18 20 34

Palestinian Oral Histories ArchiveUnearthing the voices of the Nakba

SectarianismIs it real?

Child LaborThe largest such study everconducted in the Middle East

42

Doing Good BusinessHow small businesses supporttheir communities

American University of Beirut Magazine. Summer 2019 Vol. XVII, No. 3

The HumanFace of Crisis

To speak to someone about supporting financial aid, contact us at giving@aub.edu.lb or make a gift at give.aub.edu.lb/

Yara Naji grew up in Tripoli, Lebanon, where sheattended the Lycée Alphonse de Lamartine. Shespent a lot of time outdoors as a child enjoyingnature and hiking in the Lebanese mountains. “Mymother raised my brother, Walid (BS Agriculture ’16),and me to love the Lebanese landscape and to thinkabout how we could protect, preserve, and restoreit,” she remembers. Yara also heard a lot from hermother, Faten Adada (BS Agriculture ’91, MS AnimalSciences ’94), about AUB. “It was always my dreamto attend my mother’s alma mater—a place where Iknew I would get the best education in the MiddleEast,” she says.

Given Yara’s love of the outdoors, it should come asno surprise that she is enjoying her undergraduatemajor, landscape architecture. “I’m learning so muchabout topics that are very meaningful to me,” shesays.

Yara gets a lot of support from her mother but wouldnot be able to attend AUB without the François andJill S. Hamze Endowed Scholarship. Yara, who will be graduating in 2021, is hoping to earn a master’sdegree as well. “There is so much more I need—andwant—to learn,” she says.

Aiducation.

5Inspiration Student life, the liberal arts, AUB personalities past and present

AUB’s 150th Commencement

Discoveries Research, the arts, and current events

Dr. Christiane Haddad on pediatric ophthalmology

Wellness AUBMC 2020, health, and medicine

6

17

25

26

18

Alumni Profile: Adib Kouteili (BE ’83)—lessons learned

from setting up shop in Southeast Asia

AUB Everywhere Alumni profile, class notes, WAAAUB, and chapter news

Impact Regional impact, advocacy, and policy initiatives

Columbia University and AUB: a synergy that creates

world-class physicians

33

40

45

46

In Memoriam 66

The launch of the Palestinian Oral Histo ries Archive

ContentsMainGate Summer 2019 Vol. XVII, No. 3

Since my arrival at AUB in 2015, I havebeen asked more than a few times why I chose to leave a very good job atEmory’s Winship Cancer Institute totake the reins of a university located inan unstable region during turbulenttimes. We all know that the greatestrewards in life come with knowing youhave made a difference in the lives ofothers. The opportunity to do thisalongside extraordinary students,faculty, and staff at this moment in theMiddle East and at the AmericanUniversity of Beirut was irresistible. Isaw an opportunity not just to reunitewith my past, but to influence the futureof one of the world’s great untappedresources, Arab youth.

In a way, the experience of living andworking at AUB is a deeply satisfyinghomecoming. But what I knew when Iaccepted this appointment, and whathas turned out to have been true beyondmy wildest imaginings, is that we areliving through a period in which ouractions matter a great deal; in whichleadership and commitment to higherideals matter; and in which we–each

and every one of us—not only can, butmust make a difference.

We know that our students aregraduating into a world of enormouschallenges: worsening inequality,massive displacement and growth ofpopulations, failing states and healthsystems, environmentalunsustainability, and threats to personalfreedom. I believe that AUB will play aleading role in efforts to meet thisregion’s and the world’s existentialchallenges. And I’m not the only one.Our reaccrediting institution, the MiddleStates Commission of Higher Educationmade the following observation: “Theadministration provides great visionwhile understanding the challenges andopportunities that exist, and the facultyand staff exhibit a strong dedication andcommitment to students, one another,and the broader community.”

In the months ahead we shall berefining and strengthening our strategicvision, VITAL 2030, which will guide us as we take on today's challenges andthose of the future. Our priorities fit the

VITAL acronym: Valuing our communityand validating our values; Innovatingand integrating humanities, technology,and purpose-based education;Transforming the university experiencefor all; Advancing a world-class researchagenda; Lifting the quality of health and medicine across our region. VITALwill help us order these priorities. As we face up to what many would callinsurmountable hurdles, we cansincerely adopt the catchphrase used byone 2020 US presidential hopeful, thatwe “have a plan for that.”

We take great pride in the successes of the 2018-19 academic year, but wecannot pause in our efforts to make ourvision a reality. There is tremendousurgency to our mission. The pages ofthis magazine illustrate our resources,concerns, and promises. The stakescould not be higher. As we approach thebeginning of a new academic year, Iinvite you to work with us toward afuture worthy of our long history.

Fadlo R. KhuriAugust 2019

Views from Campus

Letter from the president

The WAAAUB Ottawa Chapter is listed incorrectly as a new chapter in MainGate, Spring 2019 (pg. 49). The chapter should have been listed inthe “Recently Elected” section. The Ottawa Chapter was established in 1989.

