Sunday, February 11, 2007

Commémoration de l'assassinat de Rafik Hariri...

Le 14 février 2007: Fête de l'amour...

Vers un clash ou une entente entre Libanais?
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BREAKING NEWS!!!

Mardi 13 février 2007.
Il est 9h30 du matin heure de Beyrouth. Nous venons de nous réveiller aux affreuses nouvelles de l'explosion de deux bus publics sur la route menant à Bikfaya (mon village d'origine) dans la région du Metn (ou le Mont-Liban). Jusqu'à maintenant, on compte 3 morts et entre 18 et 20 blessés. Nos parents et amis sont sains et saufs. C'est la première fois depuis plus de 20 ans que des civils sont ciblés par des attentats. Je ne sais quoi dire de plus... Que Dieu vienne en aide des victimes, de leurs familles, nous vienne en aide à tous et illumine les consciences de nos leaders afin qu'ils ne sombrent pas dans la discorde et qu'ils rallient leurs rangs pour faire face à ce terrorisme qui frappe le Liban et tous les Libanais, sans exception.


Pour plus d'infos et photos: http://www.tayyar.org/

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L’icône et l’islam : Pamela Chrabieh
Émission Second Regard,
3 décembre 2006, Radio Canada
Un reportage de Jean-Robert Faucher
Merci Robert et à toute l'équipe de Second Regard!
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De Philippe Martin:
'Voici la onzième édition des portraits de blogueurs, avec Pamela Chrabieh Badine'.
On peut trouver l'entrevue sur Dailymotion, Cent Papiers et YULBUZZ.
Merci à Philippe et Christian Aubry!

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Voici le cadre local et régional en ce début de semaine esquissé sommairement:

- Scénario miraculeux qui a réuni la semaine dernière à La Mecque les Palestiniens entre eux (entente sur la constitution d'un gouvernement d'union nationale). A quand le tour des Libanais?

- Les carnages se poursuivent en Irak, en dépit du "plan de sécurité pour Bagdad".

- Des responsables américains ont présenté des "preuves" de l'ingérence de l'Iran en Irak. Does it sound familiar? On se rappelle bien les "preuves" avancées sur les "armes de destruction massive" soi-disant possédées par l'Irak...

- Célébration en Iran du 28e anniversaire de la Révolution Islamique. En cette occasion, le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "réaffirmé que l'Iran ne suspendrait pas ses activités d'enrichissement d'uranium, qualifiant 'd'humiliation' les exigences des grandes puissances. Il s’est toutefois dit prêt à négocier sur des bases « justes et équitables », tout en reportant à plus tard l’annonce de « progrès » dans le programme nucléaire iranien. Ce scénario très fleur bleue pourrait commencer à prendre forme si les entretiens Poutine-Abdallah II hier à Ryad et Assad-Moussa aujourd’hui à Damas se soldaient par un succès, même timide. Ce qu’il faut savoir, c’est que le président russe, comme le médiateur égyptien, travaillent aussi bien l’un que l’autre en faveur d’un rabibochage saoudo-syrien, qui pourrait se concrétiser par une visite de Bachar el-Assad dans la capitale wahhabite" (OJ, 12 février 2007).

- Au Liban, les Libanais se préparent à d'une part, fêter la Saint-Valentin, et d'autre part, à commémorer le deuxième anniversaire de l'assassinat de Rafik Hariri. Un appel par le gouvernement a été lancé pour manifester dans la place des Martyrs au centre-ville de Beyrouth. Alors que l'opposition se fait discrète pour le moment... Comment la rencontre des deux factions va-t-elle se passer? Dans le calme ou le clash?
- Entretemps, de jeunes Libanais-es se mobilisent pour offrir une autre alternative que celles du gouvernement et de l'opposition: 'Resolve it, Solve it'! Un appel lancé aux leaders du pays à se mettre d'accord et à résoudre une situation intenable mençant de dégénérer en une guerre civile. Lire ci-dessous l'article du Daily Star:


Young Lebanese form human chain, urge leaders to 'resolve it, solve it'
Small but determined crowd challenges political status quo
By Iman Azzi
Daily Star staff
Monday, February 12, 2007

