The Daily Star - One in four Lebanese live in poverty, December 16, 2015

Philip Issa




Lebanon is an “upper middle income” economy, in the hermetic parlance of international development, but over one in four residents of the country live in poverty, according to a new study by the World Bank and Lebanon’s Central Administration of Statistics.

That translates to around 1 million individuals living without enough income to meet basic livelihood needs, making sacrifices between rent, food, health care, or other fundamentals. For Lebanon, that threshold is roughly $266 per person per month, the study determined.

In fact, the true measure of poverty is certainly graver, considering the study limitations and Lebanon’s rapidly changing demographics.

The study collected data from a random sample of households in 2011 and 2012, before the number of Syrians living in Lebanon reached anywhere near its recent peak.

At the time of the data collection, in November 2012, only 100,000 Syrians had registered with the UNHCR as refugees. Nearly 1.1 million are registered today.

And no data was collected in the UNRWA refugee camps, where around 240,000 Palestinians live in mostly squalid conditions.

The study will nevertheless prove itself as a useful tool to calibrate the government’s anti-poverty efforts, known as the National Poverty Targeting Program.

“This program aims to identify Lebanon’s poorest communities and help the government address their most urgent needs,” said Haneen Sayed, the World Bank’s Program Leader for Poverty and Social Protection, at an event to publicize the study.

The event was held at the bank’s office, a vault of exclusivity hidden in Downtown Beirut. Guests entered through a security antechamber and a blast door.

Around 16 percent of Beirut residents live in poverty, the lowest incidence in the country, according to the study, compared to 36-38 percent of North Lebanon and Bekaa Valley residents, where the rate of poverty is the highest. Overall, 27 percent of the country’s residents live below the poverty line.

Children of poor households are substantially less likely to complete their secondary school education or enroll in university, the study found. Ten percent of poor houses have no access to clean drinking water, and 6 percent live in an area with open sewage or no drainage system.

The new poverty study is the first by the CAS since 2005, though the results could not be compared because of incompatible methodologies, the authors said. But the CAS will continue to use the methods developed in this study so that the incidence of poverty can be tracked in the future.

“This poverty estimation will be considered as a baseline to improve the survey questionnaires, and in 2017, we will be able to [produce] a comparison,” CAS Director General Maral Tutelian told The Daily Star.

The CAS released the household data behind the findings two years ago, but only this month completed its collaborative study with the World Bank. Former Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas criticized it as outdated.

“It is not really a new study, only an extraction from a wider study that can be rich with many lessons,” Nahhas, who attended the event, told The Daily Star.

“All these data have been drastically transformed due to the arrival of Syrian displaced. Since most of the Syrian displaced fall into the poor category, this brings you to almost 35 or 40 percent of poor.”

Source & Link: The Daily Star

Al-Mustaqbal - Derbass: Launch of the temporary food Card to support the poorest households, April 26, 2014

البطاقة الغذائية للأسر اللبنانية الفقيرة بدءاً من طرابلس

درباس: تداعيات النزوح تتجاوز 7,5 مليارات دولار

شدد وزير الشؤون الاجتماعية رشيد درباس على ان انتشار اللاجئين السوريين بصورة عشوائية يجعل زمام الامور في هذا الملف فالتة، «فليس لدينا رقابة كاملة على هذا الملف»، معتبرا ان قضية اللاجئين محنة عربية وليست لبنانية فقط، وعلى الدول العربية ان تعقد اجتماعا لمعالجة الازمة السورية وعليها الاتفاق على تنظيم حالة النزوح السوري»، ولفت الى ان كلفة تداعيات النزوح تجاوزت 7,5 مليارات دولار والحاجة لمعالجة تداعيات الازمة على البنية التحتية تبلغ 2,8 ملياري دولار.

ورأى في حديث تلفزيوني ان «ما من وسيلة للتخلص من خلية انتشار اللاجئين السوريين في لبنان الا من خلال وضعهم في اماكن اكثر انسانية، تكون في الوقت عينه خاضعة للرقابة عند الحدود». وقال: «حاولنا اقناع المنظمات الدولية برعاية اقامة مخيمات في المناطق الحدودية الفاصلة بين المصنع وجديدة يابوس وبين العبودية والدبوسية، لكنهم كانوا يرفضون بصورة مستمرة بحجة ان هذه المناطق غير آمنة علما ان هذه الاراضي هي موضع اتفاق الشعب اللبناني والاحزاب اللبنانية».

وأكد «اننا لا نطلب منطقة حظر جوي على سوريا ولكن ان تحمي راية الامم المتحدة هذه المناطق ونحن لا نجد أي سبب كي تكون معرضة أمنيا ان قمنا برقابة امنية عليها، ففي مخيم الزعتري في الاردن الامن مضبوط الى حد كبير .ورأى ان على الحكومة بالاتفاق مع المفوضية العليا والدول العربية والجهات الدولية المانحة ان تنشئ انواعا متعددة من المخيمات .

