BEIRUT: On a recent school day, the Rene Mouawad High School in Beirut was empty, its classrooms dark, just like all of Lebanon’s public schools have been for most of the past three months. Its striking teachers were protesting in front of the Education Ministry, not far away.
About 100 teachers joined the demonstration outside the ministry, blocking traffic and holding placards demanding pay raises. “We are done with charity,” said Nisreen Chahine, the head of the union for contractor teachers. “We are not negotiating anymore. They should either rightfully pay or us or go home.”
The teachers gave speeches demanding officials come out and talk to them. But as usual in these regular protests, no one from the ministry emerged. After several hours, the teachers packed up and went home.
Lebanon’s schools are crumbling under the weight of the country’s economic collapse as the political leadership — which caused the crisis through decades of corruption and mismanagement — balks at taking any measures to resolve it. Since the meltdown began in late 2019, over three-quarters of Lebanon’s 6 million people have been plunged into poverty, their assets evaporating as the currency’s value shrivels and inflation rises at one of the world’s highest rates.
Most of the country’s children have not been in school for months — many since even before teachers, who say they can no longer live on their salaries, went on strike in December. Lebanon was once known for producing a highly skilled, educated work force. But now an entire generation is missing out on schooling, wreaking long-term damage on prospects for the country’s economy and future,
Teachers called their strike because their salaries, in Lebanese pounds, have became too low to cover rent and other basic expenses. The pound has gone from 1,500 to the dollar before the crisis to 100,000 to the dollar currently. Most teachers are now paid the equivalent of about $1 an hour, even after several raises since 2019. Grocery stores and other businesses now usually price their goods in dollars.
Teachers are demanding adjusted salaries, a transportation stipend, and health benefits. The government only offered to partially cover transportation, saying it didn’t have the budget for more. Though schools partially reopened last week after some teachers returned to work, most chose to continue striking.
Even before the crisis, Lebanon’s investment in public schools was limited. In 2020, the government’s spending on education was equivalent only to 1.7 percent of Lebanon’s GDP, one of the lowest rates in the world, according to the World Bank. The 2022 budget allocated 3.6 trillion Lebanese lira for education — the equivalent of around $90 million at the time the budget was passed in October, less than half the $182 million budget on education from a donor-funded humanitarian program.
Instead, the government has relied for years on private and charity schools to educate children. Humanitarian agencies paid to cover salaries and keep decrepit infrastructure functioning. Two-thirds of Lebanese children once went to private schools, but hundreds of thousands dropped out in recent years because private schools have had to increase tuition to cover soaring costs. Public and private schools struggle to keep lights on as fuel costs mount.
Even before the strike, more than 700,000 children in Lebanon, many of them Syrian refugees, were not in school because of the economic crisis. With the strike, an additional 500,000 joined their ranks, according to UNICEF.
“It means we now see children ages 10, 12, 14 and they are not able to even write their own names or write basic sentences,” Ettie Higgins, UNICEF deputy representative for Lebanon, told the The Associated Press. UNICEF said that last week it gave almost $14 million to help more than 1,000 public schools pay staff.
Rana Ghalib, a mother of four, said it makes her anxious to see her children at home when they should be in school. Her 14-year-old son had to repeat the 6th grade because he has fallen behind during previous disruptions.
“The classrooms are basically empty because teachers are demanding their rights and they’re dark because there is no fuel,” Ghalib told the AP.
The international community has been pushing Lebanon’s leaders to carry out wide-ranging reforms in the economy, financial system and governance in order to receive a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund and unlock development aid. The political elite, which has run the country since 1990, has stalled — because, critics say, reforms would undermine its grip on power and wealth. Amid political deadlock, there hasn’t been a president for months, and the government only functions in a limited caretaker capacity.
Education, meanwhile, is joining banks, medicine and electricity in the ranks of Lebanon’s failing institutions. That could cause long-term damage: Lebanon has traditionally relied on its educated and skilled diaspora population abroad to send remittances back home to support families, invest and feed dollars into the banking system. The exodus of skilled people skyrocketed during the economic crisis, leaving remittances as Lebanon’s last economic lifeline.
Hussein Cheaito, an economist and nonresident fellow at The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, a Washington-based think tank, says the crippled education system will further “deteriorate the social fabric” of Lebanon and deepen poverty.
“This will have a effect on the longer-term growth of the economy,” he told the AP. “This means there will be less access to jobs in the future … (and) weaken the labor market in general.”
Ghalib, meanwhile, checks on her children, who are watching TV and playing with their cellphones at a time when they would usually be studying. Even her 9-year-old daughter is aware that her future is in jeopardy, she said.
“My youngest daughter tells me, ‘I want to be a doctor, but how can I do that if I’m sitting at home?’” Ghalib said. “I don’t know what to tell her.”
