issue number 133 |August 2013 THE REPUBLIC OF VOID UNDP IN LEBANON THE MONTHLY INTERVIEWS NABIL HADDAD www.iimonthly.com • Published by Information International sal LEBANON’s TeacheRS INCESSANT DEMANDS FOR PAY INCREASE Lebanon 5,000LL | Saudi Arabia 15SR | UAE 15DHR | Jordan 2JD| Syria 75SYP | Iraq 3,500IQD | Kuwait 1.5KD | Qatar 15QR | Bahrain 2BD | Oman 2OR | Yemen 15YRI | Egypt 10EP | Europe 5Euros August INDEX 2013 4 LEBAnon’s TeACHERS: INCESSANT DEMANDS FOR PAY INCREASE 11 THE REPUBLIC OF VOid 15 UNDP IN LEBANON 20 Lebanon’s MUNICIPALITIES 22 THE GREEN PROJECT 23 JORDan’s PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIons’ LAW P: 26 P: 22 25 CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D: DR. HANNA SAADAH 26 WHEN KNOWLEDGE TAKES US BACK TO THE UNKNOWN: ANTOINE BOUTROS 27 AdOPTION: DEALING WITH ADOPTED CHILDREN: dR. MICHEL NAWFAL 28 iNTERVIEW: NABIL HAddAD 31 RAFIK HARIRI FOUNDATION- DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES P: 16 33 POPULAR CULTURE 34 dEBUNKING MYTH#72: SITTING TOO CLOSE TO THE TV WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR VISION 46 HiSTORY OF FEMINISM IN SYRIA 35 MUST-READ BOOKS: Dime’s WorTH OF DIFFERENCE 47 INVASION OF IRAQ TAKES ITS TOLL ON IRAQI WOMEN 36 MUST-READ CHILDren’s bOOK: RETURN TO THE WILDERNESS 48 US-ARAB RELATIONS IN A TUMULTUOUS SPRING 37 LEBANON FAMILIES: FAMILIES DENOTING LEBANESE TOWNS (5) 49 REAL ESTATE PRICES IN LEBANON - MAY 2013 38 DISCOVER LEBANON: AL-QASR 50 DID YOU KNOW THAT?: TOP TEN DENSELY POPULATED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD 39 JUNE 2013 HIGHLIGHTS 51 lebanon’s stATS 43 THIS MONTH IN HISTORY- LEBANON BACHIR GEMAYEL ELECTED PRESIDENT ON AUGUST 23 45 THIS MONTH IN HISTORY- ARAB WORLD IRAQ INVADES KUWAIT |EDITORIAL THE PROCESS Sharif Hussein was sitting in his tent in Hejaz, unaware During this period of revolts and wars with of the role that had been woven for him and his sons Israel, the Gulf region witnessed large-scale changes, and when he started receiving the MacMahon letters along power was handed down from a generation of misers to with the cunning flattery of the “infidels of the West”. He a generation of squanderers; from Shakhbout to Zayed was very content to be the Emir of Mecca, and perhaps in the UAE, Khalifa to Hamad in Qatar, Sultan Said of Hejaz, and did not even dream of becoming overnight Oman to Qabous and King Faisal to King Fahd in the the leader of the Great Arab Revolt. What mattered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Resounding slogans were most was that Britain had assigned an Emirate named raised in praise of stability, the wars of liberation and Transjordan to his second son Abdullah and a kingdom attrition, the largest airport and highest tower of the world named Kingdom of Iraq to his third son Faisal, and gone and the success in winning the bid to host the World Cup with the wind were all the promises of an independent in 2022. Against the ambiguity of these vague slogans, Arab state. The Sharif Hussein of Mecca ended up there was a crystal clear vision in the decision-making stranded between Cyprus and Jordan and was eventually capitals of the world in London, Paris and Washington. buried in Jerusalem, far from his kingdom and his Hejaz. From feudal lords (1920 until 1949) to army generals His sons and grandsons were assassinated one after the (1949 until 2003) to extravagant Sheikhs, we are standing other, with the last assassination being the massacre in today at a crucial crossroad. Al-Rihab palace in Baghdad in 1958. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during the Several names were associated with this period of Forum for Future in January 2011 in Qatar that “in too history - the Sick Man of Europe, Sykes-Picot, the many places, in too many ways, the region’s foundations Balfour declaration, the Great Arab Revolt, mandates are sinking into the sand. The new and dynamic Middle and independence, the birth of Israel, etc. The epoch East that I have seen needs firmer ground if it is to take inherited a generation of rulers who were allied with root and grow everywhere.” And so, Bin Ali, Mubarak the Ottomans and who, upon their defeat, turned against and Gaddafi were ousted after the 2003 invasion of Iraq them. It also yielded a number of small states having while Syria plunged into a war that, according to the equivocal borders with disputed legitimacy. Lawrence calculations of General Martin Dempsey, would drag on of Arabia offered a brilliant description of this stage by for no less than a decade. The vision of western powers the concise line “We pushed them to death by thousands, was just as clear in the early twentieth century. They all for the corn, wheat and oil of Mesopotamia.” Today, pitted the Arabs against the Turks with an empty promise