy should be adopted in Lebanon to confront the jihadi threat.
“Today, the world has given in to the fact that this takfiri movement ‘ISIS’ constitutes a threat to the world and the region,” Nasrallah said.
Salam Through solidarity, Egyptians will be able to face the danger of terrorism, Prime Minister Minister Tammam Salam stressed Monday.
“This heinous crime that targeted innocent people because of their religion demonstrates the level of immorality inherent to those who possess this criminal and extremist ideology,” Salam wrote to Sisi.
“The Egyptian people will overcome this ordeal under the leadership and wisdom of President Sisi.”
BerriSisi also received another telegram from Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri reviling the act and calling for a “unified” battle against terrorists.
“This crime is a continuation of the multiple crimes committed [by ISIS] against citizens and military [personnel] in the Sinai and inside Egypt,” the cable read.
“We should all feel the danger [ISIS] poses on the stability of our Arab [political] system and the lives of the Arab people,” Berri added.
Foreign Ministry Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement denouncing attacks in Libya, Saturday’s shootings in Copenhagen and the killing of three Muslims in the U.S. state of North Carolina last week.
“The Foreign Ministry condemns the recent series of terrorist actions that targeted innocent citizens from all over the world who belong to various religions and nationalities,” the statement said. “Those committing them possess a takfiri ideology. Their barbaric actions have no color, no religion and no boundaries.”
SinioraFormer Prime Minister and head of the Future Movement bloc Fouad Siniora denounced the killings as “a crime against all humanity.”
“The execution by this so-called ISIS of a group of innocent Egyptian Copts is a savage, barbaric act that has nothing to do with human values, Islam or Muslims, not even the law of the jungle,” Siniora said.
JumblattSisi also received a message from Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, who condemned the attack and offered condolences to the victims’ families.
“This terrorist crime reconfirms that terrorism does not discriminate between citizens and does not hesitate to target innocents,” Jumblatt said in the message, according to a statement released by his media office.
DerianChristian-Muslim unity is vital now more than ever to thwart the “sectarian conspiracy” being exploited by extremists, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Abdel-Latif Derian said.
“The objective of the execution of Egyptian Coptic citizens was meant to incite strife between Muslims and Coptic Christians,” Derian commented in a statement.
The mufti, who deplored the “brutal crime,” stressed that the awareness of Christians about this underlying agenda was “more powerful than these terrorist acts.”
RaiLebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai denounced the crime as a “monstrous and cowardly act that any human being from any religion would reject,” in a statement issued by his media office.
Rai, who is on a trip to the Vatican, offered condolences to Tawadros and Egypt’s Copts, calling on the international community to boost counterterrorism efforts.
HasanThe current developments in the region require Muslims and Christians to stand together, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hasan said in a statement.
Hasan called for all to adhere to the values of religious tolerance, stressing the need to act with wisdom and reject ideologies that threaten coexistence in the Arab world.
GeageaSisi’s decision to react by launching airstrikes on ISIS’ locations in Libya was praised by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
“The least that can be said is that ISIS is inhumane,” Geagea declared in a statement.
The LF head also telephoned Tawadros to offer his condolences, according to a separate statement.
GemayelKataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel echoed Geagea’s praise of the Egyptian military response to the beheadings.
“This massacre should constitute a shock that will mobilize the international conscience [community], and save the region from the clutches of terrorism and extremism,” Gemayel cabled Sisi, according to a statement.
Chaldean diocese pleads for more aid as Iraqi refugee needs grow
BEIRUT: On a cold morning, a small group of Iraqi refugees cluster together at the Chaldean diocese in Baabda. It’s a typical Friday, and there are some new faces among them. The refugee experience is one of asking, hoping and waiting. For years, they have been confined to spaces of waiting: in the host countries they for now reluctantly call home, and in rooms like these.
One among them, Evelyn Polis, paces nervously. “I just have the money for one more month’s rent,” said Polis, a Chaldean, who first fled from Baghdad to Syria four years ago. The unrest in Syria recently brought her to Lebanon.
The Chaldean Diocese of Beirut sent out a call for more help last week. Bishop Michel Kassarji, whose announcement went public across Lebanese media channels, said that the church desperately needs funds to help aid the rising numbers of refugees at his doorstep. It’s the beginning of Lent, and Kassarji hoped that donations would increase as people remember the poor and needy. Funds are dwindling at the worst possible time, as an increasing number of Christians are fleeing Iraq.