اضاف: نستطيع من خلال القوى الامنية توجيه الناس تدريجا، لكن انتشار اللاجئين عشوائيا يجعل زمام الامور في هذا الملف فالتة. فليس لدينا رقابة كاملة على هذا الملف .وأعرب عن خشيته من ان يكون المجتمع الدولي مرتاحا لوضع اللاجئين ونصبح في لبنان مستودعا. ورأى ان على الشعب اللبناني ان يتنبه لهذا الخطر الذي يجب ان يجعلنا نترك كل خلافاتنا ونتوحد حول هذا الملف .

وفد المطارنة الالمان

واستقبل درباس في مكتبه في الوزارة وفدا من مجلس المطارنة الالمان والبعثة البابوية. وكان عرض لتأثير النزوح السوري إلى لبنان والانعكاسات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والصحية والتربوية والسياسية والامنية لهذا النزوح. وذكر درباس أن «لبنان يعاني أضرارا كبيرة تجاوزت 7,5 مليارات دولار. وبلغت احتياجاته الاستثمارية لمعالجة تداعيات هذه الازمة على البنية التحتية 2,8 ملياري دولار»، مؤكدا «وجوب اتخاذ موقف اوروبي واضح تجاه الازمة السورية من خلال الدعوة الى وقف اعمال العنف في سوريا».

ودعا الكنائس الاوروبية إلى «لعب دور ايجابي من اجل الحفاظ على الوجود المسيحي في الشرق».

وكان الوفد التقى في زحلة، رئيس أساقفة الفرزل وزحلة والبقاع للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك المطران عصام يوحنا درويش الذي عرض اوضاع النازحين السوريين في زحلة خصوصا والمساعدات التي قدمتها المطرانية لغاية اليوم لنحو 800 عائلة مسيحية مقيمة في مدينة زحلة. ثم زار درويش والوفد بعض العائلات النازحة.

البطاقة الغذائية 

أعلن درباس إطلاق البطاقة الغذائية الموقتة الصادرة عن «البرنامج الوطني لدعم الأسر الأكثر فقرا»، إنطلاقا من طرابلس ومن منطقة باب التبانة وجبل محسن تحديدا ومنها الى كل لبنان. وتمنح هذه الخدمة الى العائلات اللبنانية المستفيدة من البرنامج والتي حصلت على أدنى مستويات التصنيف.

تقدم هذه الخدمة المؤقتة الى الأسر المستفيدة ما قيمته 30 دولارا شهريا للفرد الواحد، على الا تتجاوز القيمة الإجمالية 150 دولارا شهريا للأسرة الواحدة. يتم الاستفادة من هذه الخدمة عبر بطاقة ممغنطة مسبقة الدفع صادرة عن البرنامج وتستعمل حصرا لشراء المواد الغذائية في محلات محددة سلفا يبلغ عددها 270 محلا موزعة في المناطق اللبنانية كافة. 

ويتشارك في توفير الخدمة الجديدة الى جانب وزارة الشؤون، البنك الدولي والمفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين UNHCR ، وبرنامج الغذاء العالميWFP ، إضافة الى عدد من المساهمين. وسيتم توزيع البطاقة الغذائية بدءا من حزيران المقبل عبر مراكز الوزارة. ويستمر البرنامج في تقديم الخدمات الصحية والتعليمية الى المستفيدين كذلك في استقبال الطلبات الجديدة من الاسر اللبنانية في مختلف مراكز الوزارة.

Al-Mustaqbal

Daily Star - Extreme poverty should be confronted, August 8 2012

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said Tuesday that the increasing number of people living in extreme poverty should be confronted swiftly through economic policies that would expand the country’s middle class.

“What Lebanon needs are economic policies far from sectarianism or party lines to rebuild the country’s economy and revive the middle class,” Sleiman said.

The president was speaking during a ceremony to announce the results of the first phase of the National Poverty Targeting Program – a campaign introduced by the Social Affairs Ministry, endorsed by the government and funded by the World Bank and the Italian and Canadian governments.

Sleiman assured the Lebanese that despite the harsh living conditions imposed by successive crises, “social justice will remain a priority on the national agenda, away from Lebanon’s sectarian divisions.”

The president added that “the state bears a heavy burden in protecting society from collapse, as it pays more than LL733 billion yearly in health services to its employees and those on retirement programs.”

While he lauded the efforts of the Social Affairs Ministry in the NPTP campaign, he pointed out that “the problem lies with [the government’s] random spending.”

The campaign was launched in November of last year and seeks to address the long-neglected policy area of poverty in Lebanon. The NPTP aims to primarily help those individuals living on less than $2.40 a day.

Citing U.N. figures from 2004, Sleiman said that 30 percent of Lebanese live under the poverty line and around 8.5 percent, or 350,000 people, live in extreme poverty.

Sleiman also said that to successfully build the Lebanese state, cities cannot be the sole focus of development projects and that rural areas must be invested in too.

He said that around 300,000 people in the country are unable to meet their basic food needs.

For his part, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour said that the first stage of the program targeted 33,000 Lebanese families.

“This is the first phase. It will be succeeded by the second and third phases and we will hold evaluations of each phase ... We also hope to turn this campaign into a permanent institution that would take care of Lebanon’s poor people,” he said.

