The other day Linda asked us if there are any additional people/aspects of Lebanon that we would like to have an opportunity to learn more about. No one requested to speak with royalty, but that’s exactly what we got. Ms. Hayat Arslan, Head of Public Relationa and Media Committee for the National Commission for Lebanese Women was one additional speaker that the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation was able to secure for us at the last minute (their connections are amazing!). Coming from a long line of powerful Druze, Princess Arslan does not let her fortunate lifestyle outweigh her desire to see that the less fortunate may also have a chance at a better life. Even she, as a woman, is faced with the same struggles that all women to an extent share in this male-oriented world.
I was all ears as we sat down with her and two of her impressive daughters to listen to their social justice efforts, such as Diala Arslan’s published children’s books which teach of democracy. As far as I can recall, Ms. Hayat Arslan is only our second woman speaker who NCUSAR has formally met with here in Lebanon and fortunately her caliber of experience and efforts have made up for not hearing from more females on this trip. I took in everything that she said, but I won’t go into details here. I will, however, say that the Arslan family serves as a sure reminder that there are people in Lebanon who are making incredible and impactful strides to see that positive change has come about—and will come about—for all members of Lebanese society.
After a very insightful morning, I had the opportunity to check out another one of Lebanon’s university campuses: Lebanese American University. While not quite as highly ranked as American University of Beirut, the campus of LAU was certainly beautiful and I picked up a few flyers of LAU Arabic course opportunities which I am now considering. The SINARC Institute of LAU (the Arabic program) was extremely generous in providing us with a meet and greet
opportunity with some SINARC students over a traditional lunch of hummus and pita. I was hoping we’d have time as well to meet with our host Dr. Jeha, who was responsible for organizing this event, but she was deep in conversation with her old friend (and our NCUSAR escort) Linda. I did have another professor approach me, however, who was more than happy to speak with me about Lebanese youth and women organizations which I will definitely take into consideration as I prepare my Honors senior thesis paper. Additionally, I was able to utilize my Arabic yet again in speaking with another professor who approached me, and afterwards one of my American colleagues introduced me to someone he had been speaking with—a fellow Grand Valley State University student, of all people, who is spending the year studying Arabic at LAU. It really is a small world.
We said our farewells and on our way to the hotel, where we would freshen up for dinner, our bus driver obliged in driving past a location I’ve been aching to see since we arrived: a Palestinian refugee camp. These camps have concerned me ever since I first learned about the details of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the atrocities that took place at the Shatilla camp and the nearby gathering of Sabra. With these refugees’ long-term homes playing such a large role in the withstanding conflict and in Lebanon’s overall infrastructure, I wanted to see for myself the conditions of a camp before I left Lebanon. As we drove by, everyone on the bus was well aware that the Palestinian issue in Lebanon is not a comfortable subject with Lebanese citizens; after all, the Palestinian refugees in the country make up roughly one-sixth of the country’s entire population (which is why an official census has not been processed in decades). So as we drove past the scene, an uncomfortable silence settled on the group until the camp was well out of sight.
On Thursday, the president of the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), Bill Corcoran, had dinner with us and provided wonderful insight of the harsh realities of these camps. He explained to us in detail what Lebanon’s laws are doing to some of these people; the Palestinian refugees are forbidden from taking up professions outside of the camps and are denied access to Lebanese public education. Yet their resilience and their strong foundation of tradition means that some Palestinians refugees in Lebanon do succeed in obtaining PhDs on scholarships abroad and manage to escape this vicious cycle. Many more are still stuck in the sixty-year-old camps, however, with only the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) providing any sort of education and many of them getting by on only six dollars a day. Imagine living amongst 50,000 residents in one of the many high-rise “apartments” constructed out of nothing but cinderblock as walls and a piece of scrap metal for a roof? Disease and illness is common considering the filthy streets, no access to clean water, and only one hospital available for everyone in the town, meaning that doctors see an average of 117 every day. This is the reality for the inhabitants of Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ein El Helweh, located just south of the coastal Saida.
The other eleven refugee camps (and the unregistered “gatherings” nearby) are in a similar state of deterioration, but the Palestinians make do with what they can given that the laws of Lebanon prevent them from a right to work and the right to expand their already-cramped camps. Having been here for decades, Lebanese citizens find the refugees’ presence a thorn in their side and Corcoran warns that the camps are like a “powder keg”, with some like the Ein El Helweh camp “armed to the teeth”. Despite its bloody history, Shatilla appeared to be on the small side, however, and was not so heavily armed—still, the living conditions were quite as grim as those that I described of Ein El Helweh. Thank goodness for kind souls such as Bill Corcoran and the others who work for or donate to ANERA and UNRWA, because their efforts are keeping the refugees’ lives from going from bad to worse…
On a brighter note: our Farewell Dinner at Le Péché Aqua Marina, a gorgeous restaurant on the water in Beruit’s neighboring coastal city Jounieh, was a perfect way to meet, greet, and thank the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation members most responsible for our visit. Every person Hampton and I talked to had incredible stories to share. It made me excited to discover what kind of stories my life will come to be, considering that at a fresh 22 years old I spent the evening sitting on a chic restaurant-dock, eating what was possibly the best seafood dinner I will ever have in my entire life partaking in an in-depth discussion of Lebanon’s current economic condition with some of the country’s most educated people. Sadly, the next time I blog about my incredible experiences here, I will be doing it from home. As one of the group who is flying through Istanbul, Turkey, I’ve got to head to the airport in about half an hour from now for the 4:30 AM flight. I suppose I better take this time to get in my goodbyes to the other group, who isn’t departing until 10 AM… who knows the next time I will see them all again. Although I can’t say when, I know one thing’s for sure: Beirut, I will be back!