Lebanon’s empty schools bode long-term damage from crisis
https://arab.news/b6u75
Lebanon’s empty schools bode long-term damage from crisis
- About 100 teachers joined demonstrations outside the ministry, blocking traffic and holding placards demanding pay raises
- Lebanon’s schools are crumbling under the weight of the country’s economic collapse
Syria monitor reports blasts at arms depots near Damascus
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the blasts in Kisweh, south of the Syrian capital, may be the result of an Israeli air strike
BEIRUT: A Syria war monitor said explosions on Sunday rocked an area near Damascus housing weapons depots used by the toppled government of Bashar Assad.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the blasts in Kisweh, south of the Syrian capital, may be the result of an Israeli air strike.
The Israeli military, which has struck many military sites in Syria in recent weeks, told AFP in Jerusalem it did not attack the site.
The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, said that “loud blasts resonated in the wider capital area.”
The explosions occurred “at ammunition depots of the former regime forces... near the town of Kisweh,” sending a thick cloud of smoke billowing over the site, the Observatory said.
Israel, which rarely comments on its actions in neighboring Syria, has carried out hundreds of air strikes on military sites since Islamist-led forces ousted president Assad and seized Damascus last month.
Israel has said it was seeking to prevent weapons from falling into hostile hands.
Most recently, the Observatory said Israeli war planes hit sites of the now defunct Syrian army in the Aleppo area on Friday.
In late December, the Observatory said 11 people died in an explosion at an arms storage facility in the Adra area north Damascus, adding that it was possibly the result of an Israeli strike. Israel denied any involvement.
Israel releases Jordanian doctor detained during relief mission to Gaza
- Jordan engaged in ‘intensive’ diplomatic efforts to secure release of Abdullah Balawi
- Balawi said his mission as a doctor is to relieve those who need help
LONDON: Israeli authorities released Abdullah Balawi, 38, a Jordanian doctor who had been detained in December while attempting to cross into the Gaza Strip to take part in a medical relief mission.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Sufian Al-Qudah said that Jordan engaged in “intensive” diplomatic efforts via the kingdom’s embassy in Tel Aviv to secure the release of Balawi on Sunday, according to the Petra agency.
Israeli authorities arrested Balawi on Dec. 19 at Allenby crossing, also known as Sheikh Hussein Bridge, which borders Jordan with the Occupied West Bank.
He was returned through diplomatic channels at the Sheikh Hussein Bridge on Sunday, with Jordanian Embassy staff present, Petra added.
Balawi told Al-Mamlaka TV after his release that his mission as a doctor is to relieve those who need help. His family could not contact him for 11 days during his detention in Israel.
Al-Qudah said that Amman closely monitored Balawi’s detention and contacted his family.
Since October 2023, Jordan has launched several medical, airlift and aid relief missions to assist Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Some of these missions have been supervised personally by King Abdullah in response to Israeli military operations that have damaged multiple hospitals in Gaza and resulted in almost 45,000 deaths.
Israel helps former soldier leave Brazil over investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza
- The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint of alleged war crimes based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs
- Israel adamantly rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law
JERUSALEM: Israel has helped a former soldier leave Brazil after legal action was initiated against him by a group accusing Israelis of war crimes in the Gaza Strip based in part on soldiers’ social media posts.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it had helped the former soldier safely leave Brazil on a commercial flight after what it described as “anti-Israel elements” sought an investigation last week. It warned Israelis against posting on social media about their military service.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, named for a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, said Brazilian authorities had launched an investigation into the soldier after it filed a complaint based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs showing him taking part in the demolition of civilian homes.
The foundation described the move as a “pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza” during nearly 15 months of war.
There was no immediate comment from Brazilian authorities. Brazilian media reported Saturday that the investigation was ordered by an on-call federal judge in Brazil’s Federal District. The decision was issued on Dec. 30 but first reported over the weekend.
Israel has faced heavy international criticism over its war against Hamas in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. The International Court of Justice is separately investigating genocide allegations.
The Brazil case raised the prospect that rank-and-file Israeli troops could also face prosecution while traveling abroad.
Israel adamantly rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law and that any violations are punished within its judicial systems. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths, saying the militant group conceals tunnels and other infrastructure in residential buildings, necessitating their demolition.
Throughout the war, Israeli soldiers have posted numerous videos from Gaza that appear to show them rummaging through homes and blowing up or burning residential buildings. In some, they chant racist slogans or boast about destroying the Palestinian territory.
The military has pledged to take disciplinary action in what it says are a handful of isolated cases.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up over half the dead but do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed five people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and four in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to health workers. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 88 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
The war has caused widespread destruction in Gaza and displaced around 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian security member
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a member of the Palestinian security services, calling him a wanted militant.
Israel’s paramilitary Border Police said Sunday they carried out an operation in Meithaloun village overnight to arrest Hassan Rabaiya. They said he was killed in a shootout while trying to escape.
Israeli authorities released helmet-cam footage that showed the police shooting the suspect and blowing up what police said was an explosives lab in his home.
The Palestinian security services identified Rabaiya as a first lieutenant in its Preventive Security force, saying he was killed while “performing his national duty.”