He also stressed that “this program disregarded the sectarian and political affiliations of these people.

“We don’t know anything about such affiliations and we don’t care,” he said.

Abu Faour also described the reactions of those households visited by his ministry’s teams.

“Some of them did not believe that the government has really paid them a visit because they have been looking for government [help] for ages,” he said.

Others started crying when they saw the ministry team visit their homes to examine their livelihoods, he said.

The ministry has 96 Social Development Centers in Lebanon that have specialized units for targeting poverty.

According to Abu Faour, the ministry teams have so far visited 33,000 homes across the country.

Some $7.6 billion was pledged to Lebanon during the Paris III Conference in 2007 and the NPTP was among the social programs that the government vowed to implement with the funds.

Abu Faour also criticized the neglect of consecutive Lebanese governments in the past decades.

“When the state turned its eyes away from poverty, they let the impoverished become followers of individual sects that in turn worsened their situation,” he said.

He added that those living below the poverty line have been exploited by Lebanese sects in their violent confrontations with each other during times of unrest.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-08/183812-extreme-poverty-should-be-confronted-sleiman.ashx#axzz22xYTtmO5

L'orient le jour - Les journaliers d’EDL attendent le versement de leurs salaires, August 7 2012

En théorie, la crise des journaliers d’Électricité du Liban a été réglée, mais dans la pratique, une certaine incertitude a plané durant la journée d’hier au sujet de cette affaire. Les journaliers d’EDL, rappelle-t-on, ont observé une grève, accompagnée de sit-in et d’occupation des locaux de l’office, pendant près de 90 jours, afin d’obtenir leur inscription au cadre et le versement de leurs salaires des mois de mai et de juin. 
Un accord a finalement été conclu à la fin de la semaine dernière, prévoyant l’organisation d’un concours en vue de leur titularisation et le versement des salaires. Et c’est sur base de cet accord, conclu avec l’État que les journaliers devaient mettre fin à leur mouvement de protestation. Sauf que, dans la journée d’hier, les contestataires se sont rassemblés dans la salle d’EDL réservée aux clients, à Mar Mikhaël, à Beyrouth, afin de protester contre le non-paiement de leurs salaires qui devaient être versés hier, conformément aux termes de l’accord. Les salaires devraient être payés par les trois sociétés privées, chargées par le ministre de l’Énergie et de l’Eau de prendre en charge la collecte des montants des factures d’électricité. Les représentants des journaliers ont vivement dénoncé le retard intervenu dans le paiement des émoluments. Ils ont menacé de recourir à nouveau à l’escalade si le versement ne se fait pas aujourd’hui, mardi. 
Il reste qu’un problème est apparu hier sur ce plan : les trois sociétés privées susmentionnées ont indiqué hier qu’elles n’étaient pas concernées outre mesure par les termes de l’accord conclu entre l’État et les journaliers, soulignant qu’en tout état de cause, elles ne paieront les salaires que lorsque les journaliers signeront les contrats d’embauche aux conditions des entreprises. Cette attitude a été vivement dénoncée par le président de la Fédération des syndicats des chauffeurs de taxi, Bassam Tleiss, qui a accusé les responsables de ces trois entreprises de « louvoyer » et de se livrer à des manœuvres « alors que le versement des arriérés de salaires n’est nullement lié à la signature des contrats ». M. Tleiss a demandé dans ce cadre aux journaliers de patienter 24 ou 48 heures. 
Notons sur ce plan qu’en dépit du rassemblement organisé hier dans l’une des salles d’EDL, les employés de l’office ont réintégré leurs bureaux de Mar Mikhaël après avoir été contraints de déménager, sous la pression, au siège de la centrale de Zouk Mikaël, après la décision prise par le conseil d’administration d’EDL de considérer que l’office est « fermé » du fait de l’occupation des locaux de Mar Mikhaël. Les bureaux des employés ont été rouverts hier matin sous la supervision des forces de l’ordre, permettant ainsi une reprise partielle du travail. 
Signalons, pour conclure, que le député Mohammad Kabbani, membre du bloc du Futur, a souligné hier que « les responsables auraient mieux fait de régler cette affaire il y a deux mois, en faisant preuve d’ouverture d’esprit et de rationalité, ce qui aurait économisé au pays une longue crise politique et sociale ».

http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Liban/article/772192/Les_journaliers_d'EDL_attendent_le_versement_de_leurs_salaires.html

L'orient le jour - EDL : fin du sit-in des journaliers, tout le monde a gagné..., August 4 2012

Ghassan Ghosn salue la « victoire des travailleurs », Gebran Bassil celle de « l’État et de la loi ».

