Women, Arab Spring, any lessons learned?

 European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity - Social Democratic Women of the Arab Spring

I had forgotten about this paper by Nabila Sattar and Sonja Lokar.

I will just reproduce here my contribution to this paper, but take time to read it all online, it is and interesting read.

Lebanon – Khatoun Haidar
Founder of the Lebanese Association for Societal Synergy

The Arab Spring is a broad description. During the first stage which can be defined as the

‘uprising’ there is a certain unity of specifics that we see in all countries touched by what was

later called the ‘Arab Spring’. Women were among the first wave that took to the streets– some

with their children – to demand change. They came from all social classes, they participated

side-by-side with their fellow male protestors creating a feeling of equality and lessened the

gender differences. They made their voice heard.

Women were an integral part of the revolutionary efforts. Yet women did not escape the human

cost of this uprising. During police repression they were beaten, sometimes raped by police

and pro-regime thugs after demonstrations. Scores of women across the region were

abducted, detained, or just disappeared.

As events developed the narrative changed dramatically from one country to another. In some,

change came with newly elected governments; in others it was civil war and mayhem. The

role of women differed from one country to another. True they continued to be part of the

process of change, yet their scope for participation did not seem to be a priority for

revolutionary forces. Overall, we can say that the ‘gains’ for women in terms of gender roles

was mostly lost in the post-revolutions period. Yet the Arab Spring empowered women to

make better use of their capacity and their full potential to contribute to change. Longer-term,

for this to be sustainable, the changes should develop alongside practical strategies to

empower women and build their leadership capacity.

In the wake of the Arab Spring, Arab countries are now experiencing different stages of

transitional processes taking on different forms in each country. Generally, internationally

sponsored dialogue is established, constitutions are drafted, elections are held, and interim

governments are formed. The transitional process needs to be balanced on the gender level.

It is a window of opportunity for women to challenge gender discrimination and gender

stereotyping.

The media has been a major player in challenging entrenched gendered practices in deep-rooted

structures that are not easily changed. For the last eight years, I personally and

Synergy have been engaged in action which reached hundreds of Syrian women and men

journalists to sensitize them to gender justice. Some of them now proactively advocate and

lobby for gender rights and in doing so are building their democratic and leadership skills.

More than ten of the most read new Syrian media outlets are involved in this capacity building

process at all levels.

The aim and vision are that women together with feminist men at all levels must collaborate

and organize joint actions because this will secure more support from the community; it is the

best way to secure the critical mass capable of influencing the decision-making processes of

leaders and officials.

What has happened as a result?

Many argue that the 2005 Cedar Revolution was a precursor to the Arab Spring. I will not

argue whether that is true or not. Yet it is a fact that the structure, culture, and historic

development of Lebanon differs from the Arab Spring countries. It has a long history and

tradition of democracy and freedom of speech. The problems inherent to Lebanon are different

in nature and scope to other Arab Spring countries. For example, the revolt in 2019 did not

demand ‘regime’ change, rather it demanded early elections as a means to change the political

class.

The Arab uprisings have put Lebanon under strain. The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt

caused limited reverberations, the war in Syria had crucial dramatic consequences. Over one

million Syrian refugees, equal to one-quarter of Lebanon’s population, came to Lebanon in

that period. The country’s economy and its already weak public infrastructure has been

strongly impacted. Hezbollah’s engagement in Syria has put Lebanon in the quagmire of the

"game of nations". Terrorist attacks by ISIL put the country at unease. However, Lebanon’s

political elites have vowed to shield the country from regional turbulences. For this reason, my

and Synergy’s actions were directed towards Syria.

How important was it for you to directly exchange experiences with other

women activists?

Very important, even crucial. It made clear the communality of women issues, the

methodology and tools of change. But it also stressed the differences when stages of

development are different rather than ‘cultural’ disparities.

Having opened in 2011, did the door close again for you in the last 10 years?

Why should it? It is not the first period of change, success, and defeat that I witnessed, in the

region and around the world. Incremental changes will someday lead to structural and

qualitative change. It is inevitable.

What are your learnings?

All the above!

Are the Lebanese mislead as to corona-virus situation?

30 March 2021

One year later, nothing changed. 

Today I heard a representative of the Parliamentary commission for Covid-19 say that the decrease in death rate is due to vaccination.

