Tourism Ministry bans discrimination at beaches

Tourism Ministry bans discrimination at beaches
LEBANON
friday, may 18, 2012
Not all resorts are
complying with new
regulations set out in
recent circular
By Annie Slemrod
BEIRUT: The Tourism Ministry has
opened the summer beach season by
banning resorts from discriminating on
the basis of race, nationality or disability, but reports of bias in entry policies
persist and some owners appear unwilling to conform to the new regulations.
The issue of racism at Lebanon’s
popular beach clubs is not new. In
2010, the activist group Anti-Racism
Movement caused a stir with a video
that showed a black woman being
denied entry to Beirut’s Sporting Club.
This week, the group posted another
clip about racism at beach clubs, highlighting what has become a focal point
in the discrimination debate: policies
that forbid migrant domestic workers
from entry, or restrict their access to
swimming facilities.
The Daily Star has obtained a copy
of a circular issued in late April by
Nada Sardouk, director-general of the
Tourism Ministry, addressed to the
owners of beach clubs and pools.
It urges “quality in receiving customers, with no discrimination in
terms of race, nationality or … special
needs.” Among the circular’s other
stipulations are lifeguards and free
drinking water.
A ministry spokesperson told The
Daily Star that it will conduct periodic spot checks of resorts, and those
who fail to conform to the circular will
be issued warnings and fines.
The spokesperson added that the
ministry would move to close repeat
violators. The circular “directs the
attention to those concerned that the
ministry will be firm in implementing
them [the requirements] and will
unfortunately be forced to take the
appropriate legal measures against
those who violate it.”
At Beirut’s Sporting Club, which
has long been accused of racist policies, public relations manager Walid
Abu Nasser told The Daily Star he was
aware of the circular, but considered it
BEIRUT: A businessman was kidnapped Thursday while on his way to
prayers in the Western Bekaa town of
Jub Jennin. Unknown assailants in a
black Mercedes kidnapped Ahmad
Ali Sayyed Sakhr, 74, at 4 a.m. after
beating his son so severely that he
lost consciousness. Sakhr lives in
Colombia but was on a visit to his
hometown. The National News
Agency reported that a surveillance
camera near the mosque captured
footage of the vehicle. Western
Bekaa-Rashaya MPs Ziad Qaderi,
Jamal Jarrah, Antoine Saad, and
Amin Wehbe condemned the kidnapping during a news conference at Parliament and called on authorities to
investigate “this dangerous incident,”
catch the perpetrators and return
Sakhr to his family. – The Daily Star
“totally wrong. I asked them [the ministry] to please specify, in a complete
list, all people I should let into private
clubs. They should first of all decide
what the rules are for private clubs, and
what the rules are for public beaches.”
According to Abu Nasser, Sporting
Club’s policy “has always been that
any kind of worker, bodyguard, security, escort, maid – any help except for
those medically required – are not
allowed on the premises.” He added
that he considered this to be “social,”
rather than racial selection.
Abu Nasser said Sporting Club does
screen non-members at the door.
“We screen the clients as to whether
they have come introduced by someone
at the club,” he said. “They also have to
fit a certain profile that we require to
maintain a homogeneous atmosphere
regardless of whether [potential
entrants] are Lebanese, workers or foreigners – it doesn’t matter.”
He continued that the club’s policy
was not related to “racial issues,” and
that the club reserves the right to turn
away anyone at its door, including
families with many children, or unaccompanied men.
“It has nothing to do with anything
except for what we deem is reasonable
for the club’s members to feel comfortable in the environment that they
are used to. The same thing happens at
any nightclub,” Abu Nasser said,
adding that the club has foreign members including employees of the United Nations and embassies.
But in the opinion of Human Rights
Watch’s Beirut director Nadim Houry,
the nightclub comparison hits at the center of prejudice in the policies of Sporting Club and other beaches and pools.