Dans un pays toujours en butte à de graves coupures de courant, les parties impliquées dans la crise des journaliers d’Électricité du Liban se sont toutes félicitées hier de la résolution du dossier, au terme d’une grève qui aura duré 95 jours.
D’abord, le chef de la Confédération générale des travailleurs, Ghassan Ghosn, qui s’était impliqué dans les pourparlers en début de semaine en faveur des journaliers, a annoncé au nom de ces derniers qu’un accord a été conclu, qualifié de « victoire pour les travailleurs ». Il a déclaré ensuite la levée du sit-in que les journaliers observent depuis trois mois au siège central de l’office, à Mar Mikhaël.
Le comité de suivi des journaliers a pour sa part publié un communiqué dans lequel il annonçait la fin du mouvement, avec « le maintien de nos réunions pour observer de près la mise en œuvre de l’accord ».
De son côté, le ministre de l’Énergie et de l’Eau Gebran Bassil s’est réuni avec les membres du conseil d’administration d’EDL, présidé par son directeur général Kamal Hayek, au siège du ministère. Le ministre Bassil a déclaré ensuite dans un point de presse que la victoire qui a été enregistrée est celle de « la logique de l’État et de la loi ». Précisant que « l’accord obtenu est un accord politique clair, qui ne supporte aucune interprétation », le ministre a tenu à remercier le président de la République Michel Sleiman pour sa « défense des institutions » et la direction d’EDL pour avoir « épargné au Liban une grave crise ». Renvoyant le mérite du dénouement de la crise à la direction d’EDL, Gebran Bassil a également dédié « la victoire au peuple libanais ». « Ceux qui ont conclu cet accord ont la loi comme seule référence (...) nous avions eu à choisir entre le chaos et le rétablissement de l’ordre », a-t-il ajouté, rappelant que « la loi interdit les sit-in à l’intérieur des institutions publiques ».
La fin de la crise d’EDL a été marquée par la levée des tentes (du sit-in), le déblocage de l’accès à l’entrée principale de l’office et par des tirs de feux d’artifice à Mar Mikhaël, à l’arrivée d’une délégation de contractuels emmenée par Ghassan Ghosn.
Notons toutefois que le département chargé de la distribution s’était déclaré non concerné par l’accord avec le gouvernement, qui l’exclut, selon lui. Des informations démenties par d’autres journaliers ainsi que par Ghassan Ghosn lui-même, qui a assuré que l’accord impliquait les départements de la distribution et de la collecte dans toutes les régions. « Je ne comprends pas les raisons de ces rumeurs », a-t-il affirmé, assurant que « l’accord inclut les départements de distribution dans toutes les régions, et que sa mise en œuvre commencera à Beyrouth et au Mont-Liban ».

Les points de l’accord
L’accord prévoit que les journaliers qui ont pris part au sit-in ne seront pas poursuivis en justice. Il prévoit également le versement aux journaliers de leurs salaires pour les trois derniers mois de sit-in et leur accorde le droit de prendre part au concours qui sera organisé sous la supervision du Conseil de la fonction publique. Ceux qui y auront réussi seront incorporés dans le cadre, alors que les autres se verront attribuer des indemnités de fin de service. Le texte demande en outre la levée du sit-in et la restitution des factures d’électricité retenues par les journaliers, ces derniers étant chargés de leur distribution et encaissement pour le compte de l’EDL.
Des négociations auront lieu par ailleurs entre des représentants du ministère du Travail, de la CGTL et des journaliers concernant les amendements au projet de loi qui devra être approuvé durant la prochaine session parlementaire.

À l’origine du conflit
Rappelons que ces dernières semaines, le conflit entre les journaliers et EDL avait pris une dimension communautaire : les journaliers étant en majorité chiites, des députés chrétiens, invoquant un déséquilibre confessionnel, se sont opposés à un projet de loi voté en juillet qui préconisait leur titularisation. C’est dans ce cadre que le député berryiste Ghazi Zeaiter a assuré que « tous les efforts ont été déployés dans le seul but, humanitaire, de protéger les droits des journaliers, sans égard aux enjeux électoraux, sectaires ou politiques ». Par ailleurs, EDL a appelé « à ne pas entraîner l’office dans les tensions et les conflits politiques, et à laisser travailler l’office avec les ressources disponibles dont il dispose pour assurer la stabilité minimale dans la production et la distribution du courant à tous les Libanais ». « En référence aux déclarations véhiculées par les médias, selon lesquelles l’office a manqué aux réparations urgentes sur le réseau », EDL a rappelé que « nous ne disposions pas du matériel nécessaire, retenu dans le siège central de Mar Mikhaël ». « Malgré cela, EDL a fait de son mieux pour effectuer les réparations nécessaires, comme cela a été le cas à Achrafieh, où une équipe a été rapidement envoyée à bord de motos privées pour réparer les câbles reliés à la pompe à eau », a ajouté le communiqué, déplorant « les attaques que d’aucuns persistent à engager contre l’office ». En outre, le conseil d’administration d’EDL doit se réunir aujourd’hui à la station de Zouk Mikaël, où il avait emménagé à l’issue de l’escalade du mouvement des journaliers il y a une semaine, « afin d’examiner les moyens logistiques et administratifs nécessaires pour le retour des fonctionnaires au siège central », selon un communiqué de l’office. La compagnie a en outre maintenu la directive, à l’adresse de ses fonctionnaires, de continuer de travailler à partir du « poste le plus proche du siège central de Mar Mikhaël ».

http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Liban/article/771790/EDL+%3A_fin_du_sit-in_des_journaliers%2C_tout_le_monde_a_gagne....html

Naharnet - EDL Contract Workers Officially End Three-Month Strike, August 4 2012

Electricite du Liban contract workers officially announced on Friday the end of their three-month strike and the resumption of work at the company after striking a deal with the government.

