October 17, 2021
Violent Clashes Erupt in Beirut
Lebanon’s Education Sector in Danger of Collapse
Kingdom Come by Michael Young
Violent Clashes Erupt in Beirut
Violent clashes erupted in Beirut this week during Hezbollah and Amal protests calling for Judge Tarek Bitar’s removal. At least six people were killed and dozens were wounded after an exchange of gunfire broke out that involved pistols, automatic rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades. Hezbollah and Amal said that armed groups fired at protesters during their demonstration from rooftops. The Lebanese Forces had also gathered protesters outside of Justice Palace. [AP] The shooting reportedly spread out from the Tayyooneh roundabout, which was a fault line in Lebanon’s civil war. [Washington Post]
RESPONSE
“When reading about this week’s events, Americans may question why the US should even care about a country that will not stand up against the corruption and domination of the few in their own country. The answer is simple: stability and security in the region are in the US interests and it is essential to halt the social, political, and economic deterioration in Lebanon before it escalates and threatens US interests region wide. The Lebanese Army has performed skillfully during this confrontation and should be supported by the US. The US should also support civil society players as they prepare for an election in the Spring, which they hope will elect a new, clean, and reform-minded government capable and committed to addressing the needs of the Lebanese people.”
-ATFL President Edward M. Gabriel
Lebanon’s Education Sector in Danger of Collapse
Human Rights Watch warned this week that Lebanon’s education system is at risk of collapse. HRW suggests that international donors channel aid more directly to schools, teachers, and school-children’s families. Researcher Aya Majzoub said, “The Lebanese government is abandoning schools, teachers, and parents to muddle through the acute economic crisis and the pandemic on their own, exacerbating the inequalities between the few children whose parents can afford a quality education and the many who cannot. There needs to be an all-hands-on-deck response from the government, donors, and the UN to avert a disaster for children and the country.” [HRW]
RESPONSE
“What is happening in the education sector, from K through university, is beyond belief. Younger students face a third year without classes; the currency devaluation is forcing tens of thousands of students to shift from private to already overwhelmed public schools; and the lack of essential supplies and power make classrooms into makeshift boxes to pass time without materials or functioning computers. No longer the educational center of the region, Lebanon has compromised the futures of hundreds of thousands of its youth, leaving them to wonder what’s next and will they be ready.”
-ATFL Policy Director Jean AbiNader
Opinion Piece
Kingdom Come by Michael Young
The Carnegie Middle East Center’s Michael Young wrote this week on Saudi Arabia’s declining engagement in Lebanon. Young writes, “The maximalist Saudi position with regard to Lebanon is not only a case of political opportunity cost, it is creating a situation that is only bolstering Hezbollah’s and Iran’s hegemony.” [Carnegie Middle East Center]
RESPONSE
“Saudi Arabia can’t seem to break its patterns of acting out of pique, ignoring friends when they become inconvenient, and making short-term decisions that undermine its longer term objectives. This is not to diminish its dissatisfaction with its former allies in Lebanon led by former PM Saad Hariri or its concern that Lebanon cannot act independent of the ruling troika of FPM, Amal, and Hezbollah. Yet its current policies towards Lebanon, as Young points out, only ensure outcomes that further threaten Saudi interests in the region. To grow into the leadership role that it aspires to, the Kingdom’s leaders need to spend time strengthening alliances, tolerating miscues, and following strategies based on a vision that reflects sensibilities beyond its place on the Peninsula.”
-ATFL Policy Director Jean AbiNader
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.