QF partner university holds webinar on the future of Lebanon

While the shockwaves from the port explosion in Beirut last month are still being felt in the hearts of the Lebanese people today, there is reason to hope for a better future, said panelists in a recent webinar titled “What’s Ahead for Lebanon”.

Organized by Northwestern in Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university, the webinar saw individuals discuss the situation in Lebanon, reflect on how they received the devastating news, and highlight efforts currently being conducted to help the city.

“The scene in Lebanon right now is quite difficult for people. While they are already struggling with the pandemic and lockdown, which led to further depreciation of the currency, prices of essentials – like bread, medicine, and gasoline – are shooting up and way over what people can afford,” said Jaimee Haddad, a Northwestern Qatar alumna, who moved back to Lebanon last January.

“When I drove to Beirut for the first time after the blast, it felt like driving into the apocalypse,” Haddad said. “The buildings were still standing, but were lifeless. Instead of emergency personnel and trained individuals as the first responders, there were only school kids with brooms sweeping glass, and relatives and neighbors helping out in all possible ways. The youth and civil society have taken ownership of cleaning up their city and the streets, not the government or the police.

“But it’s a scene which gives me hope in the future. This is the generation that will rebuild the country, and will have a stake in the political status that will come next.”

For Sami Hermez, Interim Director of the Liberal Arts Program and Associate Professor in Residence at Northwestern Qatar, he believes that this adversity was a symptom of a larger issue that Lebanon has been tangled in for several decades.

“Accidents don’t just occur,” he said. “Authorities and successive parliamentarians knew there were 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the middle of the city. And in a functioning legitimate government, it is impossible to simply store something that dangerous in the heart of a city. There are thousands of questions and speculations on where these explosive materials were going, and how they ended up being stored in Beirut’s port.”

Hermez believes what is happening in Lebanon now is nothing but a continuation of a war that Lebanon has been embroiled in since its independence.

“There are many facets to this war on corruption – from the patronage system, to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, to the political sectarian power-sharing system under the French mandate, to the patronage system that is subsidized through economic corruption.”

Hermez referred to these facts as the foundation that has shaped the relationship between the Lebanese citizens and the country’s leadership. “The Lebanese have been rising up against this for so long, and, despite the uprising of October 2019, haven’t achieved material gains.”

Kim Makhlouf, a Northwestern Qatar student, in spite of being away from home, immediately rose to action – emailing news publications, interviewing people impacted by the explosion, and writing their stories.

“I tried my best to be as active as possible, especially online, as people in Lebanon have more trust in social media because it’s independent, unlike other media and news channels which are mostly driven by certain political parties. I also had the chance to volunteer in Qatar – I joined the teams who worked on donations sent from people in Doha to Beirut directly.

It was a humbling experience seeing people come together. It made me believe in the power of expat communities to make a change and be of huge help even if it’s not in the same place that they reside in.”