We regret errors made in the employer name and surname of Mr. Walid Ali-Ahmad in the “AUB Everywhere, On the Move” section of MainGateSpring 2019 (pg. 54). President Fadlo Khuri and MSFEA Dean Alan Shihadeh met with Facebook executive Walid Ali-Ahmad (BEN ’88).

Dear MainGate readers,

As a Brit living in Beirut, it’s not unusual to be asked by Lebanese people, “Do you like it here?”Invariably, my inquisitor’s intonation indicates an expectation of an unqualified or exasperated“No”—but their face changes to joy (or incredulity) when I reply, “Like it? I love it here.” I’m notjust being polite either. Living in Lebanon has been the most enjoyable and rewarding period of mylife. Working at the American University of Beirut helps, surrounded by people I like and respect.But on top of that, this place I call home surely must be among the most intricate and beguiling onearth.

Lebanon is a country that demonstrates ample dilapidation and dysfunction, but at the same time,human communication reaches levels of intensity and sweetness I have not encountered anywhereelse. Conversely, the absence of communication between different communities is as ruinous hereas anywhere else, if not more so. (As G. B. Shaw is quoted saying—without evidence, unfortunately:“The greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”)

We would like to dedicate this edition of MainGate to the cause of better two-way communication,of the kind our university enables—between the diverse communities of Lebanon, between policymakers and the families of child laborers toiling in the Beqaa, between inspiring professors andequally inspiring students, between Lebanon and its region and the world, between transformativealumni and their peers, and between all of us, through this magazine. Thank you to the amazingteam that brings you MainGate, steered by Barbara Rosica, who has taken on the role of managingeditor with skill, passion, vision, and energy. And thank you, readers, for your kind perusal of thispublication.

Martin Asser, Executive Editor

Inbox

Back CoverA photo by former AUBPresident John Waterbury “Play While You Can” – 2006

CoverA photo by Martin Asser ofchildren working on a farm in the Beqaa July 2019

Executive EditorMartin Asser

Responsible DirectorNabil Dajani

Managing EditorBarbara Rosica

CopyeditorsSally Kaya NajjarAdriana Smith

Staff WritersSally Abou MelhemEric EygesAlison FreelandSusanne Lane

Contributing WritersRami G. Khouri

Art Direction and DesignCommunication Design SALwww.cd-sal.com

PhotographyAbbas SalmanJean Pierre TarabayUniversity Libraries, Archives and Special Collections

American University of BeirutOffice of CommunicationsPO Box 11–0236Riad El Solh 1107 2020Beirut, LebanonTel: 961-1-353228

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Commonabbreviationsfound inMainGate (MG):

Abbr.

AUBAmerican University of Beirut

AUBMCAmerican University of Beirut Medical Center

CCECSCenter for CivicEngagement andCommunity Service

FAFSFaculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

FASFaculty of Artsand Sciences

FHSFaculty of Health Sciences

FMFaculty of Medicine

HSONRafic Hariri School of Nursing

IFIIssam Fares Institute for Public Policy andInternational Affairs

KSAKingdom of Saudi Arabia

LAULebanese AmericanUniversity

MSFEAMaroun Semaan Facultyof Engineering andArchitecture

OSBSuliman S. Olayan School of Business

REPRegional External Programs

SPCSyrian Protestant College

UAEUnited Arab Emirates

UNUnited Nations

WAAAUBWorldwide Alumni Association of AUB

www.fsc.org

The pages of MainGate are printed on 100 percent postconsumer fiber paper and the cover is 30 percent. It is printed using web offsetprocess with attention to clean-air operations. Lane Press gets 98 percent of its electricity from sources other than greenhousegas-producing carbon fuel. Inks are bio-derived and low in volatile organic compounds.

Please recycle this magazine. If you prefer to subscribe to the online version of MainGate, please email maingate@aub.edu.lb

AUB is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national or ethnicidentity, sex, gender or gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, alienage or citizenship status,political affiliation, or any legally protected characteristic, in its programs and activities to the fullest extent permitted by Lebanese law.This includes prohibition against sexual harassment and sexual violence as mandated by Title IX of the US Education Amendments of 1972.Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Title IX Coordinator at integrityofficer@aub.edu.lb, the Dean of Student Affairs atsao@aub.edu.lb, or the Office of the President, College Hall, Beirut, Lebanon, +961-1-350000. For AUB’s full policies, visitwww.aub.edu.lb/titleix.

Errata

32

2019 Honorary Doctorates:Making a Difference

Hanan al-Shaykh is an award-winning, world-renowned Lebanese writer. Known primarily as a novelist, she hasmastered several literary genres exploring subjects that illuminate repressed societies and antiquated stereotypes of Arabwomen. Born in Beirut, al-Shaykh started her writing career at 16, publishing articles in An-Nahar. She published her firstnovel while studying at the American College for Girls in Cairo. Returning to Beirut, al-Shaykh worked in journalism andtelevision. The Lebanese civil war inspired Hiayat�Zahra, the book that propelled her to fame. In 1975, she moved toLondon with her two young children before joining her husband in Saudi Arabia, where she wrote the prize-winningWomen�of�Sand�and�Myrrh. A fellow of the Royal Literary Society in the UK and an active member of the Circle PenInternational, al-Shaykh lives with her husband Fouad Malouf in London.