Get real! 

Less than 1% of the Lebanese population has been vaccinated. In the US more than 20% of the population has been vaccinated and Fauci will not dare to make such a declaration.

At a rate of more than 15% rate of infection in persons tested, and knowing that testing is not free and the percentages low, maybe the logical conclusion is that herd immunity is starting to hold because of the very high number of infections.

Anectodical evidence is that I rarely talk to anybody in Lebanon who does not inform me of at least 10 persons he knows that caught coronavirus. A friend of mine whose sister suffered a stroke and was hospitalized caught the virus in the hospital, her sister who was 'taking care of her' caught the virus too. The two nurses who took care of her at home after she was released from hospital caught coronavirus too!

Another friends informed that both her father caught the virus in hospital, her mother was infected, and both died in hospital.

An aunt informed me that her hairdresser gave coronavirus to all those who visited him. Nobody contacted her or asked her to be tested.

I could go on for pages and pages of stories about people catching the virus in Lebanon.

Today too I heard from another person from the ministry of health saying that the news about safety of AstraZenica will boost the vaccination rate as people will be less reluctant!!! Really?  

It is as if people are being offered the vaccine and refusing it. There is a lack of supplies and it is badly distributed. A fact that the anchor person interviewing him did not bother to mention.

Update 30 July
On Rathausplatz | Opera and Ballet Are Still Larger Than Life

Coming across this post from Vienna I wondered if we may dream and hope. Notice that these events are free. Notice that ''At the gate, we were asked to fill out a form – name, email and phone number – so they could track us if necessary. '' This is how proper measures are taken and not like Lebanon Cabinet just total lock-down and then open everything without real planning!

Update 24 July 2020
The latest figures show a rapid increase in infection rates with a total of 3,407 cases and took the death toll to 46 people.
Health Minister Hamad Hasan warned Thursday that Lebanon was at a “dangerous turning point” with the spread of coronavirus, adding that the country was now facing a community outbreak, "which is a negative and discouraging indicator.”

The media and official sources always stress in their reporting on the opening of the airport, yet the recent surge in cases has largely been detected among the local population.

Of the new infections, 119 were found among the local population and 28 among travelers arriving from abroad, the Health Ministry reported.

Lebanon has seen a surge in cases since the country’s only international airport reopened almost one month ago. Beirut's airport reopened to tourists July 1.

Nobody is informing the citizens that without proper testing, tracking, and tracing no sane person can say that the curve was flattened. 
The government and the media did not stop clamoring of the Lebanese success in the fight against Covid-19.
With inflated ego the word was ''we are doing better than Europe''
The Government proceeded opening the economy without proper social distancing and other preventive measures. They did it without staging and with no proper testing and tracing.
The citizens went to full normal mode without considering that the 'new normal' is what is needed.
The result, a critical situation where the health system might not be enough.

So I say it again; the Lebanese are mislead about the situation, by their government and by the media who does not take the time to do some research and prefers the ease to informing people in bites and clichés.

The below part was published 4 May 2020
Yes they are!

Figures reveal that what we think we know about the Covid-19 numbers and death toll in Lebanon is wrong. Here’s why.
Only about 10,000.- tests were carried out. This is quite low for a population of 4 million if we compare to more than 100,000.- in a country of 8 million like Austria.
So the total number of about 600 cases is not representative of the situation in the country.

In addition testing is not available in all regions, for example, the low rate of confirmed cases in Tripoli / Akkar as well as Baalbeck / Hermel is because almost nobody was tested.
The refugee community of about one million is not tested or included in the confirmed cases toll.

All over the world one fifth of those tested are positive, meaning that if 100,000 tests were carried out in Lebanon the number of cases would be 5,000.- instead of the 500 reported today.

Many deaths of old people in villages are not reported as corona-virus related, old people regularly die in winter, don't they?
These people don't go to hospitals or see doctors because they cannot afford it. They just dies at home. So the death rate is also flawed and unrepresentative.

If death rate in Italy jumped to 25% due to the failure of the health system in comparison with 0.3% in Korea and below 2% in Germany, what do you think the situation will be in Lebanon when the infection rate reaches it's peak?

