Any mention of my country in international news stories most often involves terrorism, religious conflicts, assassinations or bombings. Lebanon, once called "Switzerland of the East," has been suffering continuously since its infamous 15-year civil war ended in 1990, destroying both the country's economy and the people's hopes of living peacefully.
Since then, many factors have made the recovery process even more difficult, including a series of assassinations that targeted Lebanese critics of the Syrian government in 2005.
Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a huge explosion, equivalent to approximately 2,500 kg of TNT. Other activists and well-known journalists like Gebran Tueni and Samir Kassir were also assassinated, except journalist May Chidiac who cheated death.
"It has been two years since they tried to kill me," she said in 2007. "But they failed, because here I am."
After Hariri's shocking assassination in Beirut, a massive demonstration took place on March 14, 2005, with hundreds of thousands of Lebanese protestors demanding the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, after they had been occupying the country for 29 years. This movement was called the "Cedar Revolution."
Lebanon has long been affected, most often negatively, by its neighbors. The two-year-long war in Syria is the latest, and perhaps largest, example.
Hezbollah, a Shi'a Lebanese party that fought against Israel in July 2006, has entered the Syrian conflict in the town of Qusayr on the side of President Bashar Assad's regime, an intervention that turned the tide against the rebel forces of the Free Syrian Army. The war is now widely seen as a stalemate, while thousands die and tens of thousands flee. Yet, Lebanon officially maintains a diss...
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...onomic output. However, the fighting in Syria and the associated resurgence of sectarian tensions in Lebanon have severely jolted the country's tourism industry."
I come from a nation that's almost half the size of New Jersey, but where more than 16 religious sects live together. Despite the tension that comes from this, Lebanese people unite on issues that threaten their country's existence.
A few weeks ago, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon opened hearings at The Hague in the Netherlands into the case of Hariri's assassination, nearly nine years after the tragic event occurred.
May Chidiac, who patiently waited for God's justice to happen, as she puts it, was in attendance of the first trial. "It was high time I wake up," she wrote in her 2007 French autobiography, in which she tells her painful experience. "I realized paradise is here, on Earth... Heaven can wait."
The French had control of Syria and Lebanon. France had a direct rule, meaning that they sent officials and their army to govern their mandates. The Druze revolt caused the French to separate Lebanon into a country of their own. They appointed the government as people of different religious groups, Christian, Shi’a Muslims, and Sunni Muslims. During World War Two (WWII), Syria and Lebanon tried to gain independence. In 1946 Syria and Lebanon were free. During the time of the French Mandates they made many improvements towards the roads, education, agriculture, and health; which laid the groundwork for modern Syria and
Samii, Abbas William. "The Shah's Lebanon policy: the role of SAVAK." Middle Eastern Studies 33.1 (1997): 66+. World History in Context. Web. 19 May 2014.
On the 31st of March, 2004, a convoy was an attacked. This is known as the Fallujah ambush. Four Americans from the Black Water contracting company were delivering for a catering company when it happened. Scott Helvenston, Mike Teague, Jerry Zovko and Wesley Batalona were killed in the ambush. Their bodies were burned and hung on a bridge in the streets of the city. It was aired nationally and created an outcry among their families as well as many other Americans to see such brutality (pbs.com, n.d.).
Hezbollah or the party of Allah was established during the first Lebanon war in 1982 by Iran and with assistance of Syria, Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim terrorist organization which emerged from Baalbek district of Lebanon Bekaa valley. Hezbollah immediately gain the acceptance of the Shia population in south Lebanon specially Beirut. Hezbollah has been inspired by a group of young Iranian who were member of the Iranian Islamic Revolution; their goal was either expelling or killing of the Israeli who are in Lebanon through excessive reliance on physical violence such as series of crude guerrilla attacks like assassination, kidnapping and suicide bombing. Hezbollah is being supported from different countries such as from Arab nationalist, Syria, Iran and Iran‘s Quds forces since it is one of the most successful anti-Muslim military group which is located in the middle east. Hezbollah is an Islamist movements which has three aspects first it is community-oriented part which representing Shia population in Lebanon, second is a nationalist party which is fighting against Israel occupation of Lebanon and finally it is part of an axis allying of Iran and Syria, which renders a crucial actor in middle east. The ideology of Hezbollah has been shaped by the same radical Islam that is being preached by Ayatollah Khomeini and guiding by the principle of Islam. Sayyad Abbas Musawi was the first leader of Hezbollah, he was born in 1952, who was an influential Lebanese Shia cleric who work as a co-founder and secretary general of Hezbollah. He studies theology in a religious school which is Najaf, Iraq, where he was influence by the view of Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1992 he has been killed by Israel Defense Force. After Musawi died Hassa...
Ramona Boulos is from Lebanon, Middle East, which is between Syria and Israel. She mentioned that the food in Lebanon is very healthy. They use a lot of olive oil and parsley. The food in Lebanon is very different than the food in the United States. She said that when she moved to the United States it was very hard for her to digest the food because she wasn’t used to the seasoning. Moreover, Ramona is catholic. Lebanon has to major religion which are Catholic and Muslim. The country is actually separated in two because of the differences in religion. When it comes to holidays, in Lebanon they celebrate all the religious holidays. However, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. In Lebanon, you can actually appreciate the four different seasons.