“Nightclubs discriminate and that is
intolerable,” he said. “The issue here
is there needs to be no discrimination
on socioeconomic status, gender, race,
First batch of women police
recruits demonstrate their skills
Man dies after jumping
from 4th floor to flee arrest
BEIRUT: A man jumped to his death
from the fourth floor of a building to
escape arrest, the ISF said Thursday. A
statement said the man, identified by
his initials H. Sh., was wanted on 12
outstanding warrants, for theft, forgery, passing bad checks and misrepresentation. When a patrol from the
Judicial Police, accompanied by a
mukhtar, knocked on the man’s door
at his home in Aramoun, Mount
Lebanon, the man’s wife opened the
door and screamed that her husband
was dead, after having jumped from
the balcony. – The Daily Star
Altruists set up committee
to help needy people
BEIRUT: A group of philanthropists
established a committee in coordination with the Interior Ministry Thursday to help needy people in Lebanon.
“Life for Humans” was established to
help bring about the release of prisoners who had served their sentences but
were unable to pay their fines. Headed
by Talal Makdessi, the committee will
work to provide financial assistance to
inmates and detainees at the General
Security. Earlier this year, donors paid
fines for more than 40 inmates from
prisons in Roumieh and the Bekaa
who were released. – The Daily Star
Panel urges higher budget
ceilings for public hospitals
BEIRUT: Parliament’s Public Health,
Labor and Social Affairs committee
recommended Thursday lifting budget
ceilings for public hospitals. “If this
[canceling the budget ceiling] is legally not possible, we recommend the
ceiling be determined according to the
number of beds, the type of services
provided and the number of patients
visiting the hospital,” said Beirut MP
Atef Majdalani, committee chair. The
committee called for appointing new
members to the boards of directors.
“The terms of boards of directors in
all public hospitals have expired …
and [Health] Minister [Ali Hasan]
Khalil has told us that these appointments are about to be finalized,” he
said. – The Daily Star
Women recruits will carry out the exact same duties as their male counterparts in four months.
By Olivia Alabaster
BEIRUT: The first round of women to
join the Internal Security Forces
demonstrated their skills Thursday at
a ceremony in Dbayyeh.
Until now there have been only two
female members of the ISF, out of a
total of 25,500. These new cadets,
numbering 600, began training in
March, and still have another four
months to go until they can graduate
as sergeants.
The new recruits will carry out the
same duties as their male counterparts
and have received identical training.
The program falls under the U.S.
Civilian Police mission, which aims at
supporting “the development of the
ISF into a modern professional police
force that is capable of protecting
Lebanon’s borders, defending its sovereignty, and serving and protecting
all of Lebanon’s citizens.”
One component of CIVPOL, which
started in 2006 and has contributed
$100 million to the ISF, involves training and advising via 26 U.S. police
trainers at ISF academies in Beirut.
Maj. Suzanne Hajj Hobeish, one of
the two original female members of the
force, has been heavily involved in
training the cadets. Having joined the
ISF 12 years ago as an engineer, Hajj
Hobeish said she was excited that more
women were finally receiving training.
“I have always loved my job, and
I’m just so happy to see these women
succeed, and to be able to help them in
this,” she added.
What may appear a “bold step,”
Hobeish said, was guaranteed by the
Constitution, in terms of equality for
all Lebanese.
The skills the cadets are learning
will enable them to “work at police
stations, writing police reports – espeThe Daily Star
cially reports on domestic violence –
as well as participating in patrols and
investigations, and arrests.”
Deputy Contingent Commander
Tania Gonser has been helping to train
the new cadets.
“I’ve been working in Lebanon
since 2009, training men, and now the
women and they have been doing just
fantastically. They have shown such
commitment and enthusiasm and
today is a testament to that.”
Around 100 of the young cadets,
mainly in their early 20s and from
across the country, were involved in
Thursday’s demonstration, and, in
groups, carried out live-fire drills, simulated riot defense tactics and showed
how they would pursue and stop a car
and arrest its inhabitants.
Others completed assault courses
and abseiled down a high-rise building, some of them headfirst.
