Stories about Lebanon
Will Lebanon be dragged into a comprehensive war?
As tensions escalate between Hezbollah and Israel, the MENA region is on the brink of a significant and potentially devastating war with profound implications for Lebanon and its neighbouring countries.
‘This Arab Life': A personal excavation of the ‘silent’ Arab generation
In an interview, author Amal Ghandour discusses her latest book, This Arab Life, and provides a rich and illuminating examination of the Middle East's dynamic past and present.
Call to Action on International Migrants Day: Stop forced labour and restore workers’ agency
Domestic workers in the GCC countries are majority migrant women. Employers have full control over their work and lives. This article echoes their requests and explains the exploitation.
Breaking the binary of trauma and resilience in mental health: Interview with Lamia Moghnieh
The declared absence of trauma has consequences on how mental health is framed by international and humanitarian organizations, according to Lebanese psychologist and anthropologist Lamia Moghnieh.
Opening of shipping routes from Ukraine will not abate commodity and food pressure on the Middle East and North Africa
Despite the opening up of shipping routs for grain exports from Ukraine, persistent challenges from the war will continue to exacerbate pressures on the Middle East and North Africa
Two years on, Syrians injured in Beirut port blast drown in neglect, medical debt
On paper, the Lebanese government, the UNHCR and international aid agencies were meant to cover medical costs for those injured in the August 4 explosion, including foreigners. But the injured tell a different story.
The fall of the House of Arslan: How a Lebanese political newcomer ousted a dynasty
In May's polls, the Druze minority elected Marc Daou, a reform-minded political newcomer, over long-term politician Prince Talal Arslan, representing a shakeup to Lebanon's political stagnation ushered in by the October 17 protests.
Beirut: a taste of crisis through a cup of coffee
With the local currency losing nearly 95% of its value, large segments of the Lebanese population plunged into poverty, reflected in Hamra, once a busy boulevard and now a ghost-town.
Lebanon to deport Bahraini opposition Al-Wefaq members in unprecedented move
Lebanese authorities' move to deport members of Bahraini opposition group is the first such incident, and comes as the republic witnesses a remarkable increase in crackdown on freedoms.
A century of Etel Adnan: a mountain who leaves behind mountains
With colourful palettes, careful strokes and moving poetry, mountains were sensual beings in Adnan's artwork, regarded in confluence with the skies and earth, erupting in volcanoes.
Lebanon's LGBTQ+ community dreads a bleak future amid harsh present
Amidst discrimination, oppression and intimidation for their sexual identity, LGBT members avoid expressing political views for fear of being picked on by authorities, security forces or militias.
Arab content creators use social media to talk about sex, sexuality and reproductive health
'If we continue to avoid these conversations and to treat sexual education like a taboo, we are, in fact, only harming those that we are trying to protect.'
Online rape threats connect Lebanese activist to ‘thousands of other women’ facing abuse
Maya El-Ammar: "Thanks to our experiences with gender-based violence in the offline world, we have rationalized the reality that our virtual world would naturally mirror our off-screen existence."
‘Stop silencing MENA critical voices,’ say activists in open letter to Twitter and Facebook
A decade after uprisings heavily relied on social media to topple dictators across the region, human rights defenders denounce these platforms' discrimination against voices of dissent still fight for freedoms.
Lebanon protests: Authorities prey on digital spaces to silence criticism
While social media and WhatsApp have been extensively leveraged by demonstrators to organize, document, and sprawl the protest, Lebanese authorities have resorted to identifying and persecuting dissidents.
Surveillance in Lebanon: A crisis of privacy
Intrusions on citizens’ privacy in Lebanon are pervasive and often conducted without proper judicial oversight.
Abused and infected with COVID-19, Nigerian domestic workers are stranded in Beirut
African governments must press on their Lebanese counterpart to grant amnesty to all migrant domestic workers to be repatriated to their home countries and abolish the slave-like Kafala labour laws.
Protest art in the streets of Tripoli: An interview with Lebanese artist Batool Jacob
Batool Jacob paints on topics related to the Lebanese protests through a feminist and libertarian lens.
Harrowing tales from African domestic workers in Lebanon
African domestic workers are essentially slaves in the Gulf and Arab countries, under the Kafala sponsorship system that allows this exploitation and abuse to continue.
Migrant workers face racism and rampant human rights violations across the Gulf
Migrant workers in the Gulf region are being subjected to a fierce campaign calling for their deportation that is riddled with racist speeches and hatred.
Impoverished youth in the Middle East turn to cheap — sometimes deadly — alcohol
When large-scale alcohol poisoning outbreaks occur, they make the news in the Middle East, but where is the political will to tackle this sensitive and controversial issue?