“We will end our strike and the committee will continue to hold meetings to follow up the implementation of the deal,” Lebnan Makhoul,a member of the EDL contract workers committee, told reporters during a press conference at the General Labor Confederation headquarters.

For his part, head of GLC Ghassan Ghosn said that “we will immediately implement the agreement and end the sit-in at EDL's headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut.”

He cited the 5-point agreement between the contract workers and the government that includes the company’s payment of the contract workers salaries till the month of July, the full time employment of some contract workers by sitting for a closed exam as called for by a draft law approved by the parliament, according to the vacancies at EDL, giving those who don’t qualify to become permanent employees the financial compensations in exchange for their 10 or 20 years of service at the company and transferring the rest to private-service providers, forming a committee from AMAL movement, Hizbullah and al-Marada movement to modify the draft law which was approved by the parliament.

TV footage showed several workers opening the main gate and launching fireworks and firecrackers at EDL’s headquarters in Beirut marking the end of the contract workers’ strike.

The workers also removed the tent that they erected inside the company’s premises.

But celebrations turned sour after reports emerged among the contract workers saying that the Distribution Department is not involved in the deal, prompting an employee to vow to continue the strike and briefly closing off the main gate again.

Others stressed that the department was included denying those reports.

“The deal struck between the government and EDL contract workers includes the Distribution Department in all regions and mainly Mount Lebanon and Beirut,” Ghosn told the contract workers gathered at the company’s headquarters.

Several officials reassured the workers, denying the reports, which prompted the end of the strike.

The contract workers have been demanding the company to pay them their June and July salaries and their full-time employment.

Earlier, An Nahar newspaper reported that an agreement was signed to end the crisis by advisor of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Khalil, Speaker Nabih Berri’s advisor Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s son-in-law Energy Minister Jebran Bassil.

However, al-Akhbar newspaper reported that the settlement led to a rift between the contract workers as some voiced their support to the deal while others rejected it.

“The contract workers fear that the cabinet might not hold onto the implementation of the agreement as the deal didn’t set any execution date,” the daily said.

Earlier in July the parliament endorsed a draft law approving the permanent employment of the workers, but the matter created a rift between Berri and Aoun as 80 percent of them are Shiites.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48762

Daily Star - Syrian refugees take to begging on Hamra street, August 4 2012

By Olivia Alabaster, Yasmine Saker

BEIRUT: Hafiza has been staying with relatives since she arrived to Lebanon from Damascus 15 days ago. But her husband is sick, and she has no way to make money but to beg. Cradling her young daughter, Hafiza sits on the sidewalk in Hamra, Ras Beirut’s major thoroughfare.

People begging have long been a common sight in the neighborhood, with many, especially children, gathering in Hamra’s busiest areas to ask for money or to sell roses. Many of these are widely believed to be managed by gangs, their profits taken from them at the end of the day.

But there is a growing Syrian refugee presence among the area’s beggars, children and adults unable to support themselves any other way.

Hafiza and her family have been staying with relatives near Cite Sportive in Beirut since fleeing the Sayyida Zeinab area of the Syrian capital just over two weeks ago. She has seven children to support, and her youngest Eman, who is two and a half, has had a high fever for two days now.

“We have received no aid: I wouldn’t know where to get it? Where would we go?” Hafiza, 38, asks.

“I have no money to buy my daughter medicine.”

Hafiza says that the Lebanese have been kind and generous since her arrival. On a busy Thursday evening, however, when the street is teeming with people, very few have stopped to talk to her or give her money, except when she is struggling to wake up Eman, and nearby shopkeepers bring her water and tissues.

The U.N. and partners are currently providing aid to over 35,000 Syrian refugees across the country, but the real total is thought to be far higher, possibly around 90,000, as so many have not formally registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The vast majority of displaced Syrians are residing in north Lebanon or in the Bekaa, either with relatives, host families or in abandoned buildings renovated by charities. But as numbers have increased and the uprising in Syria has drawn on, more and more are coming to Beirut and the suburbs.

Raghda Serhal, sitting at a pavement cafe, says that while the majority of child beggars in the neighborhood have always been Syrian – alongside a handful of Turks, Lebanese and Palestinians – the overall number, and proportion, of Syrians is increasing.

She often chats with the children in the area and believes that “before, the Syrian children used to go back in the fall to go back to school, and their parents would bring them back to Lebanon to work in the summer. But this year, because of the situation in Syria, they have not gone back, and have remained in Lebanon.”

Sitting at another cafe nearby, Moussa al-Hajj also says he has noticed an increase in Syrian beggars in the area. While he believes the Lebanese government should be doing more to help them, he also questions the role of aid organizations.

“There are hundreds of nongovernmental organizations in Lebanon, where are they? Many of them simply do nothing.”