BEIRUT: Street protests are not a rare occurrence in Lebanon. However, demonstrations without colorful portraits of politicians or sectarian party flags are. This weekend, more than 100 Lebanese took to a former flashpoint in Beirut in a peaceful demonstration to demand an immediate solution to the current political impasse. The rally was part of a growing grassroots movement that is trying to lend a hand - or several hands - to ensuring civil peace and stability and prevent civil war.
Launched on Saturday in response to the student clashes that erupted at Beirut Arab University last month, "Resolve it, Solve it" is the latest campaign urging politicians to come together a cut a deal.
"We're fed up," said Reem Mobassaleh, 24, one of a dozen of the movement's organizers. "We want to send a message to all politicians - from every party - and have them sit down and figure out a peaceful solution."
Nearly three weeks after the Beshara Khoury intersection became a venue for burning tires during an opposition protest on January 23, cars driving by on Saturday saw a different sight: dozens of Lebanese wearing white t-shirts urging the politicians to "resolve it, solve it."
Petitions were passed around to passersby after an online version collected over 1,000 electronic signatures in less than a week. Participants formed a human chain, walking together across the former Green Line, the infamous stretch of road that divided Beirut during the 1975-1990 Civil War.
"Compromise is not failure," Mobassaleh said. "It's time that politicians start acting like public servants again."
"I was watching the news and seeing all the violence and became sick and tired of it all," said Carmen Geha, 21, another organizer. "From my community work, I know that people here have more in common than they know."
The message is not complicated - "We want an immediate and peaceful solution" read one poster - and many share the sentiment, although it fails to propose any practical solutions that could lead to an eventual compromise.
"As a Lebanese student, to watch students resort to violence, rather than engage in healthy debate, is frustrating and not the answer," said Ronnie Chatah, 25, a graduate student who was part of the human chain.
Saturday's human chain was the latest in a series of mostly youth-driven alternative political movements challenging the sectarian tradition, including Young Lebanese Citizens, March 11 and Loubnani w Bass. These groups have passed out flyers, hung up posters, held conferences, signed petitions and worn T-shirts but have so far not managed to pose a major challenge to the political status quo.
"We're trying to wake up the silent majority," Geha explained. "It's our future and I know there are others who think like us."
While Lebanese politicians can mobilize thousands in minutes, the "silent majority" is proving tougher to move into the streets. Uniting these campaigns and pooling resources and supporters might give their message a chance to be heard.
Although "Resolve it, Solve it" does not offer any solutions to the political crisis, individual members had some of their own.
Geha suggested politicians turn to NGOs for inspiration. "A lot of local groups have been proposing ideas from policies on the environment to election reform. They're worth being looked at," she said.
Chatah had a broader outlook and suggested an international conference: "We need to neutralize Lebanon - remove Lebanon from the middle of international politics. I'm here today to send a direct message that we refuse to let this country fall back into civil war."
Aussi, signalons la formation d'un nouveau groupe de jeunes Libanais-es militant contre la violence, la guerre et le confessionnalisme: CH-M-L (Jeunes Citoyens Libanais - CHABAB MOUWATINOUN LOUBNANIYOUN). Lire l'article du journal Al-Akhbar (en arabe) daté du 12 février 2007.


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De Présence Musulmane - Montréal:

