The following are
sample backgrounds to proposals I have written for US government funding over the last
year.
Grant agency: DRL
Subject: Internet
Freedom
Despite being party to core international human rights
treaties, the human rights records and freedom of expression in Arab states are
generally considered to be poor.
Restrictions on free speech and press abound, and access to information
is limited. Even in a hybrid regime like
Lebanon,
political and economic restrictions inhibit access to information. Democracy experts Larry Diamond and Samuel
Huntington have suggested that those working to expand democracy and freedom in
the world can make better use of their time and effort by focusing on regimes
that are a mix of both democratic and non-democratic tendencies, as they are on
the path toward democratic consolidation, albeit stalled or stuck in some
areas. Ignoring some countries because
they are seemingly on the right path to democracy more often than not causes
serious backsliding in freedoms, resulting in more non-democratic regimes and a
slow death of the fledgling liberalism in the region. Lebanon fits this description. In addition, Lebanon,
along with Egypt,
is a leader in the Arab region in terms of mobilizing popular thought and
trends. Saving freedom of expression in
these two countries is critical to its development and survival in the rest of
the region.
While Lebanon
may be one of the most liberal states in the MENA region, it still has a long
way to go on the path to becoming a full-fledged democracy, and continuous
instability threatens to derail reform efforts.
In October 2009, renowned Middle East
journalist Robert Fisk wrote, “For decades, Lebanese journalism has been
applauded as the freest, most outspoken, most literate in the heavily censored
Arab world. Alas, no more.” Why did he
write this? Fisk believes that a spate
of media firings in 2009 were not a result of the economic times as had been
the excuse of the media companies, but occurred for political purposes. In Lebanon, the press is what he calls
a “feudal system,” where if you want to run a newspaper or television station,
you must buy an existing title, and these titles are owned by the wealthy and
powerful. So where does that leave the
Lebanese who aren’t at the top of the politico-economic food chain?
But governments are not the only impediment to free
speech. Economic conditions are often
just as restrictive as a law. While Beirut may be a New
York Times top destination, the reality of Lebanon is that outside the capital
is a whole other repressed world with a lack of economic opportunities and
restrictions on free speech based on confessional group.
As Secretary Clinton said in her internet freedom speech, “A
connection to global information networks is like an on-ramp to
modernity.” The internet is one place
where rich and poor could have an equal voice, yet so many of the world’s
marginalized groups do not have access.
Likewise, language barriers impede access to information, as much of the
world wide web is in English.
Marginalized groups often know very little about human rights and
democracy because they are cut off from information. These two terms are often thrown around by
anti-Western politicians and clerics to drive fear into the hearts of their
followers. What is needed is a means to
information about human rights that exists outside of what they hear from
politicians and clerics.
Grant agency: DRL
Subject: Municipal
elections
The Lebanese people have a historical relationship with
democracy, and the post-Taif generation believes that it lives in a democratic
state. However, Lebanon’s system falls short of
democratic standards. Its confessional
system, which assigns political positions based on religious affiliation,
leaves little room for true political competition and inclusion in the
democratic process. The political system
and public administration are over centralized, corrupt, and inefficient, and
the lack of meritocracy has limited citizen participation, specifically
qualified youth. The weakness of the administration and the failures to
reform it have also contributed to the breakdown of the system of service
provision and the lack of trust in the state. As a result, the people
feel jaded and disconnected from politics, a condition that tarnishes the image
of democracy and leaves the people apathetic and uninterested in getting
involved.
While there is a certain degree of deconcentration,
decentralization has not been seriously implemented despite the many calls for
including it in the Ta’if Agreement. Decentralization efforts are needed
to help boost local and regional government. Although municipalities
exist and are competitively elected, they are very weak and fiscally dependent
on the central government. The importance of decentralization was
highlighted in the constitution and in Ta’if in order to promote equitable and
peripheral development and accountability.
Administrative and political decentralization is critical to
expanding the role and relationships between citizens and the state.
Enhancing citizen participation on a municipal and regional level will help
break down traditional barriers and improve the efficiency and authority of the
central government throughout the country.
A one size fits all approach to improving public awareness and
participation in municipal policymaking will not work. The regions of Lebanon each have their own unique
characteristics, identities, and problems.
However, where there are shared problems, there can be shared solutions,
and Safadi Foundation USA
seeks to find those shared solutions through cooperative efforts with civil
society organizations in both northern and southern Lebanon.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city but has not seen
the same level of development as many of Lebanon’s other cities. Tripoli
has a reputation for being conservative, and its close proximity to Nahr el
Bared refugee camp, which was the site of a battle between Lebanese Internal
Security Forces and the Fatah al-Islam extremist group in 2006, hinders its
ability to develop its tourism industry, an industry on which much of the
economic growth of other cities has relied.