“The situation of Iraqi [refugees] in Lebanon is pitiful,” Kassarji said, explaining that the Lebanese government doesn’t give them the benefit of refugee status. He added that they are “prevented from working and, where they can work, they’re doing it through very difficult conditions and in return of low salaries.”
The Chaldean Diocese of Beirut has provided aid in the form of food, home necessities and cash assistance to needy refugees over the past seven months. Through a health and social center in Sad al-Boushrieh, it has also provided medical care. Kassarji estimated that around 2,000 Chaldean Iraqi families receive monthly support.
Considered an order of Catholics under authority of the Vatican, the Chaldeans are the largest of Iraq’s Christian denominations. Christian roots in Mesopotamia reach back 2,000 years. They are among the millions of refugees and internally displaced Iraqis who began to flee after the 1990 and 2003 U.S.-led invasions, as well as the more recent expansion of ISIS control over large parts of the country.
Iraqis, regardless of religious affiliation, have fled the grip and bloodshed of the extremist group’s militant rule. The fall of Mosul to ISIS in June of last year resulted in a sharp rise of Christians seeking refuge outside their homeland.
Multiple reports have documented the dwindling numbers of Christians in Iraq. Twenty years ago, there were 1.4 million. Today, estimates fall closer to 300,000. The U.N. planning figures for 2015 cite the number of Iraqis in Lebanon at 6,100, while Lebanon’s social affairs minister, Rashid Derbas, said the number was around 8,000, as of August. With more than 1 million Syrian refugees in the country, the needs of Iraqis have been forgotten, say community leaders and aid organizations.
Kassarji opened the church doors seven months ago, to help fill the gap. He said that Iraqi refugees were typically getting just 50 percent of their needs met through the U.N. and NGOs. He has tried to provide additional help with the church’s money, but he said that’s becoming unsustainable with the drop in funding levels and the high amount he’s already spent. At first, church staff were able to help everyone who came, regardless of religion, but Kassarji said they have recently had to prioritize Chaldeans, as money has run low.
“In six months, I’ve spent around $400,000, and this is only on food,” he said.
Kassarji added that around 120 people come daily to the health center he funds in Sad al-Boushrieh, a Beirut neighborhood heavily populated with Iraqi refugees. He wants to open an additional center in the area in the coming months, to address the rising number of those in need.
Tensions have simmered between Lebanon’s Iraqi and Syrian refugee communities. Local laws don’t classify Iraqis as refugees, resulting in barriers to finding employment and earning income.
By virtue of a previously established economic and social agreement between Syria and Lebanon, Syrians have typically been able to work in the country and enter just with an ID card. Iraqis, by contrast, need a passport to enter the country, and they face greater difficulties obtaining a work permit. Funding for Iraqi refugees from international NGOs and U.N. agencies has been squeezed as the number of Syrian refugees has grown.
An October 2014 report from Caritas, one of the leading aid organizations addressing Iraqi refugee needs, said that nearly a quarter of those surveyed had entered Lebanon illegally, due to strict visa restrictions. The report found that nearly 40 percent of Iraqi refugees currently reside in Lebanon under an “irregular status,” resulting from staying beyond the expiration date of their tourist visas issued upon entering the country.
Resettlement to a third country is a long process, with low success for the majority of cases. Due to compounded stressors, several studies on the refugee population have revealed high prevalence rates of psychological problems such as anxiety and depression, as well as physical health consequences and susceptibility to exploitation from employers.
Rita Saky works for the Chaldean Church, handling requests for food and cash assistance. She hears the stories of refugees on a weekly basis.
“They come as tourists but in fact they are refugees. They are homeless and need a big amount of money for rent. Because they are tourists, they are not allowed to work here.”
She said that cash assistance is one of the most frequently requested needs, as the cost of rent has sharply risen in the past several years. The church has distributed food staples such as rice, sugar and cooking oil, but Saky said that the reserve is shrinking as she showed the sparse number of food items on the shelves of the diocese’s basement pantry.
Previously, The Daily Star reported on an AUB study that found food insecurity among Iraqi refugees to be “alarmingly high.” Meeting adequate nutrition needs is particularly challenging for families with children, and among families lacking strong social networks.