Montréal, le 10 Février 2007
Pour un « nous » concitoyen
Par Salah Basalamah

Pour un « nous » concitoyen


Les derniers débats dont se sont emparés les médias québécois autour de l'accommodement raisonnable et de toutes les thématiques qui en ont dérivé ont démontré encore une fois la vivacité et l'émotivité avec lesquelles le peuple de la Belle province réagit aux questions qui mettent en jeu son identité. Présentées comme le lieu de discussion d'une destinée, d'une spécificité menacée, ces réactions deviennent parfaitement compréhensibles, pour autant qu'elles soient envisagées dans l'inclusion de tous ses membres. Or, le problème n'est pas tant de mettre l'animation du débat sur le compte de sa vitalité pour les Québécois que d'y voir plutôt l'occasion trop belle pour certains de jouer sur les sensibilités, à la fois actuelles et historiques, afin de nourrir les appréhensions et entretenir les peurs.
C'est que les débats sur les nombreux sujets sensibles que les derniers sondages ont suscités ne sont pas le seul résultat d'un intérêt naturel pour les questions de sociétés, mais également la conséquence d'un projet délibéré de consolider une conception particulière de la citoyenneté qui se veut protectrice de la culture et des « valeurs québécoises ». Ainsi, ces dernières ne seraient préservées que si les immigrants acceptaient : ou bien de laisser leurs cultures et leurs religions aux frontières du Canada, ou bien de « s'assimiler » aux choix des modèles d'identités de la société ambiante, de préférence celle d'avant l'âge de l'hyper-hétérogénéité et de la mondialisation la plus débridée. À entretenir une vision aussi immobiliste de la réalité sociale en devenir, on tombe forcément dans la nostalgie, l'illusion et, par conséquent, le déni le plus radical.
La mémoire refoulée
Lors de sa fameuse leçon de Ratisbonne de l'automne dernier, le pape avait fait l'apologie de la rationalité gréco-chrétienne comme étant l'un des traits dominants de l'identité de l'Occident laïc qu'il ne devrait d'ailleurs pas oublier. L'identité européenne, chrétienne par la foi et grecque par la raison, serait donc à concevoir par opposition à un islam présenté comme non-occidental, voire anti-occidental puisque présumé violent, impulsif et irrationnel intrinsèquement. Ainsi, il apparaît évident que, dans la bouche de la personnalité politique que représente le pape, la description de la mémoire occidentale n'est pas anodine. Elle est l'expression d'une vision sur l'histoire qui officialise le refus de reconnaître à l'islam de faire partie de la mémoire collective occidentale. Plus de sept siècles en Espagne, une présence active aussi bien dans le Nord que dans le Sud de la Méditerranée et la courroie de transmission principale du savoir au Moyen Âge. Et pourtant, l'islam est recalé au rang d'étranger, de corps exogène, encombrant et indésirable.
En voyant le « succès » dont fait preuve la manchette musulmane dans la presse et le paysage audiovisuel québécois, on se demande s'il n'y a pas lieu de constater une sorte de retour sur la place publique du refoulé religieux à travers celui, plus profond, du refoulé musulman. De fait, l'une des raisons de voir le discours islamophobique ou pour le moins islamo-aliénant se développer au Québec, c'est qu'il n'est pas reconnu à l'islam sa part légitime de participer de la mémoire de l'Occident.
L'illusion de la pureté
Un tel refoulement, s'il n'est pas généralisable, se construit cependant sur une représentation de soi plutôt dangereuse : l'illusion de la pureté. Une pureté à la fois ethnique, identitaire et surtout culturelle qui prend ses racines dans le même double binôme religieux (judéo-chrétien) et culturel (gréco-romain) européo-méditerranéen. Ce qui est remarquable, c'est de constater que cette illusion se contredit dans ce qu'elle présuppose elle-même puisqu'elle n'est pas constituée d'une origine unique ou pure, mais bien plutôt quadruple et, par conséquent, déjà hybride. Or, le refus de reconnaître l'islam comme une des composantes multiples de la mémoire de la civilisation occidentale n'est pas seulement une injustice à l'endroit de l'islam, il l'est surtout à l'endroit de ceux pour qui l'écart de vision demeure aussi important sur leur histoire au point de ne pas être en mesure de mettre en perspective les émois de leur présent.
Le métissage culturel et identitaire n'est pas qu'un constat tributaire des derniers développements de la mondialisation et du postmodernisme, mais également le processus naturel de fécondation mutuelle qui caractérise de tout temps les rencontres individuelle, collective ou intellectuelle des nations, des cultures et des langues. La réalité interculturelle du Québec ne serait qu'une nouvelle illusion si elle devait être relativisée à l'aune d'un rêve de pureté parfaitement réactionnaire et dénégateur.