I think that the Lebanese in the Gulf countries and France would reconsider ask for repatriation if they were aware of these numbers. Maybe those in African countries that suffer from insufficient medical facilities would want to come back but why to leave Gulf countries or European countries where health systems are better than in Lebanon, and where, if you are a resident, you can benefit from unemployment packages?

Anyway, the media is failing to ask these questions and are just praising the governmental measures to fight corona-virus. And mostly today praising the governmental measure for repatriation as if it was a feat, while all other countries do it without the hoopla!

Sad.....

Is sectarianism part of the Lebanese psyche?

 Just heard on what is labelled in Lebanon a 'Christian radio' an interview with the head of what is also labelled 'Christian TV'. Why Christina media? Because these two mediums are funded or affiliated to what is called 'Christian political parties'. Allready weird in itself to have Chritian radios or TVs or parties. Not to say that the audience of the leading radio and TV station I am talking about belongs to all Lebanese 19 sects.

Anyway, I was interested to hear the interview in the hope of getting some inside information. You can imagine my astonishement when I hear the head of a TV station that I follow say:

We have to be honest and say that Christians in Lebanon have a different lifestyle from Muslims. 

And here he did not mean drinking alcohol. Noting that most Lebanese Muslims drink alcohol. He specified by style of life as ease of living and education. In short he meant Christians are more occidentalised, more cultured, more well off... in comparison with the barbarian Muslims.

I would have been angry to hear such nonesense if I had not found it a bit funny. What can I say, I was drawn into the ridiculous of hearing a TV director say aloud what bigoted Lebanese Christians say. A nonety in fact. Lebanon is divided along very clear and strict social classes rules. And each class in fact groups all sects equally. The only difference is that poor Christians dream and are delusional about belonging to the upper class.

It reminded me of something that I experienced in 1970 and that I found at this time funny and outdated.

I had a friend, a Maronite whose family comes from Gemayze. His parents were insisting that he accompanies them to visit his grandmother. He asked me to come with him, like that we could go after it to Hamrah for a movie and dinner. His grandmother thought I was his girlfriend. In her mind, I should have been. I think she found me nice, I have to say, I was cute not to say beautiful. After a short conversation, she liked me even more. I spoke perfect French and was cultured, quite upper class in her view, am sure. She asked me if I was Maronite or Othodox, given that my friend's mother was Orthodox. I answered her that I was Muslim Shiite. If you could see her face! It was quite comic.

She then asked me from where. When I told her who I was. Meaning that my grandfather a vey prominent political figure from a feodale family, a Lebanese aristocrat. She regained her smile that her smile became bigger and she said that 'you are not like the others, you are superior'

Can you imagine! We left her house laughing and laughing, talking about his grandmother being a dinosaur.

Seems, that modern Lebanese are dinosaurs. All the gains of the fifties, sixties, and seventies were lost in the civil war if the director of a leading TV stations utter the words I heard and that are a mirror image of the 'petite bourgeoise' that I met decades ago.

How Stark Trek gave me an insight into the Trump phenomenon

 Lockdown and self isolation drove me to spend my weekends and much of my evening streaming movies and series. A new experience for me as I was previously a reader and rarely relied on video production for entertainment. Being an aficionado of science fiction, it was normal to turn to Star Trek. First Deep Space 9 then Voyager, then Next Generation, and lately The original series.

It was really nice to look back on what was in the end of the 1960s their predictions for the future starting the 1990s and beyond. They got somethings right but could not imagine computer with voice like Alexa. Their computers had mechanical voices. The computers, though with lots of functions prediction had switches and blinking lights. They could not imagine touch screens or let's say the science for it was not yet possible. Yet what hit me most was the social aspect, the culture, the customs.

In the original series, though they made their best to be diverse and gender conscious, the series is full of gender stereotyping and racism. Racism in the sense of a clear boasting about the superiority of the human race, it's ingenuity and cultural ethics. Almost reaching bigotry. They tried their best not to be, but could not eradicate the culture of the era. New life forms were frightening and the first reaction was to draw your phaser. The prime directive was casually applied but demonstrated that 'our way' was better. The captain, though talking compassion and understanding was a macho man who in most episodes entered into hand to hand combat and won. The strong man, The lady's man, The superior culture, 'Our culture against theirs' characterize the original series. 

Not to say that I did not enjoy the original series, it is refreshing to go back to a 'black and white' of the world. 