The government’s Higher Relief Committee – the emergencies body which had been working alongside the UNHCR to register refugees, fund medical care and distribute aid – announced last month that it would have to cease assistance to refugees, due to a lack of funds. However Cabinet announced Thursday a LL2 billion loan to the HRC, although it is not yet clear when this will kick in.

Hafiza was not aware of the UNHCR office, which is situated in Ramlet al-Baida in Beirut, but Dana Sleiman, UNHCR’s spokesperson in Beirut, tells The Daily Star that “We are known to be here, that’s how all refugees find us.”

However, she adds, the agency is working on highlighting the existence, and work, of the UNHCR.

“We are trying to conduct awareness campaigns in the field, and that would include Beirut,” she says.

Further down the street, Zeinab, 12, and her brothers Yusef, 7, and Mohammad, 6, are approaching passersby for money. “We are refugees,” they say.

The children live with relatives in Nabaa, and arrived recently from Aleppo in Syria, but Zeinab is not exactly sure when.

“Our school is gone and our house is gone,” she says.

The focus of fighting between rebels and regime forces has centered on Syria’s biggest city for the past two weeks now, with heavy shelling and casualties reported near daily.

In torn clothing, Yusef says that the Lebanese “have been treating us well and giving us money.” His younger brother adds, “God willing, we can go home soon, and go back to school.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-04/183344-syrian-refugees-take-to-begging-on-hamra-street.ashx#axzz22YJb8TYo

Naharnet - EDL Solution to Contract Workers Crisis Imminent, August 3 2012

The EDL contract workers committee on Thursday announced that a meeting will be held with the General Labor Confederation and the political forces that contributed to resolving their problem, noting that “there is a positive atmosphere although some formalities remain pending.”

“We will go home but the sit-in will remain in place until we hold our meeting with the labor minister, the (political) forces concerned and the GLC,” state-run National News Agency quoted the committee as saying.

Positive indications have surfaced since Tuesday concerning an imminent end to the long-running sit-in, amid reports that the differences have been bridged between Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Michel Aoun.

Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Berri’s political aide, announced earlier on Thursday after a cabinet session that “the issue of EDL contract workers will be resolved today and the sit-in will be lifted immediately.”

Meanwhile, LBCI television reported that “under the agreement reached over the issue of EDL contract workers, those who took part in the sit-in will not be prosecuted and the salaries of the past three months will be paid by the services companies.”

“Negotiations will be held soon between the representatives of the labor ministry, the GLC and EDL contract workers concerning the expected amendments to the draft law which will be approved during the next parliamentary session,” LBCI added.

Labor Minister Salim Jreissati “will be asked to set a timeframe for the launch of negotiations and another sit-in would be staged in case of procrastination.”

EDL contract workers “will have the option to sign contracts with the services companies and those who don’t want to can await the contest,” said LBCI.

“Those who succeed in the contest will be hired (by EDL) on a permanent basis while those who fail will have the option to either sign contracts with the services companies or to quit and receive compensations,” LBCI added.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48717

Daily Star - Ghosn announces end of EDL contract workers' strike, August 3 2012

BEIRUT: Head of the General Labor Confederation Ghassan Ghosn announced Friday the end of the Electricite Du Liban contract workers’ three-month strike.

“Following the relevant authorities’ decision to pay the salaries of contract workers starting Monday, August 6, and the approval of the follow-up committee of EDL contract workers, we announce our commitment to implement the agreement and end the strike completely,” Ghosn told reporters at GLC headquarters.

Ghosn joined negotiations last week aimed at ending the strike that disrupted work at EDL for several weeks and contributed to severe power rationing.

The agreement to which Ghosn was referring was reached Thursday between the Free Patriotic Movement and Speaker Nabih Berri following weeks of discord between the two sides.

The contracts of most of the workers ended in June, and Energy Minister Gebran Bassil has since insisted they should be hired by the private service providers retained for certain tasks by the state-run EDL. But the workers maintained that they were entitled to full-time jobs at EDL after years of working there and to pensions when they retire.

During the news conference, Ghosn said the agreement stipulated that contract workers will receive salaries for the past three months from the private service providers. They will also be eligible to take EDL examination for full-time employment.

The agreement also stipulates, according to Ghosn, that retirement payments will be available for those wishing and eligible to end their employment contract.

Following the news conference, Ghosn and members of the contract workers' committee headed to EDL headquarters in Mar Mikhael and removed the metal chains around the state-run company's gates.

The contract workers also announced they would evacuate the building.

Repeated protests by contract workers over the past three months have included the burning of tires, the prevention of EDL staff from entering the Mar Mikhael premises and the chaining shut of the company's entrance.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-03/183280-ghosn-announces-end-of-edl-contract-workers-strike.ashx#axzz22OD0d0aY

Daily Star - EDL workers end strike after Berri-Aoun deal, August 3 2012

By Van Meguerditchian

BEIRUT: Electricite du Liban contract workers will end their strike Friday after the Free Patriotic Movement and Speaker Nabih Berri reached a compromise to end the crisis which had threatened a nationwide blackout.