La double intégration
Dans tous les débats, il est apparu évident que l'objectif ultime de la « tolérance » que certains, grands seigneurs, ont concédée à l'égard des immigrants est celui de leur intégration. On veut bien, par exemple, admettre les foulards à l'école pour que les jeunes filles musulmanes s'intègrent. Si c'est bien le cas dans les faits, il reste que l'effort d'intégration ne semble être exigé que d'un seul côté, alors que de l'autre, on « tolère ».
Ainsi, les institutions démocratiques ne seraient plus le cadre de l'application des principes d'égalité et de justice - qui exigent de tous les citoyens de se conformer aux droits et devoirs qui leur incombent -, mais le lieu d'accueil qui souffre la présence des intéressées en attendant qu'elles s'adaptent et, on l'espère, fassent montre de civisme en quittant ce qu'on ne cesse d'interpréter autoritairement comme un signe de sexisme et de soumission. Si bien qu'il n'est pas question d'effort d'intégration du côté de la « société d'accueil », mais seulement l'affectation d'une tolérance généreuse, quoique temporaire, pour celles qui doivent en fin de compte se conformer aux « valeurs québécoises ». Quelles sont-elles d'ailleurs ? Celles que consacrent les institutions démocratiques ou plutôt celles reformulées par le rêve persistant d'une homogénéité infondée ?
S'il y a le moindre espoir d'assumer pleinement le statut de terre d'immigration, ce ne sera certes qu'en promouvant une « double intégration » : pour les musulmans québécois d'agir en citoyens (respecter les lois et s'ouvrir à la société locale) et pour leurs concitoyens de mieux les connaître (écouter et côtoyer).
Après l'intégration
Si l'intégration reste une réalité qui s'impose tant que le Canada continue d'accueillir des immigrants, il n'en est revanche plus question lorsque la deuxième et la troisième générations de musulmans et de musulmanes ainsi que des centaines de convertis se réclament encore de l'islam et tiennent à leur identité religieuse comme une des composantes de leur identité de fait multiple. Y aurait-il un monde après l'intégration ?
Si ce vocable ne convient plus pour les musulmans nés au Québec, il n'est pas moins impropre pour tous ceux qui ont compris que la citoyenneté véritable tient dans l'engagement actif en faveur du développement social et du progrès des mentalités vers un vivre-ensemble débarrassé des suspicions et des appréhensions entretenues. La « participation » - en tant qu'individus musulmans - pour le bien du plus grand nombre, que ce soit à travers le politique, le social, l'économique ou le culturel ; telle est l'exigence citoyenne qu'il faut désormais défendre pour sortir des ornières de l'aliénation forcée où le discours dominant semble la confiner. L'étranger ne serait pas seulement celui qui vient d'ailleurs, mais également celui qu'on ne connaît pas ou qu'on ne veut pas connaître, même si on le côtoie depuis des années…
Un débat démocratique et éthique
En somme, un tel projet de société où le désir du vivre-ensemble n'est pas qu'une disposition « bonasse » ou un « aplatventrisme » masochiste, mais le signe d'une intelligence sociale et de bon voisinage pluralistes, ne peut aboutir qu'en étant extrêmement exigeant sur la manière de conduire les débats. Toutes les discussions que nous avons entendues ces derniers temps ont, certes, le mérite d'avoir eu lieu, mais on ne sait que trop à qui sert, pour certaines, de présenter des réponses critiquées et critiquables à plus d'un titre et d'une manière aussi peu respectueuse de soi-même, de l'opinion publique et de l'éthique de l'information.
Si l'on souhaite vraiment se rapprocher, mieux se comprendre et s'accorder sur les conditions de ce vivre-ensemble que toutes les parties appellent de leurs vœux, il est nécessaire que l'on prenne conscience, de part et d'autre, que le seul espace de convergence possible demeure celui de la concitoyenneté. Autrement dit, la conscience véritable que le « nous particulariste » que l'on ne cesse d'entendre de tous bords n'est en réalité qu'un seul, un « nous commun », large et inclusif des tous les Québécois et Québécoises quelles que soient leurs appartenances religieuses ou non. L'éthique concitoyenne est en effet celle qui nous permet à chacun de dépasser nos ghettos intellectuels respectifs, de trouver l'expression d'un universel commun et d'œuvrer aujourd'hui pour le Québec de nos enfants.

