Lebanon - Den of sin

I was reading, via Blog Baladi, this Now Lebanon piece on unmarried couples in Lebanon being unable, or at least having to lie in order to, share a hotel room.

Now, regarding the foreigner-Lebanese couple, that’s not my experience. But I’ve heard it exists. Certainly, all foreigner couple isn't an issue. You know, we're all going to Hell anyway.

However, contained within the article was something I found a little disturbing:

Should a “mixed” couple (one Lebanese and one foreigner) try to book a room at a hotel in Lebanon, they too are turned away, if not for the cohabitation law, then certainly for reasons of social norms.

“We don’t like it,” said a manager at one seaside hotel in Beirut. “You don’t like what?” NOW Lebanon asked.  “Couples with different nationalities, or a Lebanese mixing with a foreigner.” 

My considered response to statements such as the above involves a string of four letter words my mother taught me when I was knee high to a grasshopper and a boot to the offender’s soft parts. Then I’d set the wife on him.

 "Sweetheart, could you go talk to that

lovely man behind the counter? He thinks

you're a hooker."

Now, throughout the article, it’s unclear as to why the hotels are doing this. At various points it’s articulated as follows:

1.      Religious law forbids it (regardless of religion)

2.      General Security appear to be leaning on hotels

3.      Lebanese hotel owners are racists (yes, sorry, but that’s exactly what the quoted            passage above implies)

4.      It’s the law (when it comes to Lebanese couples)

5.      It’s a matter of stopping prostitution

However, the ISF vice squad then say:

But an officer there, who did not want to speak on the record, said the police would never crack down on hotels unless someone specifically called in a complaint. 

“We are mainly preoccupied with enforcing the law against prostitution,” he added.

I’ll quote Blog Baladi’s Najib in order to express my disgust:

I find this policy really backwards and unjustified as this is bad business for them.

Precisely. Only, I’d add the word ass in front of backwards.

However, I have a question for you:

Is the following attitude common among Lebanese?

“You don’t like what?” NOW Lebanon asked. 

“Couples with different nationalities, or a Lebanese mixing with a foreigner.” 

If it is, does it include other Arabs, or is it restricted to honkies like myself?

Your lips are sealed

It appears that three people have been thrown in jail after they insulted Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Facebook.

Hmmmm….

 

Worrisome, no?

I for one would never insult a Lebanese politician. I think they’re all wonderful people who do a fantastic job.

Volte-face

Well, turns out that Charbel and co. allowed Oublie la voiture to go ahead, albeit under a new name. The play went through a series of name changes, including, bizarrely, Meryl Streep, before being released under the title of Stoflo.

Ahhh, the trials of posting live news. We live and learn.

Step back in time

There have been a few events in recent weeks that hint that all is not well in the heart of the country. Heavy-handed treatment of refugees and the closing of a play hint at something quite disturbing.

Rachid Al-Daif’s play, Oublie La Voiture, was closed down and people ejected as it was a little too racy for staid (?!) Lebanese views. Hmmmm. Apparently every play has to be vetted by the Lebanese General Security and given a permit. This one had been rejected, ran anyway and was shut down.

 

Charbel felt that the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini had been 
underrated, and if you didn't agree, he'd kick the shit out of you.

Risqué plays are one thing, but violence toward refugees entirely another.

A group of Sudanese refugees were holding a charity fundraiser for a sick child. It’s been described as a “party”. Well, fresh from their turn as avant garde art critics, the police proceeded to break up the gathering.

People were dragged from the building pushed face down on the pavement and generally pushed about. Nice. Not only that, but it was reported that some less-than-pleasant language was used. “Nigger” is a term that most people deem to be disgusting, myself included, unfortunately it is heard quite frequently here. Oh, and the Sudanese are Arabs.

I’m sure I recall hearing Lebanese complain about the Syrians doing similar things when they were in town. Surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.

But, not to worry, there’ll be an enquiry. And, after all, they got to arrest some illegal immigrants.


Christ.


Time to check my papers methinks.

Maternal matters

Over the weekend Lebanese women took to the streets to highlight the need for reform of the laws regarding citizenship. At present they can’t pass on their nationality to their husband or sprogs.

However, there is a little movement on the issue.

Good luck if you're in the 

middle of that lot

While lining the streets and making noise is all well and good, I can’t help but feel that they’ll struggle to achieve anything when it comes to nationality.

Perhaps a concerted lobbying effort might yield tangible results?