The city of Tripoli itself has a young
society in which 30% of the population is below the age of 30, according to the
2001 Tripoli municipality report “Social and
Economic Demographics in Tripoli.” Tripoli
youth face high unemployment, violence, school dropout, delinquency, and
emigration. In addition, youth have
little understanding of civic rights and duties, as educational curricula are
characterized by rote memorization and ignore issues directly relevant to their
daily lives. Civics textbooks do not
focus on the concepts of citizenship, good governance, or public participation
in the democratic process. As a result,
there has been a steep decline in volunteerism among youth in public affairs.
Looking back on previous experiences with parliamentary
elections in 2005 and 2009, Safadi Foundation Lebanon has found that youth in
particular were affected by the policies (or lack thereof) made by local level
officials in the Tripoli, Mina, and Beddawi areas. There is a disconnect between youth and
policymakers. Often young people do not
understand how to choose a representative, and if they participate in the
process at all, they choose based on their sectarian identities rather than a
political platform. Youths don’t
understand the laws that govern the work of a municipality, nor do they
understand the role they play in a democratic society or their rights and
responsibilities. They also don’t
understand that a municipality is supposed to work for the people, not despite
it, and this is a problem that exists across the entirety of Lebanon due to the lack of
decentralization. This is especially
important considering that the Lebanese parliament voted to lower the voting
age from 21 to 18, though it has yet to be implemented.
This problem is shared by Lebanon’s third largest city, Saida,
based on the experience of the past program “Youth and Municipalities”
conducted by the Saida-based
organization Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA) on which this
program expands. It was during this
program when DPNA found that more training for youth on the local democratic
process was needed in South Lebanon. However, Saida, in contrast to Tripoli, is a city with
more prosperity and growth. Dubbed “The
Capital of the South” by locals, Saida is the economic, industrial, commercial
and administrative capital of the South Lebanon
governorate. Tourism brings in millions
of dollars a year. Additionally, the
Hariri family is from the city, a fact that has contributed to the city’s
growth and development. These factors
make the social situation and the level of civic experience of youth in
southern Lebanon
different than those in the North.
Safadi Foundation USA (SFUSA) will partner with Safadi
Foundation Lebanon in Tripoli and Old Saida
Association in Saida to work on a project entitled “Empowering Youth in the
Local Democratic Process.” DPNA will
also cooperate on this project to lend support and expertise, and SFUSA and its
partners will update DPNA training materials that have already been
developed. Working with multiple
partners is critical for SFUSA because of the small staff size, therefore SFUSA
will issue subgrants. SFUSA staff have
successfully crafted careers based on networking and coordination, and that
experience will translate into a new kind of program in which multiple partners
come together to achieve the same objectives.
Both organizations that SFUSA has enlisted to implement this
program are relatively new to international donors. SFUSA initiated cooperation when the
organization decided to partake in a project on youth and municipalities in
early summer and traveled to Lebanon
in July to meet with the major players in reform, including international
donors and development organizations, as
well as large Lebanese civil society organizations like DPNA. The purpose of these meetings was to continue
SFUSA’s survey on the state of civil society in Lebanon in which it had partaken
since early spring. Each meeting led to
connections with smaller organizations that work outside of Lebanon’s larger cities. The meeting with DPNA led to SFUSA’s
partnership with Old Saida Association, which, though based in Saida, works in
smaller towns like Jezzine and Marjayoun.
Old Saida Association was selected as a partner in this project not only
on DPNA’s recommendation, but because of the relationship between the two
organizations, as Old Saida Association was founded by former DPNA staff who
wanted to continue DPNA’s work in smaller towns as DPNA moved towards more
national programs.
Safadi Foundation Lebanon was chosen as a second
partner based on its proven track record in working with youth. SFUSA evaluated the facilities and capacity
of Safadi Foundation around the Tripoli area,
including the Shababouna Youth Center,
the Akkar Agricultural Center,
and one of the twelve computer training centers which Safadi Foundation
operates, as well as the Foundation’s headquarters. Over 100,000 people have benefited from the
Foundation’s programs since it was founded in 2001. Each year, the organization provides 3000
students with computer training and another 3000 with English training to enhance
their skills for the job market. In
addition, the Foundation’s Shababouna “Our Youth” Center, which was founded in
2007 with the support of the Municipality
of Tripoli, is active in
local community development projects for youth, including offering training
courses for youth social activists. The
Foundation also sponsors a youth activist group called the EcoPolice in which
young volunteers encourage local residents to participate in improving the
environmental conditions of neighborhoods and increase citizen awareness about
social problems in their neighborhoods, among other activities. Through these programs, Safadi Foundation
determined that more training on the rights and role of citizenships in local
governance was needed, and it is working with the Lebanese Association on
Democratic Elections in designing a training program for youth that will cover
several aspects of community and social activism.