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ANNONCES - NEWS

Tadamon! Montreal Presente:
"In the Shadows of the City"
Projection du film de Jean Khalil Chamoun Liban, 2000,
102 Minutes
Langue arabe / sous-titrage anglais
Evénement faisant parti du Festival Annuel de film du Groupe de recherche d'intérêt public [GRIP] de l'université de McGill
MARDI, 13 Fevrier, 20h00
entrée gratuite au Departement des Études culturelles Université McGill
3475 Rue Peel [metro McGill]
Le film de Jean Chamoun retrace les 15 ans de la guerre civile au Liban qui a pris fin en 1990. Ce cinéaste libanais reconnu nous montre la complexité de la guerre civile au Liban à travers la vie de Rami, un adolescent de 12 ans, et de sa famille. Espérant éviter la guerre civile qui gagne l'ensemble du pays, la famille de Rami déménage à Beyrouth. Cependant, la guerre les rattrape en ville et Rami et sa famille se retrouvent confrontés au chômage, à la mort et à la perte des personnes qui leurs sont chères. Ce film présente les complexités politiques et sociales des 15 ans de guerre civiles tout en mettant en relief les conséquences de cette guerre sur la jeunesse libanaise. Tadamon! Montréal proposera une discussion suite au film sur la relation existant entre la guerre civile libanaise et le sectarisme que nous observons actuellement et qui continue à toucher le Liban et le Moyen Orient. T
adamon! Montréal http://tadamon.resist.ca / 514 664 1036
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Tadamon! MONTREAL Presents:
In the Shadows of the City
A Film by Jean Khalil Chamoun Lebanon, 2000,
102 Minutes Arabic / English subtitles.
As part of annual Film Festival of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group [QPIRG], at McGill University.
TUESDAY, February 13th, 8pm.
Donations Appriciated.
@ the Cultural Studies Screening Room McGill University 3475 Peel Street [metro McGill]
Jean Chamoun's film revisits the tragic 15 year civil war in Lebanon which ended in 1990. Renowned Lebanese film maker Chamoun brings us into the complexities of Lebanon's civil war, through the lives of Rami, a twelve-year-old boy on the cusp of adulthood, and his family. In hopes of escaping the civil war escalating in the countryside, Rami's family moves to Beirut. However, the war follows them to the city, and there Rami and his family struggle with unemployment, death and the disappearance of loved ones. This film explores the political and social complexities of the Lebanese civil war, while addressing the consequences of war on Lebanon's youth. Also this event will include a discuss on the relationship between the Lebanese civil-war and present day sectarian conflict that continues to effect Lebanon and the entire Middle East region.
Tadamon! Montreal http://tadamon.resist.ca / 514 664 1036
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Nahwa al Muwatiniya is organizing this series of Hiwar sessions under the theme
"No to Civil War!"


During this Monday session, Roger Assaf, a Lebanese: playwright, director and actor will discuss his war-time community work. During the Lebanese war (1975), Roger was an active member in a local community group (between Mrayje & Hay el Sellom) formed by people form different religious backgrounds who worked tirelessly assisting the community from assisting the sick, to helping those get electricity, etc. He will tell us about how these people were living together while the war leaders were fighting by the name of confessions.

Date & Time: Monday Feb. 12th, 2007 at 8:00pm, Club 43, Gemmayzé (Lebanon)


Saturday, February 03, 2007

SEEKING A BETTER LIFE! AWAY FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

February 5-11 2007/ 5-11 Février 2007
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L’icône et l’islam : Pamela Chrabieh
3 décembre 2006, Radio Canada
Un reportage de Jean-Robert Faucher
Merci Robert et à toute l'équipe de Second Regard!
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'Voici la onzième édition des portraits de blogueurs, avec Pamela Chrabieh Badine'.
On peut trouver l'entrevue sur Dailymotion, Cent Papiers et YULBUZZ.
Merci à Philippe et Christian Aubry!

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Je vous recommande la lecture des articles ci-dessous, rédigés par Alistair Lyon, Correspondant Spécial pour Reuters (Liban), sur le phénomène de l'émigration en Iraq et au Liban. J'ai rencontré Alistair depuis quelques temps, pour une entrevue qu'il utilisa en partie en vue de l'écriture de ces articles. Évidemment qu'Alistair met l'accent sur le départ, la fuite et l'exode face à une situation intenable. Je tiens quand même à assurer nos lecteurs-lectrices qu'il ne s'agit pas d'une réalité 'généralisable' et qu'il existe, en dépit de tout, des mouvements de retour et-ou des mouvements de résistance sur le terrain qui poursuivent leur lutte pour la paix. Seraient-ils l'exception à la règle?
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Iraqis fleeing conflict flood over borders
Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:21am ET
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq and instability in Lebanon are driving hundreds of thousands of people abroad in an upheaval not matched in the Middle East since the exodus of Palestinian refugees when Israel was created in 1948.
While Lebanese usually migrate legally to countries of their choice, Iraqis are fleeing across borders in distress to escape the bombings, death squads and sectarian cleansing that have savaged their country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Most of the Iraqis are ending up in countries that already host large Palestinian communities drawn from the 4.3 million Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations.
The carnage in Iraq has also uprooted about half the 30,000 Palestinian refugees who lived there in Saddam Hussein's time, forcing them into a second exile or stranding them in limbo.
About 700 Palestinians have been stuck for months in wretched camps on the Iraqi-Syrian border after fleeing violence in Baghdad, despite U.N. appeals for Arab states to let them in.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says up to 50,000 Iraqis abandon their homes every month. "Iraq is the big one," UNHCR's regional representative Stephane Jaquemet told Reuters.
The agency estimates that up to 2 million Iraqis have moved to neighboring countries, mainly Syria and Jordan, before and since the war, while 1.7 million are internally displaced.
Jaquemet said he feared Syria and Jordan, which each host anywhere between half a million and a million Iraqis, might eventually close their borders to the refugees -- many of whom are fast exhausting whatever resources they brought with them.