After weeks of discord between ministers loyal to the FPM and others loyal to Berri over the demands of hundreds of EDL contract workers, an agreement was reached Thursday that satisfied both sides.

When details of the breakthrough arrived to EDL’s headquarters in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the afternoon, cheers quickly turned into tears for many contract workers who have been on strike for the more than 90 days.

The contracts of most of the workers ended in June, and Energy Minister Gebran Bassil has since insisted they should be hired by the private service providers tasked by the state-run EDL.

But the contract workers continued to maintain they were entitled after years of working there to full-time jobs at EDL and to pensions when they retire.

The informal agreement has yet to be announced by the Labor Ministry. But under it the Labor Confederation will give contract workers who pass the EDL examination full-time employment either at the private service providers or EDL, and give pensions to those who fail the exam.

According to the agreement, the contract workers will also receive salaries for the past three months from the service providers.

Although workers once demanded they all be hired by EDL, many voiced their approval of the compromise which will provide pensions for those who failed the exam or resign.

Sources who took part in the negotiations among Berri, Hezbollah officials and Bassil said the agreement was endorsed by rival sides in the government in order to prevent the collapse of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s Cabinet.

The sources said the recent closure of EDL by the contract workers, “the stubbornness of Bassil” and the shaky security situation in the country converged to push negotiations forward in the past 48 hours.

The tent erected inside EDL’s main hall in Mar Mikhael was still standing as contract workers began to collect their belongings and papers pending the final decision to end the sit-in.

For many, the EDL premises became another home over the past several months. “I’ve been here for 96 days,” said Abdullah al-Hajj, 39.

“I have been borrowing money to pay my children’s schools tuition in recent months, and we won’t leave here until we get our rightful demands,” said Hajj, the father of two children.

Although many criticized the agreement and Berri’s request to end the sit-in to make way for a new round of negotiations with the Labor Ministry and EDL, Hajj said the compromise achieves a lot for the contract workers. “We never dreamed of receiving a full pension from EDL, now there is talk of pension,” he added.

According to Hajj, Bassil had refused to discuss giving full-time employment to more than 400 contract workers, but the sit-in has pressured him to provide more than 1,200 full-time employment positions.

Hajj, a resident of Beirut’s southern suburbs, has been working for the past 14 years as a technician for EDL, installing new grids and power posts in different parts of Lebanon. Other contract workers are bill collectors, repairmen and maintenance workers.

Abdullah wants to continue to work for EDL and says he would refuse a job at the private service providing companies, an option offered by Bassil earlier.

In recent weeks, FPM supporters have denounced the contract workers’ occupation of the EDL premises and have organized several rallies against the workers’ sit-in against Bassil.

Despite mounting pressure to resign following the severe power cuts in the country and especially in the capital, Bassil has refused to comment on the ongoing negotiations with Berri to end the electricity crisis.

Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani said that the residents of the city will make it through this period of difficulty. “The capital and its people will endure with pride in the face of corruption, until this era of darkness is succeeded by a new shining dawn that brings with it electricity, water and all elements of life,” Qabbani said in a statement.

Blaming the recent power cuts in Ashrafieh on Bassil, Beirut MP Nadim Gemayel accused the FPM of adopting “militia-style” tactics similar to the ones adopted by its allies in Hezbollah and Amal Movement.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-03/183248-edl-workers-end-strike-after-berri-aoun-deal.ashx#axzz22OD0d0aY

The Daily Star - EDL says maintenance not possible with ongoing, August 2 2012

BEIRUT: Electricite Du Liban said Wednesday it could no longer carry out maintenance work in the field and would only be able to resume once the “occupation” of its headquarters by the company’s striking contract workers ends.

“We, directors of Electricite Du Liban, announce that we can no longer carry out any maintenance and repair work as we have no way to access the needed equipment and tools at the central headquarters [in Beirut] and because of the occupiers’ seizure of all the equipment including vehicles and diagnostic tools at said buildings,” the company heads said in a statement.

“We cannot return to carrying out our duties before the premises have been vacated by their occupiers and before the security situation has returned to normal and we can safely carry out our work without restrictions and away from any threats or terrorizing that targets our dignity and safety,” the statement added.

On Monday, EDL officials were denied entrance to the company’s premises in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael and said they were ready to give the contract workers full-time employment at EDL when Parliament’s secretariat approves the draft law.

The standoff between Energy Minister Gebran Bassil, who is an Free Patriotic Movement official, and EDL contract workers has escalated in recent days, and neither side seems willing to back down from their terms.

The contract workers, who have been striking for several months, are seeking full time employment at EDL and Parliament has passed a draft law to that effect but it has yet to be given the approval of the assembly’s Secretariat.

Strike action by the contract workers, which includes occupying the premises of EDL’s headquarters and preventing staff from entering, has resulted in power cuts in several parts of the capital.

Admitting a conflict does exist between the Amal Movement, which backs the contract workers’ demands, and the FPM, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Tuesday his party is working tirelessly to reconcile the rival groups in the Cabinet and called on the government to work harder to reach a resolution.