“Physically, they have shown they
can do everything that the men can do,
and academically, they are doing
superbly,” Gonser added.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel
reiterated in March that the country’s
security institutions’ bylaws prohibit
the display of any religious symbols,
and while several cadets were wearing
hijabs Thursday, it is most likely that
upon graduation they will be confined
to desk work, although ISF staff said
the issue had not yet been finalized.
Nivine Horo, 22, one of the new
recruits, has always wanted to be a
police officer.
“I come from a family where rules
and discipline are important – but it
always seemed unrealistic. But now it
has happened and it’s so exciting. I’ve
already experienced so many things that
I just never thought I would be able to.”
When training first started, she said,
it was difficult for various reasons.
“It was really hard because we were
apart from our families and the train-
or nationality. That has to be fought.”
Lebanon currently has no allencompassing anti-discrimination law.
“In addition to racism there is classism in Lebanese society, but that
doesn’t make [discrimination on that
basis] any more OK,” Houry added.
A public relations official at
Beirut’s Les Creneaux, which does not
allow domestic or other workers such
as bodyguards into its pool, similarly
denied that his club discriminates on
the basis of race.
“As a worker, in general you can
accompany [an employer] but you
cannot use the facility … you have to
Arab women gather to discuss
activism amid popular upheavals
By Alex Taylor
BEIRUT: Women’s rights activists
from around the region concluded a
two-day conference in Beirut Thursday, sharing experiences and strategies
for activism from grassroots organizing to influencing constitutions.
“The conference is a gathering of
many participants from different Arab
countries to discuss the challenges facing Arab women through this transition
period, especially with the increasing
role of the fundamentalist movements,” said Azza Kamel, president of
Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development, an Egyptian
NGO focusing on the political development of women, which organized the
conference with Oxfam.
“During these two days we’ve
exchanged experiences and strategies.
How we can benefit from the good practices such as those that have been used
in Tunisia and Morocco, and also learning from the bad practices,” said Kamel.
More than 50 participants from
Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, Iraq,
Sudan, Morocco, Jordan, Libya and
Palestine convened in Beirut to share
strategies on utilizing social media,
how to set up networks among
women’s organizations and to discuss
the areas where activists should target
their focus: constitutions, grassroots
outreach and education systems.
“One of the final results of the conference is to focus on constitutions, to
put our demands in the constitution and
make sure we have women in constitutional committees. We also need to
The Daily Star
The Daily Star/Hasan Shaaban
Businessman kidnapped
in Western Bekaa
BRIEFS
The summer will tell whether or not the ministry’s circular is respected.
AP Photo
The Daily Star
ing was also difficult, so it was physically and emotionally challenging.
“But then we made this transition
from a civilian to a police officer, and
everything became easier,” Horo added.
The aspect of the job she looks forward to most is helping women come
forward after they may have previously been hesitant about reporting certain crimes to male officers.
“I’m just looking forward to helping people who need help. And often
women feel less comfortable talking to
men about certain issues. So being a
woman, and a police officer, that they
can talk to, will help.”
Her only concern about starting
police work on the ground is the possibility of derogatory comments from
the public.
“The only thing I’m worried about,
when we start working, is possibly
some negative reactions from people
who think that as women we are not as
capable. But we will just have to prove
them wrong.”
On hand for the demonstration was
Todd Robinson, deputy assistant secretary for International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs at the U.S.
Department of State, in Lebanon as
part of a regional tour.
“It’s very impressive: They have
only been training for a short amount
of time and it’s clear that they have
shown real professionalism,” Robinson said.
The step to include women within
the ISF was important, he said, to
show Lebanese that the police force is
one comprised of all citizens, and for
all citizens.
“And it’s hugely important that
there are women now. The more you
have women in this kind of role,” he
added, it enables “other women to
know that these opportunities are
available to them and that they’re
needed in protecting Lebanon.”
pay to use the facility.” He said that as
the club requires membership for
entry, domestic workers may use the
facilities as invitees.
The policies of other clubs vary.
Martisol Rizk, senior marketing executive at Beirut’s Riviera, said that
domestic workers can “come in normally and swim.”