TIGHTENING CONTROLS

Jordan already interrogates and turns away some Iraqi migrants at the frontier, especially young men who fail to convince the authorities they risk persecution at home.
Syria, already home to 432,000 Palestinian refugees, has been the most welcoming host for Iraqis, despite the extra burdens they create in a struggling economy where jobs are scarce and public services are creaky.
Yet Damascus, often accused by the United States of helping Iraqi insurgents, wins little international appreciation for its contribution in shouldering the Iraqi refugee burden.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have also sought safety in Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Arab Gulf states. Only a tiny fraction of those who apply for formal refugee status with the UNHCR are accepted for resettlement in the West.
Even those who risk brutal punishment or death at home for working with the U.S. military as translators or in other supporting roles find it almost impossible to gain entry to the United States, which took in only 202 Iraqi refugees in 2006.
Inside Iraq, up to half a million people fled their homes to other parts of the country last year alone, the UNHCR says.
"The defining factor was the bombing of the Samarra sanctuary on February 22," said Jean-Philippe Chauzy, spokesman for the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration, which monitors the displacement throughout Iraq.
The destruction of the Shi'ite mosque in Samarra set off a wave of Sunni-Shi'ite revenge killings that has yet to wane.

DISPLACEMENT ON RISE

"People have fled because of violence or direct threats against their families. The rate has been about 1,000 a week and it is on the increase," Chauzy said. "People are moving to areas according to ethnic and religious lines."
"In many areas people pay rent to live in insalubrious conditions where there is little clean water or electricity. Fuel is also a problem. Many are living with relatives. It's a humanitarian crisis and the needs are enormous," he added.
Rampant insecurity in Iraq has hamstrung foreign aid agencies since the 2003 bombings of the Baghdad offices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
While Iraqis try to escape the maelstrom of bloodshed, a quieter exodus of Lebanese has gathered pace since last year's war between Israel and Shi'ite Hezbollah guerrillas led to a protracted political crisis that burst into violence in January.
Lebanese economists say tens of thousands have left to seek jobs and safe havens abroad in recent months, draining youthful talent and swelling a diaspora that may already account for a quarter of the Mediterranean country's four million people.
One recent survey showed 60 percent of young graduates and older people with families hoped to leave, either because they saw no future in Lebanon or wanted to keep their children safe.
Pamela Chrabieh, a researcher in contact with many would-be migrants, said she often advised them to think twice before grappling with the trauma of settling in countries where they might face official barriers, discrimination or unemployment.
"But those who have completely lost hope say: 'It's a permanent wait and we don't know what we are waiting for any more because the whole region is in flames'," she said.
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Losing hope, Lebanese seek future abroad
Wed Jan 31, 2007 7:08pm ET
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Jad Haider is ready to pack his bags for Germany, fed up with Lebanon's political instability, simmering sectarian strife and economic malaise.
"I love this country so much. It's a beautiful country, but honestly I just can't take it any more," said the 32-year-old university English teacher. "The energy is so negative."
Jolted by last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas and the power struggles and Sunni-Shi'ite clashes that have followed, thousands of Lebanese -- many of them young and talented -- are leaving to seek jobs and new lives abroad.
"I'm not willing to stay in a country where one day you wake up and there's a war, the next day you wake up and everything's fine," Haider said. "This is no way to live."
The scale of the hemorrhage is hard to pin down, especially in a land with a long, fluid history of migration and return, but researcher Eugen Dabbous said a survey he had helped to run had confirmed many Lebanese are heading for the exits.
"Sixty percent of those surveyed want to leave," he said.
The project, conducted by the Lebanese Emigration Research Center, questioned about 600 residents from two groups -- students or recent graduates and middle-aged people.
"The younger people want to leave because they don't see a future in Lebanon, and the older group because they want to get their children out of harm's way," Dabbous said.
He said up to a million of Lebanon's estimated four million citizens already live abroad, mingling with a far bigger Lebanese-origin diaspora born of two centuries of migration.
Once mostly Christian, the outflow now affects Lebanon's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim communities just as much. Many who left during the 1975-90 civil war sank permanent roots abroad.