Gladis Khamees was among the cluster of refugees at the Baabda diocese. An Assyrian Christian, she said she has asked for help from local NGOs and the U.N. in Lebanon, but lamented that receiving enough help is a challenge.
For Khamees and her children, life in Lebanon carries chronic uncertainty. “We don’t know what our fate will be here,” she said.
Originally from Baghdad, she fled to Syria nearly four years ago. Last fall, the violence in the outskirts of Damascus had her fleeing across the Lebanese border. Family members have helped her where they can with rent and food expenses, and she is actively seeking resettlement outside of Lebanon.
“When we were in Syria, we were the No. 1 priority, but here [in Lebanon] the top priority is the Syrians,” she said.
Acknowledging the needs of Syrian refugee influx, she added, “We understand this, but we are like them. The suffering is the same.”
To learn more about how to donate, call the Chaldean diocese at: +961-5-457-732 and +961-5-459-088. To donate directly: Credit Bank S.A.L., Shiyah branch, Beirut, Lebanon, Swift Code: CBCBLBBE, No: 803845, IBAN: LB65010300081010570803845003
Presidents Day Deal: Pass Our Quiz, Win Nothing
Yes, it's Presidents Day, which originated in the 1880s to honor George Washington's birthday on Feb. 22. But because America likes its long weekends, Congress voted in 1968 to make sure that Washington's birthday should always be celebrated on a Monday. And they also threw in Abraham Lincoln's birthday, on Feb. 12, as part of the deal.
It was proposed that "Washington's Birthday" be renamed "Presidents Day," but Congress rejected it. Retailers, however, did not. They found it much easier to announce "Presidents Day Sale" rather than "Formerly Washington's Birthday And Now Both Washington's And Lincoln's Birthdays Sale." Or just: "Buy Stuff."
Now, "Presidents Day" is the commonly accepted name of the holiday and has become a celebration of the lives of all U.S. presidents.
Out of our nation's 44 presidents, we chose 10 to test your knowledge. And hey, if you don't pass the quiz, at least try to get a good deal on a new TV.
Nasrallah urges Lebanese government, army to coordinate with Syrian regime
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Lebanese Army detains sister of Nusra Front commander and her son in Arsal: security source
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Nasrallah says behind national counter-terrorism strategy
BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah threw his weight Monday behind calls for a national counter-terrorism strategy to confront the jihadi threat, predicting more attacks on the horizon.
“We support the call for placing a national strategy for counter-terrorism,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
The remarks came in response to former premier Saad Hariri who called for such a plan in a speech delivered on Saturday, noting that terrorism is a common enemy.
Nasrallah also offered support for the Bekaa Security plan launched last week, saying that its implementation came late.
Addressing Bekaa Valley residents, Nasrallah said that it is the responsibility of the state, and not Hezbollah or the Amal Movement, to enforce security in the area.
Security forces on Thursday began raiding towns across the northern Bekaa to crack down on theft and the illicit drug trade.
At least 137 suspects have been rounded up since the raids began, according to official figures.
The security plan requires a development plan to go along with it, Nasrallah said, such as the construction of hospitals.
He also called on the state to prepare for more jihadi attacks, anticipating that militants will renew attacks once winter passes.
Speaking two days after Lebanon marked the 10th anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, Nasrallah extended his sympathies to the Hariri family and the families of 21 other people who were killed during the 2005 Downtown Beirut blast.
Nasrallah said that talks with the Future Movement yielded positive developments.
“We hope we reach a practical and good conclusion,” he said.
He reiterated his support for talks between any rival party in Lebanon, saying that dialogue is the “best option for us as Lebanese in the current phase.”
Nasrallah says to pursue dialogue with Future Movement, hopes for "reasonable" conclusion
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March 14 needs 'revival': Harb after Hariri meet
BEIRUT: The March 14 coalition needs to restore it dynamism to help it realize its goals for Lebanon, Telecoms Minister Boutros Harb said after meeting Future Movement chief Saad Hariri Monday.
In a statement after the meeting, Harb said "there was complete agreement" on the need to revive and reorganize March 14 to realize its goals of "achieving Lebanese sovereignty, preserving its democratic system and providing prosperity to the Lebanese people.”