Christian parties oppose employing the contract workers at EDL, arguing that this would upset the sectarian balance within the state-run company.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-01/183002-edl-says-maintenance-not-possible-with-ongoing-occupation.ashx#axzz22OD0d0aY 

L'orient le jour - Journaliers d’EDL : des signes de dénouement, neutralisés par les accusations d’EDL contre « les occupants », August 2 2012

La résolution de l’affaire des journaliers, qui nécessite d’aboutir à un compromis entre ces derniers et Électricité du Liban, ainsi que le ministère de l’Énergie, reste entravée par la problématique liée au paiement des salaires des journaliers pour les trois mois de sit-in. À cela s’ajoute une autre difficulté, soulignée par l’une des parties aux négociations, liée à la pérennité du contrat de travail exigée par les journaliers, sachant que le contrat prévu avec les services providers est d’une durée de trois ans. Dans ce contexte, des sources du Courant patriotique libre ont révélé à l’agence al-Markaziya que « la solution convenue jusque-là consiste à mettre en œuvre le projet de loi parrainé par le président de la Chambre Nabih Berry, quitte à en demander l’amendement plus tard, de sorte à sauver la face ». Ces sources ont souligné que « cet accord consiste à organiser un concours, sous la supervision du Comité de la fonction publique, à l’issue duquel 700 journaliers seront cadrés et 200 autres se verront attribuer les indemnités nécessaires, une solution proche de ce que demandait le ministre de l’Énergie Gebran Bassil ». De son côté, le ministre de l’Agriculture Hussein Hajj Hassan a déclaré que « la résolution de l’affaire des journaliers est en cours, de manière palpable et continue ».
D’ailleurs, les développements parallèles sur le terrain semblaient présager hier un dénouement positif du dossier. Les journaliers, qui avaient fermé lundi avec des chaînes les portes d’entrée du siège central d’EDL, ont permis hier aux fonctionnaires chargés de l’entretien technique du réseau d’entrer au siège pour récupérer les véhicules qu’ils utilisent pour leurs tournées visant à détecter et réparer les éventuelles pannes de distribution de courant.

EDL
Néanmoins, le conseil d’administration d’EDL a émis un communiqué informant les citoyens de « l’incapacité de l’office à procéder aux réparations (...) à cause de l’impossibilité pour ses fonctionnaires d’accéder aux outils et véhicules de transport nécessaires. Nulle réparation n’est possible avant la fin de l’occupation du siège de Mar Mikhaël ». Des sources d’EDL ont en outre affirmé que « les journaliers ont bel et bien pénétré dans le Centre de commande national, situé au 9e étage, contrairement aux allégations de certains médias ». En attendant que s’élucident ces détails, le conseil d’administration d’EDL a déménagé à la centrale de Zouk, « qui offre l’avantage de la sécurité et permet la supervision, par les responsables hiérarchiques, sur le centre de commande temporaire ».

http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Liban/article/771479/Journaliers_d%27EDL+%3A_des_signes_de_denouement%2C_neutralises_par_les_accusations_d%27EDL_contre_%3C%3C+les_occupants+%3E%3E.html

Naharnet - EDL Says Only Parliament Can Meet Demands of Contract Workers, August 1 2012

Director-General of state-run Electricite du Liban Kamal al-Hayek urged on Tuesday the company’s contract works to end their strike, stressing that the solution is in the hands of the parliament and not the administration.

“We were the first to propose the full-time employment of the contract workers,” al-Hayek said during a press conference for the board of directors at the Zouk power plant.

The contract workers have been holding a strike for the past three months demanding EDL to pay them their June - July Salaries and grant them their full-time employment.

“The company can’t pay them their salaries as the contracts expired,” al-Hayek revealed.

He reiterated that the company’s branches across Lebanon are occupied and without “any security control.”

He called on the Internal Security Forces to preserve the possessions and documents of EDL, particularly, “if allegations that a fifth column is operating are true.”

Al-Hayek stressed that the employees will not resume their work “as long as the situation remains the same.”

He lashed out at the angry contract workers, saying that their strike “surpassed its peaceful limits.”

“A peaceful and civilized strike doesn’t close off the gates of the company with metal chains and doesn’t jeopardize the freedom of the other employees,” al-Hayek noted.

The strike held by the contract workers escalated on Monday as they closed all the entrances of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut with metal chains while the full-time employees staged a counter-protest outside.

The director-general told reporters that EDL isn’t planning to cut off electricity but “we are on the edge of the danger zone… We are doing our best to maintain stability in the electricity supply.”

Al-Hayek said that the laborers aren’t able to repair the electric malfunctions as the company's vehicles are locked in its headquarters in Mar Mikhael.

On Monday, EDL warned that the contract workers’ occupation of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael in Beirut will lead to a power blackout throughout Lebanon.

However, EDL contract workers committee lashed out at the board of directors’ announcement, saying that “if a complete blackout occurred it would be on purpose.”

Concerning the transfer of the bills out of the company’s headquarters in Mar Mikhael on Friday, al-Hayek said that “it was decided by the company’s audit bureau and according to the measures taken by the ISF.”

The contract workers were angered by the move.

Al-Hayek hoped that this stage will pass.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/48424