JOB CRISIS

"This economy is oriented only toward the commercial banking system and real estate, so we don't have enough employment opportunities," former Finance Minister Georges Corm said.
"With the oil boom in the Gulf countries, it is by the tens of thousands that people are going there to find jobs."
So many Lebanese have left for the Gulf in recent months that wages there have declined, said Carole Contavelis, a recruitment consultant for Beirut's Headhunter International.
Of 19 people she interviewed for a general manager post in Beirut, 15 had left the country: "At the upper management level, it's 70-80 percent who are out of Lebanon."
Contavelis said the employment market had been "awful" since last year's war and was still getting worse, while political instability meant no one could plan their lives sensibly.
"Now with the brain drain, we don't have a middle class any more," she complained. "How can you build a country like that?"
Asked what would have to change to induce people to stay, she said: "Frankly, everything. No bribery. We need security, clean politicians. They are treating us like cows, but we don't want to follow any more. We want to be here for our country."
But for people like Assad Ghosn, 33, a manager at the Alfa mobile telephone company, hard choices are pressing in.
"All my close friends from university are living abroad now. During the war, we were close to leaving, but we decided to wait and see what happens," he said at his Beirut office.
Ghosn, who also has a Canadian passport, said his wife Gia was keener to leave than he was. "You have to think about your career and the future of our baby," he said. "We have relatives in Canada, but it's not an easy decision. Personally, if I go out for a career, I won't come back here."

FAMILY TIES

Many Lebanese hold second or third passports, acquired through family networks already overseas. Lebanese have spread all over the world, with big communities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, West Africa and the Gulf.
They tend to retain strong business, family or emotional links to their homeland, and many send money home to support their relatives, but Sensenig-Dabbous said few were planning to return to Lebanon now or invest there.
Grace Harika Nasnas, who lives in Florida, spent five months in Lebanon last year looking for a house to buy so she and her family could return. The outbreak of war on July 12 forced an abrupt change of plan. She left hastily with her two sons.
"When the Israelis hit the airport, I'm like, it's gonna be just one bomb. I didn't think it was gonna go that far," the 31-year-old recalled in a telephone conversation from Orlando.
"We always had hopes to go back and live in Lebanon. But even before the war I didn't see much opportunity for my husband to work there. It was a big risk to invest our money in something that might work or might not."
They tend to retain strong business, family or emotional links to their homeland, and many send money home to support their relatives, but Sensenig-Dabbous said few were planning to return to Lebanon now or invest there.
Grace Harika Nasnas, who lives in Florida, spent five months in Lebanon last year looking for a house to buy so she and her family could return. The outbreak of war on July 12 forced an abrupt change of plan. She left hastily with her two sons.
"When the Israelis hit the airport, I'm like, it's gonna be just one bomb. I didn't think it was gonna go that far," the 31-year-old recalled in a telephone conversation from Orlando.
"We always had hopes to go back and live in Lebanon. But even before the war I didn't see much opportunity for my husband to work there. It was a big risk to invest our money in something that might work or might not."

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A LIRE ABSOLUMENT L'ARTICLE CI-DESSOUS DE ROBERT FISK!
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Robert Fisk: Please spare me the word 'terrorist'
Lebanon is a good place to find out what tosh the 'terror' merchants talk