the bigger image stands as strong as ever: Rulers+ Israel+ of liberty, then later, used the same lure of freedom to Oil= Civil wars and backwardness. have them fight communism. Once again, their promises vanished into thin air. In 1949, Husni Al-Zaim seized power in a coup d’état, which, according to archives, was orchestrated by the Today, “the process” is one of the most common slogans CIA. It was the first time that people heard of the word making headlines in Washington DC. The US does not “Inqilab” on the radio. His revolt was the opening gambit promise the peoples of the region anything else but “the for an avalanche of coups sweeping across the Arab process”. Mubarak and Morsi are thrown in prison, world. Al-Zaim delivered to his masters: the Israel-Syria hundreds of thousands of victims fall in Syria, dozens armistice Agreement and the Tapline Agreement. are killed in Iraq and tens of settlements are set up in Palestine every year, but the focus remains on the process. Military leaders started successively rising to power: Al- And so that we do not feel alone in this, let us not forget Hennawi in Syria in 1949 followed by Adib Shishakli that Obama had pledged to bring change to the American in 1949 and 1952, the Baath party in 1963 and Assad people too. Therefore, the objectives become stretchy; in 1970. Jamal Abdul Nasser seized control of Egypt in change is process and process is change. 1952, Abdul Kareem Qassem of Iraq in 1959 followed by Abdul Salam and Abdul Rahman Aref in 1962 then Bakr The answer is found in George Orwell’s writings as well and Saddam Hussein in 1968. Gaddafi became President as in the conclusion drawn by Zbigniew Brzezinski: of Libya in 1969 and Boumediene President of Algeria in “In the technotronic society the trend would seem to 1965. In Sudan, Gaafar Nimeiry assumed presidency in be towards the aggregation of the individual support of 1969 and Tunisia came under the rule of Zein Al-Abidine millions of uncoordinated citizens, easily within the reach Bin Ali in 1987. Mauritania has also suffered several of magnetic and attractive personalities exploiting the coups throughout its history. As for those interested in latest communications techniques to manipulate emotions the history of Iran and the region, it would be wise to and control reason.” This is the “roadmap” set for us. look back at the fate that befell Mohammad Mosaddegh, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, when he was replaced by the Shah in 1953. 4 | LEADER LEBANON’s TEACHERS INCESSANT DEMANDS FOR PAY INCREASE Lebanon’s teachers are the most active group in claiming higher pay as a fair reward for their noble mission of raising and educating future generations. When compared to employees in other private and public sectors, teachers believe they are not compensated fairly for their contribution, especially that their profession is known to be free of any form of bribery, corruption and favoritism. As part of their indefatigable quest to achieve Salaries in 1991 better working conditions, teachers have staged Law No. 108 raised on November 7, 1991 the strikes and resorted to boycotting the correction of minimum wage to LBP 75 000 and adopted a pay official exams. Although their activism has been scale for state employees, including teachers, to successful in forcing the government to meet many be considered effective as of January 1, 1991 as of their demands, they still deem the benefits they illustrated in the following Table 1. The salary was receive as insufficient. Rather than addressing hiked by 129% at the lowest step level and by 221% the controversy of whether the Lebanese teachers at the highest one. earn too much or too little considering their skills, efforts and workload, this article will only discuss Teachers’ pay increase (1990- 1991) / Table 1 the evolution of their salaries and grades and the Amounts in LBP Salary in force draft pay scale referred recently to Parliament for Salary in force on starting December 1, New step value December 31, 1990 revision and ratification. 1991 51 575 118 000 7000 52 215 125 000 7000 As part of their indefatigable “quest to achieve better working 57 335 172 000 9 500 conditions, teachers have staged 58 615 181 500 9 500 strikes and resorted to boycotting the correction of official exams 59 895 191 000 9 500 “ 68 895 222 500 11 000 72 755 233 500 11 000 Number of Teachers The pre-university education sector is the second 76 615 244 500 11 000 largest public sector in the Lebanese state after the 89 405 282 500 13 500 military. If we add private sector teachers to the equation, the education sector becomes the leading 93 870 396 000 13 500 labor sector with around 91 000 teachers, a number 98 335 309 500 13 500 equal or slightly superior to that of the military personnel.