Then as you go from series to series until Discovery, aside from the technological side, society clearly changes, and they become overall more 'politically correct' as we call it today. Often alien races have more advanced cultures. The captains are no more stereotyped as strong leaders, rather their strength is in their ethics and intelligence. Women are in real leadership positions. There is consideration for personal freedom of choices and self determination rights of all sentient beings, even rights for AI in the form of androids or holographic characters. It is another world, another society, another social order.

This is the evolution of Star Trek and many assume that it mirrors the development of our societies. But is it true? Maybe part of the society, but not all of it. The extreme right and what is called Trump base is much closer to the society depicted in the original series. Same applies to Brexiteers, National socialism in Europe, Marie le Pen, and other movements that consider themselves preservers of a culture that is pure, and purely engrained in the original Star Trek.

It is not a value judgement, just an observation. 

But it is an observation that made me wonder and ponder on what the future holds and if there is a way to bridge the divide to make society whole again.

How covid-19 changed me

Today, I realised that self isolation, lockdown, living in the shadow of Covid-19 news have taken their toll on my psyche and to a certain extent my sanity.

Since February 20120 I passed through various stages of ups and downs, anger, apathy, and almost depression. Yet I thought that I was doing well. 

I even adapted to a sedentary life after spending the last decade living a nomadic life. From airport to airport, to train, to hotel, rarely sleeping in the same bed for more than a maximum of 10 days.

I studied the virus, how it worked and tried to protect myself without exaggeration.

Not easy to be alone for so long, and I mean without real human contact. True, everyday I meet many people virtually, my days are full, even overworked. 

True I adapted to home office, kept a certain discipline of a work routine. I wake up early, get dressed, take my breakfast, and then go to my desk office. I take a lunch break, and an afternoon walk. I mean the usual everyday life. But, and here is the but, my weekends are drowned in solitude. No outings with friends, no hugs. And I like to show my emotions by touching :)

Anyway, I will not bore you with details that I am sure all of you experienced in the last year; a seesaw of lockdowns, travel restrictions, quarantines, and self isolation.

This Saturday, the daughter of a friend of mine contacted me to say that she is in the same city, she would like to meet, immediately telling me that she will take a rapid antigen test before coming. I immediately told her to come for lunch at the appartement. It was the first time I received anybody since the whole saga started. Told myself that as she was going to take a rapid antigen test before coming I could relax a bit.

It was nice to cook for somebody, arrange a nice dining table, and all the niceties of receiving a person for lunch. The young woman was very pleasant and we enjoyed our time, she stayed quite late and seemed reluctant to leave. I enjoyed her presence.

And this when it hit me that I changed. During all her stay there was like a small lingering sound in my mind telling me, what if she is infected. During her stay I kept the window in the kitchen/dining room open. But after she left I opened all the windows in the house. It was freezing, but I could not close the windows and there were windmills in my brain about Covid-19, infections, and why I do this.

It ruined it a bit for me. 

I definitely need rehabilitation whenever this crisis gets resolved. And I wonder if I ever will be back to my old self. 

I am afraid of the fact that I feel my new lifestyle is totally natural. I am afraid that I am getting used to it. I am afraid of a change that is startling and not welcomed. I liked my old self.

Counting my blessings

 Today is 01.01.2021.

Yesterday night, awaiting 2021, I thought of how much 2020 has been described as an 'annus horribilis'  and how much we dreaded that the saga continues in 2021.

It is true that around the world 2020 has been a tough ride. Covid-19 changes our way of life. How we work, how we socialize, how we interact;, how we shop, and so much more; so many died before their time, children were separated from their friends without knowing why, people lost their jobs and in countries where there is no social net, people went hungry.

But yesterday, while awaiting for the end of 2020, I wondered if I was wrong in not counting my blessings.

I was not infected by the virus, and I did not lose any of my close family to the virus. A blessing.

I became the grandmother of a beautiful healthy baby girl and I became closer to my lovely 4 years old charming granddaughter. Lots of family quality time. A blessing.

I managed to adapt to new methodologies of work and life. I did not let the self isolation depress me. A blessing.

I kept in touch with my friends and found ways and means to interact virtually. A blessing.

So strangely enough, alone in my apartment, when I got the glimpse of fireworks in the sky, I felt grateful for all the blessings of 2020.