Talks also put forth new ideas that would allow the movement to play a leading role in the country despite the difficult domestic circumstances, Harb added in a statement after the meeting at Hariri's Downtown Beirut residence.
Harb also said he informed the ex-premier of the need to replace the Cabinet’s decision-making system.
“The meeting today was an opportunity to discuss the atmosphere in Cabinet and the problems facing the decisions of the executive power,” Harb said.
The telecoms minister noted that he informed Hariri of difficulties in the Cabinet in adopting a unified position over a formula to replace the current decision-making system pending the election of a president.
The Cabinet adopted a system that requires unanimous backing among all 24 ministers to pass laws after President Michel Sleiman's term ended last May, leaving a presidential void.
The president was until then responsible for signing bills into law.
The current system, which allows any minister to veto any decision, has significantly hindered the work of the government.
On Monday, Hariri also met with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale and Moroccan Ambassador Ali Oumlil.
Hariri arrived in Beirut late last week to participate in a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of his father’s killing.
Hariri’s last visit to Lebanon was in August following deadly clashes between the Lebanese Army and Islamist militants in the northeast town of Arsal. He has been living in self-imposed exile between France and Saudi Arabia since January 2011 over security concerns.
3 arrested in northeast Lebanon raids; Army hunts Christian couple killers
BAALBEK, Lebanon: Members of a joint security force raided more villages in northeast Lebanon Monday, in day five of a widespread crackdown on suspected thieves, druglords and other criminals, arresting at least three people.
A security source told The Daily Star that the force was also searching for members of the Jaafar clan behind the killing of a Christian couple in November.
The force entered the village of Dar al-Wasaa, west of Baalbek, a security source said, adding that other raids took place in neighboring town previously targeted.
The source said the Jaafar clan is widely established in the village, and the security forces are committed to arresting the murders of Nadimeh and Sobhi Fakhri in the village of Btedaai in November.
In mid-November, members of the Jaafar family who were being chased by Lebanese security forces entered the Fakhri family home demanding to use their car as a getaway vehicle.
The family refused, so the fugitives shot the couple and one of their sons. The woman died immediately, while the husband succumbed to his wounds later. Their son, Romeo, survived.
The security plan also led to the arrest Monday of three Lebanese nationals in the eastern town of Brital, police said in a statement. Police also seized two stolen cars, the statement added.
The latest arrests brings the total number of detainees to 131 since the security plan was launched on Thursday.
On Sunday, the Lebanese Army said 58 people were arrested in raids on the Baalbek towns of Brital, Kneiseh and Maqneh.
In a joint operation with the Internal Security Forces and the General Security, the Army also discovered many drug factory and confiscated quantities of drugs, stolen vehicles and weapons.
The security plan will go on for several days until the area is “clear of any fugitives, outlaws or drug dealers,” Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said in a news conference from Brital last week, adding that a permanent operations room had been established in the Bekaa Valley to pursue fugitives.
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Honoring Presidents Day Reminds Us 2016 Isn't That Far Away
On this holiday, we look ahead to who might enter the 2016 presidential race. Is Democrat Hillary Clinton going to run, and what Republicans might decide to enter the race?
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Lebanon hosting more than 1,500 street children: study
BEIRUT: More than 1,500 children are living or working on Lebanon's streets, nearly three-quarters of them Syrian and most scraping a living by begging or roadside vending, a study published Monday showed.
The number of children begging in Lebanese cities is one of the most visible signs of the country's refugee crisis. Lebanon hosts more than 1.5 million Syrians from the civil war next door, the highest refugee population in the world per capita.
A total of 1,510 children were found to be living or working on the streets according to the study from the International Labour Organisation, the U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF and charity Save the Children International.
These children earned an average of less than $12 per day and more than half of them were aged between 10 and 14 years old, it said.
"The recent influx of refugees from Syria, many of whom are children, has certainly exacerbated this problem, but is by no means the core cause or consequence of children living or working on the streets," the study said.
It said that social exclusion, poverty, organized crime and general exploitation of children were also to blame.
The study, which was supported by the Labor Ministry, said 43 percent of the children who worked were begging, while street vending accounted for 37 percent.
Most children entered the market between seven and 14 years of age and 42 percent were illiterate, it said. The majority worked more than six days a week and an average of eight and a half hours a day.
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