Boutros Harb For President

[Boutros Harb: Image From Unknown Archive] [Boutros Harb: Image From Unknown Archive]

Boutros Harb For President

By : Maya Mikdashi

In my capacity as a founding editor of Jadaliyya, I hereby endorse Boutros Harb, current Lebanese Minister of Labor, for the office of President of the republic. If Lebanon were a country where presidential candidates actually stood for elections and citizens actually voted to choose who would occupy the office of the President[1], I would certainly vote for him. I would even campaign for him.

Throughout a long career of public service to his country, Mr. Harb has demonstrated an uncanny understanding of and dedication to the whole of Lebanon, and not only to the community that his detractors say his only concern is; the Christians of Lebanon. While his detractors see a man whose political positions bend with the changing political winds, I see a man who has perfected the art of Lebanese politics and taken it, along with his once March 14 ally Walid Jumblatt, to a whole new level. Moreover, Harb has been in politics for a long, long time. He first became member of the Lebanese Parliament in 1972 and has been in one way or the other implicated in the numerous achievements of the Lebanese government since then. As Lebanese citizens, we know that our best hopes for reform, security, and prosperity rest with career politicians such as Bourtos Harb.

Most recently, Harb has once again demonstrated the reasons why he is the ideal (Maronite) man to lead Lebanon and to share power with the other two principled, incorruptible, and leading political minds of that country; Saad Harirri and Nabih Berri. A true visionary, Harb has proposed a draft law that would criminalize the sale of real estate between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. With this law, he has demonstrated his uncanny understanding and dedication to what makes Lebanese so damn special. He alone has had the courage to state that it is not enough that Muslims and Christians cannot marry each other on Lebanese lands, that the political system is divided between the Shiite, Maronite, and Sunnite sects, and that Christians, Muslims, Jews and all the sects within these categories marry, divorce, inherit, adopt, commit adultery, and are buried when they die according to different laws and regulations. No, it is not enough. For Lebanon to truly live up to its promise as the only liberal diverse democracy in the Arab world, Muslims and Christians should not be able to sell land, apartments or houses to each other. For Lebanon to reach the heights envisioned by French imperialists and their local allies, real estate must also be segregated in order to protect the special character of that country. After all, if we are not careful, we are likely to end up like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Syria. As a Lebanese woman who enjoys living in a country that protects my rights and within which I am an equal to my male counterparts, I shudder at the thought.

With Lebanon plagued by political instability, rising unemployment and underemployment, and with the very real threat of another Lebanon-Israel war at hand, it takes great courage to concentrate on the issues that matter. With his draft law that criminalizes the sale of real estate across religious communities, Harb has demonstrated such courage. Instead of needlessly trying to change a practice whereby citizens try to keep “their” areas religiously homogenous, Harb has seen the logic in legislating this practice. With Lebanese citizens worried that they cannot pay their bills, that a new civil war may erupt, or that they and/or their children will be forced to emigrate, we can rest easy knowing that politicians like Boutros Harb know what we should be worried about and are willing to act based on their superior knowledge. I hereby endorse Boutros Harb for President for all of these reasons, and because he, and his policies, truly embody all that is right about Lebanon.

 


[1] In the Lebanese political system, the President is elected by the Lebanese Parliament, members of which must stand for general elections.

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Things To Do On Lebanese Independence Day + Arabic Translation

Drive from Saifi Village to Hayy al Sullum or Naba`a, marvel at the miracles of capitalism and Lebanon’s constitutionally protected free market economy.

Watch a few pilots from the Lebanese Air Force put on a show in the sky, feel safer knowing that if the IDF is also watching, they are sure to be too afraid to continue violating Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis.

Take a walk in casual clothes through what used to be a bustling souk but is now luxurious downtown Beirut. Count how many times you are “checked” by security guards and how many times you hear a Lebanese accent.

Use your three to six hour daily power cut to light candles and ponder the meaning of life and the price of corruption.

Use your water shortage and resulting body odor as an opportunity to be thankful that you live in a country where you can water ski and snowboard on the same day!

Walk down Hamra Street. Gaze in wonder at the foreigners gazing in wonder at women in niqabs and women in miniskirts walking down the same street!

Have a picnic in the section of Martyr’s Square that is soon to be a skyscraper. Hope that private security does not harass you for enjoying what used to be a public space commemorating the Lebanese struggle for Independence.

Let your foreign domestic servant eat meat that is not leftover from yesterday`s meal. Go ahead, splurge a little.

Start your own sect.

Do the Dabkeh, listen to Fairouz, eat hummus and tabbouleh until you get sick. Rock on!

Make a paper mache cedar tree out of lists of your friends and family that are unemployed, underemployed, working overseas and/or waiting for a visa in order to immigrate.