Published: 03 February 2007

So it was back to terror, terror, terror this week. The "terrorist" Hizbollah was trying to destroy the "democratically elected government" of Fouad Siniora in Lebanon. The "terrorist" Hamas government cannot rule Palestine. Iranian "terrorists" in Iraq are going to be gunned down by US troops.
My favourite line of the week came from the "security source" - just how one becomes a "security source" remains a mystery to me -- who announced: "Terrorists are always looking for new ways to strike terror... There is no end of the possibilities where terrorists can try to cause terror to the public." Well, you could have fooled me.
Lebanon is as good a place as any to find out what a load of old tosh the "terror" merchants talk. For here it is that the hydra-headed monster of Iran is supposedly stalking the streets of Beirut, staging a coup against Mr Siniora and his ministers.
Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader, is the man Israel spent all last summer trying - vainly, of course - to kill, his black-bearded, turbaned appearance on Hizbollah's own TV station a source of fury to both Ehud Olmert and - nowadays - to Siniora's men in government.
Now it's true that Nasrallah - an intelligent, former military commander of Hizbollah in southern Lebanon - is developing a rather odd cult of personality. His massive features tower over the Beirut airport highway, a giant hand waving at motorists in both directions. And these days, you can buy Hizbollah T-shirts and Nasrallah key chains. But somehow "terror" is not quite the word that comes to mind.
This is partly because the tens of thousands of Shia Muslims whom Hizbollah represents are staging a social revolution rather than a coup, a mass uprising of the poor who have traditionally been ignored by the great and the good of Lebanese society.
The men in their tent city downtown are a powerful symbol in Lebanon. They are smoking their hooker pipes and playing cards and sleeping rough next to the shining new city which Rafiq Hariri rebuilt from the ruins of Beirut - a city to impress foreigners but one in which the south Lebanese poor could not afford to buy a cup of coffee.
Hariri's theory - or at least this is how he explained it to me before his murder - was that if the centre of Beirut was reconstructed, the money which it generated would trickle down to the rest of Lebanon.
But it didn't trickle. The bright lights of downtown Beirut were enjoyed by the rich and purchased by the Saudis and admired by the likes of Jacques Chirac but they were not for the Shia. For them, Hizbollah provided the social services and the economic foundation of its part of Lebanon as well as the military spearhead to strike at Israel and demand the return of Shebaa Farms.
The Lebanese government may have its troops mixed in with the new UN force in the south but no one doubts that Hizbollah remain in their villages, as powerful and as influential as ever. Harirism, it seems, failed and now Hariri's old friend Siniora - who, by the way, was never elected (he was appointed to the prime minister's job although you'd never know if from watching Western television) - has returned from Paris with millions of dollars to sit once more in his little "green zone", surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers and, outside the gates of his serail, by the poor of southern Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut.
Hizbollah's electoral partners are also interesting. General Michel Aoun - whom the Americans have not yet got round to calling a "terrorist" - is the Christian leader who allows Nasrallah to claim that the opposition is non-sectarian. Aoun's supporters were involved in pitched battles with Samir Geagea's Phalangists last week and what was striking was how poor many of Aoun's Christian supporters also appeared to be. Indeed, Aoun was himself born in the same southern slums of Beirut which is Hizbollah's power base and his constant refrain - that the government is corrupt - is beginning to take hold among the disenfranchised Christian communities in the east of Beirut.
The fact that Aoun is also a little cracked does not change this. Even when this week he produced a doctored photograph supposedly showing an armed Phalangist on the streets - the image was of a Hizbollah gunman, originally taken during last summer's war but stuck on to a photograph of crowds on a north Beirut roadway - his loyal supporters did not desert him. Nestling beside their tents in central Beirut are canvas homes containing Lebanese communists - how friendly the old hammer and sickle seems these days - and a host of lesser groups which may or may not come under Syria's patronage.
Of course, the crisis in Lebanon is also about Iran and Syria, especially Iran's determination to damage or destroy any Middle East government which has earned America's friendship. In the growing, overheated drama being played out between Washington and Tehran (and Israel, of course), Lebanon is another board game for the two sides to use. America thus lined up to defend Lebanon's democracy - though it didn't care a damn about it when Israel bombarded the country last summer - while Iran continues to support Hizbollah whose government ministers resigned last year, provoking the current crisis.
Nasrallah is said to have been personally shocked by the extent of the violence and hatred manifested in last week's miniature civil war in which both Sunni and Shia Muslims used guns against each other for the first time.
But they too emerged from the slums to do battle with their co-religionists and I rather suspect that - when this latest conflict is over - there will have to be a serious evaluation of the explosive nature of Lebanon's poverty belts, a re-examination of a country whose super-wealthy launder the money which never reaches the poor, whose French restaurants and Italian designer shops are for the princes of the Gulf, whose government - however democratically elected (and Washington still doesn't seem to understand that sectarian politics mean that Lebanon cannot have a normal democracy) - seems so out of touch with its largest religious community.

But as the story of Lebanon continues, please spare me the word "terrorist".