Raya Salame, co-owner of the
Portemillio in Kaslik, told The Daily
Star that officially domestic workers
are not allowed into the pool, but unofficially they are permitted to swim “for
the safety of the kids.”
She said she is aware of the circular, and added that “we don’t discriminate.” Salame said the only way to
access the resorts’ facilities are with a
visitor’s card, or by renting a chalet,
hotel room or cabin. Anyone, including domestic workers, Salame said,
can use a visitor’s card or rent a place
at the resort.
Villamar in Khalde declined to
comment on its policies, and Beirut’s
Coral Beach Resort did not reply to a
request for comment. Both places
reportedly forbid domestic workers
from swimming.
At Edde Sands in Jbeil, marketing
manager Joanne Zarife said that
domestic workers are allowed access
to the pool if they come with or without their employers, as long as they are
wearing proper bathing attire.
She added that occasionally,
employers ask that domestic workers
enter the pool in uniform and “this is
discrimination” against workers,
hence the bathing suit policy.
Human Rights Watch’s Houry said
that while he found the circular
“encouraging” in principle, the key
will be whether it is enforced.
The ministry said that as it cannot
monitor all clubs and resorts constantly, it encouraged anyone who has been
the victim of discrimination or witnessed any other violations of the circular’s regulations to file a formal
complaint with the ministry.
On balance, Houry pointed out that
most of the country’s beaches, even
those that allow everyone in, are practically inaccessible to most migrant
domestic workers due to their high
entrance fees.
“But it is the principle,” Houry
added. “It is the visible tip of the iceberg of discrimination.”
develop our feminist discourse to reach
very poor women, rural women and
men by working with local groups and
NGOs,” Kamel told The Daily Star.
The highlight for many of the participants was simply the forum to
exchange experiences and learn from
women who have encountered the
same problems in different contexts.
“Even if we’re from different cultures, even if we have different levels of
power – we are all here because we want
change,” explained Safa Rawieh, one of
the conference presenters from Yemen
who runs the Youth Leadership Development Foundation in Sanaa. “When
you hear how people in Morocco managed to change things or how people in
Libya managed to do it, it’s very good
because you get ideas,” she said.
One participant from Egypt, Amal
Hadi, was especially interested in the
experiences of Moroccan women and
their political activism. “We were discussing strategies to work with political parties. Political parties are something we never had [in Egypt], so we
are learning what to do from scratch,”
explained Hadi, representing the
Cairo-based New Woman Foundation.
Despite flagging hopes and lessthan-democratic trends that have
emerged in many countries since the
beginning of the Arab Spring, the participants at the conference were largely both optimistic and determined.
“After Tahrir … there is no turning
back …. And women are a part of that.
They are using sexual violence against
women, virginity tests and sexual
harassment when they deal with protesters. Despite this, they [women] are
still going out on the street,” Hadi said.
Kamel makes closing remarks at the conference.
GOALS OF NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR WOMEN
BEIRUT: The National Committee for Women’s Affairs Thursday launched a “National Strategy
for Women” for 2011-21, which lists challenges women in Lebanon face and suggests solutions.
Committee member Randa Berri said the strategy, a collaborative effort between the committee
and organizations that work with women, represents “an overview of the situation in Lebanon.”
The strategy provides an overview of the current situation, lists the challenges for changing the
status quo, and gives recommendations on how to move forward. The strategy’s aims are:
Ì Achieving full citizenship based on complete gender equality in all fields
Ì Strengthening opportunities for girls and women in education
Ì Achieving complete gender equality in health care by providing health services, particularly
pre-natal care
Ì Fighting women’s poverty
Ì Achieving gender parity for women and men in decision-making positions
Ì Fighting violence against women and girls
Ì Changing stereotypes about women in culture and the media
Ì Increasing the contribution of women to protecting the environment
Ì Strengthening cooperation between institutions that work with women
Ì Protecting women in emergencies, such as wars and natural disasters – The Daily Star
The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir
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