Meithaloun is near the West Bank city of Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority has been waging a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin, angering many Palestinians.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. But Israel has long accused it of inciting violence and turning a blind eye to militants, while Palestinian critics view it as a corrupt and ineffective body that aids the occupation.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence during the war in Gaza. Israel captured both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
Israel warns that ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk
Israel’s defense minister warned Sunday that the truce that ended more than a year of fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah is at risk.
Israel Katz said the agreement requires Hezbollah to withdraw to the north of the Litani River and Lebanese troops to eliminate militant infrastructure in the buffer zone — “something that hasn’t happened yet.”
“If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act on its own to ensure the safe return of the residents of (Israel’s) north to their homes,” he said.
Both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement. Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it calls Hezbollah targets, accusing the militant group of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed.
The deal struck on Nov. 27 required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon. It gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.
Hezbollah, severely degraded after Israeli strikes, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.
Syrian caretaker government to hike public sector salaries by 400 percent next month
- Increase will be financed by existing state resources plus a combination of regional aid, new investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad
- Measures are part of a broader strategy by Syria’s new caretaker government to stabilize the country’s economy
DAMASCUS: Syria’s finance minister said on Sunday the government would hike salaries for many public sector employees by 400 percent next month after completing an administrative restructuring of ministries to boost efficiency and accountability.
The increase, estimated to cost 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds, or about $127 million at current rates, will be financed by existing state resources plus a combination of regional aid, new investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad.
“(This is) the first step toward an emergency solution to the economic reality in the country,” Mohammed Abazeed, the finance minister in Syria’s caretaker government, told Reuters, adding that this month’s wages for public sector staff would be paid out this week.
These measures are part of a broader strategy by Syria’s new caretaker government to stabilize the country’s economy following 13 years of conflict and sanctions.
Salaries of Syria’s public sector employees under toppled President Bashar Assad’s regime were around $25 a month, putting them below the poverty line, along with the majority of the country’s population, Abazeed said.
The hike would follow a comprehensive evaluation of up to 1.3 million registered public sector employees to remove fictitious employees from the payroll and would affect those with sufficient expertise, academic qualifications, and the necessary skills for reconstruction.
Syria’s state treasury is facing liquidity challenges emerging from a war. The majority of money available in the central bank is Syrian currency, which has lost much of its value. However, the new government was promised assistance from regional and Arab countries, the minister said.
“The launch of investments in the country in the near future will also benefit the state treasury and allow us to finance this salary increase,” he said, adding the central bank currently has sufficient funds to finance the next few months.
The government expects to retrieve up to $400 million in frozen Syrian assets abroad, which could co-finance the initial government expenses.
Syria’s caretaker government is also discussing exempting taxpayers, as much as possible, from penalties and interest and working on overhauling the tax system within the next three months to achieve tax justice for all taxpayers, with a first draft expected within four months.
“By the end of this year, we expect having a well-designed tax system that takes the interests of all taxpayers into account,” he added.
Israel blocks food supply to northern Gaza’s Indonesian hospital to force out doctors
- Patients, doctors forced out from Kamal Adwan hospital are sheltering in Indonesia Hospital
- The facility has been sheltering critically ill patients with no electricity, water, UN says
JAKARTA: Israeli forces have blocked food and water supply to the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza to force out the doctors who are refusing to leave their patients behind, the nongovernmental organization that funded it said on Sunday.
The hospital in Beit Lahiya, a four-story building located near the Jabalia refugee camp, was built from donations organized by the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee.
It has been sheltering more than a dozen patients, caregivers and health workers from Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, which was destroyed in December after months of relentless Israeli attacks.
The remaining doctors are defying orders to leave the Indonesia Hospital, MER-C said, adding that they last received food aid from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“They are still holding out. The condition is deteriorating, there’s a lack of water and food,” Marissa Noriti, a MER-C volunteer in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, told Arab News via WhatsApp.
“The Israeli occupation forces are blocking supply … The doctors are staying for the patients. They refuse to leave them behind.”
Indonesia Hospital is no longer in service after it was severely damaged by frequent Israeli attacks since October 2023. But the facility was still sheltering critically ill patients, despite not having electricity, water or supplies, according to UNOCHA.
The hospital operated under limited capacity last year, but Israeli bombardments forced the patients and medical staff to transfer to the Al-Shifa hospital in southern Gaza last December, with only a few doctors staying behind.
On Friday, as the hospital was surrounded by Israeli forces attacking the area, the doctors were ordered to leave the facility and the patients.
“We are monitoring the situation. Israel’s occupation forces are cutting off all supplies to force them out; this is their strategy to empty north Gaza, to empty all the hospitals in the north so the people have no place to go to seek help,” Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees in Jakarta, told Arab News.
“We ask that the international community act by any means to save Palestine from the crimes of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).”
Israel has frequently targeted medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, saying that they are used by Palestinian armed groups. The attacks have pushed the enclave’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and wounded over 108,000 since Oct. 7, 2023. The real death toll is believed to be much higher, with estimates published by medical journal The Lancet indicating that, as of July, it could be more than 186,000.