"Arab Uprisings: 10 Key Moments." BBC News. BBC, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Hezbollah, meaning “Party of God”, was created out of a volatile time in Lebanon. Lebanon in the 1970s was a collection of warring factions within the country. Palestinian guerrillas, Shiite Muslims, right-wing Christian Phalangists and leftist Sunni Muslims fought alongside as well as against each other for control of Lebanon's destiny. Syria moved in troops to aid the Christian Phalangists against the Shite Muslims. Israel was fighting against the PLO at time, which had footholds in Lebanon. In June 1982, Israeli defense minister, Ariel Sharon ordered 120,000 soldiers to invade southern Lebanon and engage the PLO. The Syrian troops put up little resistance to the Israelis. PLO forces were routed within days. Israel, very quickly, had control of about 25 percent of Lebanon, in...
The Syrian civil war, also known as the Syrian rebellion is a continuing fortified conflict in Syria between armies trustworthy to the Ba'ath government and those in the hunt for to overthrow it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with famous protests that grew countrywide by April 2011. These protests were part of the wider Middle Eastern protest movement known as the Arab Spring. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency in Syria since 1971, as well as the end of Ba'ath Party rule, which began in 1963.
CNN. “Syrian’s Civil War within a Civil War”. Prod. CNN. Perf. Ivan Watson. CNN.com. CNN, 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
The political element in PESTLE represents how the government can influence the economy by setting rules and regulations which they have to adhere. An example of this is that the national minimum wage increases and now due to a new law in place, companies must provide pensions to eligible employees and every company needs to comply with this and stay within the law. Another factor is the political unrest in certain countries. This can take effect on the hospitality industry which can in turn affect the economy and business environment. The threats of terrorism are still very much alive; an example of this was the terror attacks in London on the 7th of July 2005 where the suicide attacks left more than 700 people injured according to The Guardian (2005) which brought concern for the people and the economy. It leaves a fear in people’s minds and the way the marketers can adapt to this is by promoting UK based hotels and holidays companies, with the increased threat of terrorism and political instability people will be more concern about their safety and decide not to travel abroad.
As violence heightened the lack of assistance from the United Nations, Non-governmental organizations, and humanitarian groups caused severe shortages of food, water and healthcare within Syria. Opponents of the Assad regime began to surface creating several opposition groups such as the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army. The Syrian National Council was composed of exiled Syrians while the Free Syrian Army was a militarized group largely made up of armed rebels. As government imposed media blackouts emerged in March 2011 external confirmation of the conflicts occurring in Syria have surfaced and become increasingly difficult. The United Nations Human Rights Council established an independent International Commission of Inquiry in September of that year to investigate the alleged human rights violations. The...
The first twenty-five years of Syrian independence was filled with extreme political instability and p...
In order to be culturally relativistic when reading about the history of the conflict in the Middle East, one must understand that while anger and a desire for land play a role in the fighting these are not the main causes of this conflict. It is necessary to look beyond these common myths of war in order to look for the true causes of the bloodshed. A deep underlying truth that could explain some reason for this turmoil is that neither side, Israel nor Palestine, has come to terms with living with each other. Therefore, the two groups’ cultures clash as members of each side bind together in compassion and loyalty while fighting to gain power and prestige for their people.
According to the ‘World Tourism Organization’ (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, as it is estimated that by the year 2020, 7.8 billion people (roughly a quarter of the world’s population) will embark on a foreign trip (Bennett & Gebhardt 15). The Caribbean is said to be the most economically dependent on this industry, as the ‘Caribbean Tourism Organisation’ states that the industry forms the “economic backbone of most countries in the Region”(“Caribbean Tourism Industry” 1). The implications for tourism’s affect on the region have arisen and have prompted further research into this matter. Since the 1970’s, research regarding tourism in the Caribbean has attempted to determine the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of tourism. Much of the research has found that there are in fact many negative adverse effects, and Jackson’s article asserts that, “Governments often commit money and other resources to support the growth and development of tourism and often turn a blind eye to its negative impacts” (574).
In the more economically developed countries (MEDCs), synonymous mainly with the industrialised countries of the northern hemisphere there, has been an explosion in the growth of leisure and tourism industry, which is now believed to be the worlds second largest industry in terms of money generated. In order to differentiate between leisure and tourism it should be recognised that leisure often involves activities enjoyed during an individual’s free time, whereas tourism commonly refers to organised touring undertaken on a commercial basis. Development in the two areas could be attributed to changing patterns in working lives within the last four decades. Generally, people now have more disposable wealth, work shorter hours, receive longer, paid annual leave, retire earlier and have greater personal mobility. In addition, according to Marshall & Wood (1995), the growth of the tourist industry per se can be associated, in part, with the concentration of capital; the emergence of diversified leisure based companies, sometimes within wider corporate conglomerates and often associated with particular airlines. Furthermore, the development of tourism can generate employment both directly, in jobs created in the hotels, restaurants etc, and indirectly, through expenditure on goods and services in the local area. Nevertheless, although the tourist industry is competitive, which essentially keeps down the cost of foreign travel, the success of tourism in any one area can be ‘influenced by weather, changing consumer tastes, demographics, economic cycles, government policy, not to mention international terrorism and other forms of conflict.’(1) Although such factors may have a detrimental affect on the economy of a popular tourist destination (or even tourism in general, in light of September 11th 2001), the consequence of tourism in general is often three fold: environmental, social and cultural, which in turn has prompted a search for new ‘friendly’ approaches that are less destructive.