Visit the ruins of Nahr el Bared refugee camp, feel safer knowing that our army can reduce any Palestinian civilian refugee camp to rubble anywhere, anytime.

To compensate for the fact that you cannot give Lebanese citizenship to your spouse or to your children and that Lebanese law does not protect you from rape, wear a short skirt, high heels, and a tight shirt. Celebrate Lebanese Independence Day in truly liberated style.

Play a drinking game with friends. Read statements issued by Lebanon’s politicians (of all persuasions) and religious leaders marking Independence Day. Every time the words “Lebanese civilization”, “pluralism”, “coexistence” or “exceptional” appear, take a shot of `Arak or for the observant Muslims, a shot of the best damn olive oil in the world!

أفكار للاحتفال بعيد الاستقلال في لبنان

قد/قودي السيارة من "سوليدير" إلى "حي السلم" أو "النبعة"، واشهد/ي أعجوبة الرأسمالية ومعجزة اقتصاد السوق الحرة المحمية دستوريا في لبنان.

شاهد/ي بضعة طيارين من سلاح الجو اللبناني يستعرضون مهاراتهم في الجو، ولا بد أن تشعر/ي بالأمان لمعرفتك بأنه في حال كان الجيش الإسرائيلي يشاهد عظمة تلك العروض، فسيصاب حتما بالهلع والرعب ويتوقف عن انتهاك الأجواء اللبنانية بصورة شبه يومية.

قم/قومي بنزهة سيرا على الأقدام بملابس عادية في ما كان سابقا سوقا شعبيا صاخبا وبات اليوم منطقة "الوسط التجاري" الفخمة في بيروت. أحص/ي عدد المرات التي تتعرض/ين فيها لنظرات الريبة من حراس الأمن الخاص، أو عدد المرات التي تسمع/ين فيها اللهجة اللبنانية.

استغلّ/ي انقطاع الكهرباء اليومي الذي يدوم من ثلاث الى ست ساعات، لتضيء/تضيئي الشموع وتتأمل/ي في معاني الحياة وثمن انتشار الفساد في كل مكان.

أنظر/ي بايجابية لانقطاع المياه وما ينتج عنها من رائحة جسد "غير مثيرة"، واشعر/ي بالامتنان لكونك تعيش/ين في بلد يمكنك فيه التزلج على الماء والتزلج على الثلج في اليوم نفسه!

اذهب/ي بنزهة الى منطقة ساحة الشهداء التي ستصبح في القريب العاجل منطقة لناطحات السحاب، وأمل/ي ألا يتم اعتقالك أو التحرش بك من قبل حراس الأمن الخاص في "سوليدير" لمجرد أنك تستمتعين بما كان في ما مضى فسحة عامة تمجّد ذكرى النضال اللبناني من أجل "الاستقلال".

دع/ي العاملة الأجنبية التي تعمل في منزلك تتناول قطعة من "الستيك" غير المتبقية من فضلات طعامك. هيا، اسخ/ي قليلاً!
ابدأ/ي طائفة خاصة بك.

تناول/ي الحمص والتبولة الى أن تصاب/ي بالغثيان.

اصنع/ي شجرة أرز ورقية من لوائح أسماء أصدقائك وأفراد أسرتك العاطلين/ات عن العمل، والعاملين/ات بظروف مجحفة، والمهاجرين/ات و/أو الذين/اللواتي ينتظرون الفيزا كي يسارعوا الى الهجرة.

زر/زوري ما تبقى من آثار الدمار في مخيم "نهر البارد" للاجئين الفلسطينيين، واختبر/ي الشعور بالأمان لمعرفة أن بمقدور جيشنا الوطني أن يحيل أي مخيم فلسطيني مدني الى حطام في أي مكان وأي زمان.

لكي تعوضي عن عدم قدرتك على منح الجنسية اللبنانية لزوجك أو أولادك، أو انعدام القوانين التي تحميك من الاغتصاب والعنف الزوجي: ارتدي تنورة قصيرة وقميصا ضيقا وانتعلي كعبا عاليا، واحتفلي بعيد الاستقلال اللبناني ب"ستايل متحرر حقاً".

استمتع/ي بلعبة تناول الشراب مع الأصدقاء. اقرأ/ي البيانات الصادرة عن سياسيي لبنان (من مختلف التوجهات) والزعماء الدينيين بمناسبة عيد الاستقلال. في كل مرة تظهر فيها كلمات مثل "الحضارة اللبنانية"، "التعددية"، "العيش المشترك" و"استثنائي"، تناول/ي جرعة من العرق. أما بالنسبة الى المسلمين/ات الملتزمين/ات، فيمكن تناول جرعة من زيت الزيتون الأفضل في العالم!