Message in a bottle

Lebanon is, in many ways, an intricate blend of Third World (sorry, Developing World) bribery and rabid, no-holds-barred capitalism. You can do what you will, but it will cost you and the man providing the service might well take his cut, too.

Case in point: The government and the Internet.

So, the Lebanese government makes oodles of cash off the back of cell phone charges. The standard rate for a minute is 0.33 USD. That’s ridiculously expensive when you consider the average Lebanese income. 60-70 per cent of the country owns a cell phone. Do the math.

Now, the government is moving to protect this income stream by banning VOIP programs (that’s Voice-Over-Internet-Protocols, or video chat programs to the luddites out there). Nice move guys, nice move.

This is just part of the latest lesson in Self-Servicing Economics 101 delivered by the government and really boggles the mind. There’s a law up for debate in parliament that would do all sorts of unpleasantness to Internet users.

There are several wonderful measures concerning the ability of a new, unelected, body to take personal data for use in various investigations. But, perhaps the most ridiculous one is the levy on all Internet transactions.

Bizarre.

Western Union is evil and must be

punished 

Lebanon escaped the financial storm of recent times relatively unscathed thanks to some responsible fiscal policies. Now they’re in a position to reap the benefits and, by all accounts, the money is rolling in due to minimal taxation.

So… here’s a great idea. Let’s tax Internet transactions of any sort size or shape. Genius.

At a time when Lebanese Internet speeds are ridiculously slow and overpriced (at home I have a 512kb connection for $50 p/m … and that’s fast) the government is struggling to attract investment due to a decaying infrastructure. … So … instead of incentives … they start taxing….

I have an image of a guy with an abacus sliding beads across the bars. Time to join the 21^st Century methinks.

The debate has actually been postponed at present thanks to, wait for it, an Internet campaign. Who’d of thought it?

Equality, eschmolity

And now for something close to my heart.

A friend of a friend, which, let’s face it, is a degree of separation which, in Lebanon, could account for the entire population, a country in which the guy selling kaak on the street is only two steps away from the Minister of the Interior, has just been deported. He’s been working here “illegally”. He hasn’t really been illegal, he’s been wrangling with the system, they’ve been messing him around and they’ve finally lost patience.

 

Image from here.

Fine, happens every day, right? Yes, but this fella just happens to be married to a Lebanese woman. Yes, that’s why it’s close to my heart, I’m (potentially) in the same boat as this poor sod. (I'm not, I'm fully paid up.)

The situation here is complicated in its simplicity. Essentially, if you’re married to a Lebanese woman you’re not entitled to work in the country, however you can live here… which makes about as much sense as a chocolate kettle.

Fine, I hear you say, apply for citizenship. Well, I would, but Lebanese women can’t pass on their nationality. Apparently, your rights are entirely dependent on what’s between your legs. Which I'd normally be all for, but in this case is clearly a gross violation of all that's good and holy.

So, you’re shafted, unless you can find a company to sponsor you. Then, due to various legal shenanigans, the Ministry of Labour, or General Security, will hold your passport for a while, pretend to fill out the forms before returning them to you on the basis that the quality of the fool in their local shop has gone downhill recently. Obviously, if you have money, this issue mysteriously disappears.

Why does this happen? Easy. The Palestinians. The Palestinian population in Lebanon is around 400,000, which is around 10 per cent of the Lebanese population. Yes, I know Wikipedia is about as reliable as Bill Clinton’s word, but there hasn’t been a census taken since 1932 (yes, that's true), so your guess is as good as mine.

So, the Lebanese are concerned, or rather the heads of the Lebanese political parties and institutions are concerned, that significant numbers of Lebanese women have run off with Palestinian men over the years and that by granting their spouses, and therefore children, nationality would disturb the wonderful political balancing act within the country. *Pauses for breath.*

Now, it might once have been true that, of those who had married a foreigner, the majority had got hitched to a Palestinian, but that’s no longer the case. With the diaspora resulting from the Civil War, the majority of Lebanese women who’re married to foreigners have settled down with 'orrible Westerners, myself being one. The stats are out of date and need to be revised.

At the end of the day, there is no answer to this problem. There’s been talk of changing the laws relating to children, but not to spouses … which doesn’t solve the problem. At the end of the day, Lebanon has a manyana, manyana attitude toward the issue.

So, what’s to be done?

Not a lot. However, if you’d like to add your support for reform of the law, you can sign up here and join the group on the Devil’s tool that is Facebook, here. I note that the Facebook group also accepts men, which leads me to suspect they're using it to pick up women. You know, like joining the drama society when you were at school.

In any case, it’s a good job that I’ve got a sugar momma.

- TLA