AUB�has�awarded�honorary�degrees�intermittently�since�1890,�and�annually�since�2003,�to�global�citizens�who�have�madeenduring�contributions�to�human�welfare.�This�year�AUB�honored�a�writer,�a�foundation�executive,�an�engineer/scientist,�anda�medical�doctor.�These�honorands�may�not�have�much�in�common,�but�they�couldn’t�be�more�alike�in�their�commitment�tobreaking�barriers�for�the�betterment�of�mankind.�

Reeta Roy’s passionate advocacy for the world’s most vulnerable populations has placed her at the forefront ofmicrofinance and youth learning initiatives. President and CEO of the MasterCard Foundation since 2008, Roy directsprograms that have improved the lives of more than 33 million people. Under her leadership, the foundation developed anambitious master plan to provide employment opportunities across Africa. It has forged partnerships with a range ofvisionary organizations, including AUB, a beneficiary of its MasterCard Scholars Program. Roy is a member of the AspenPhilanthropy Group and the World Economic Forum on Social Innovation. She has spoken before a wide array of fora,including the UN General Assembly, the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Innovation Summit for Education, and theUNESCO Youth Forum.

Fawwaz T. Ulaby (BS ’64) has directed numerous interdisciplinary, NASA-funded projects aimed at the development ofhigh-resolution satellite radar sensors for mapping Earth’s terrestrial environment. He served as the founding director ofa NASA-funded center for space terahertz technology, whose research led to the development of microelectronic devicesand circuits that revolutionized our everyday life and will help enable our future on Earth and in space. The EmmettLeith Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan,Ulaby has been awarded the highest honors for his groundbreaking work and for his invaluable teaching andmentorship. In 2008-09, he served as founding provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the KingAbdallah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

Hagop Kantarjian (BS ’75, MD ’79) is a world leader in leukemia treatment who is widely acclaimed as one of the mostinnovative and visionary clinical translational cancer researchers of our time. He is professor and chair of theDepartment of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Kantarjianwas profoundly influenced by Lebanon’s challenging civil war years and resolved to immerse himself in work anddedicate his life to helping others. He is known not just for his medical breakthroughs, but for his advocacy of affordablecancer drugs. Having earned some of his field’s highest accolades and awards, Kantarjian has developed breakthroughresults in his research while remaining dedicated to the continued wellbeing of his patients. Friends and colleaguesmight add that he has been the beneficiary of an encyclopedic memory, remarkable stamina, resilience, and an abidingappreciation of creative endeavors.

Hanan al-Shaykh

Reeta Roy

Fawwaz T. Ulaby

Hagop Kantarjian

Watch Undergraduate and Graduate Commencement videos,including keynote speeches:www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5iSGMT1Gswww.youtube.com/watch?v=vNtmuahbH0U

14

InspirationStudent life, the liberal arts, AUB personalities past and present

16Legends & Legacies Howard Wheeler Page: a former chairman of the Board of Trustees enablesfinancial stability during unstable times

Published & ProducedArt: A final exhibition by Studio Arts seniors

Written Word: Books by Robert Myers and Nada Saab, Gregory Burris, Arpine Grenier, andSamir Sanbar

11By the Numbers Quantifying Commencement

6

11

10

By the Books Learning to curate

Face to Face Ziad Shaaban on the rewards of Continuing Education

AUB’s 150th

CommencementCrossing the finish line on the Green Field

AUB’s 150thCommencement Exercises, May 31–June 1, 2019 (First graduating class: 1870)

Inspiration

76

“We will make a living by receiving fromothers, but we will make a life by givingto others.”

Kelvin�KimaniMasterCard�ScholarStudent�speaker,�GraduateCommencement�Exercises

“AUB is an institution that isready to take in any student, nomatter their race, ethnicity,religion, or gender—and toprovide them with a pathway tosuccess and the ability to excel.”

Arman�KhederlarianStudent�speaker,�UndergraduateCommencement�Exercises�

“I can understand worries aboutsustainable development, about thewellness of our democracy and civilsociety, about the future of our country.But we are the generation that will haveto push for change and keep pushingharder . . . and we will.”

Jana�KontarStudent�speaker,�Graduate�Commencement�Exercises

“Imagine how much worse this worldwould be without the mitigating effect ofAUB graduates, without the leaders thathave emerged from this university, whoshare the enduring values that you havelearned, of social responsibility, fairness,integrity, and respect for peacefuldialogue.”

President�Fadlo�R.�Khuri

Number of undergraduate degrees awardedNumber of master’s degrees awardedNumber of MD degrees awardedNumber of PhD degrees granted

1,649439

9227

Inspiration

“This university sits at a globalcrossroads, between the Levant andMediterranean, between Africa,Europe, and Southwest Asia, betweenthe glory of the ancient world andour hopes for a future of greaterwisdom and greater peace. That's alegacy to honor, and one I know AUBwill live up to.”

Reeta�Roy�(Doctor�of�Humane�Letters2019)Keynote�speaker,�UndergraduateCommencementPresident�and�CEO,�MasterCardFoundation

98

“Your degree is your very ownachievement and no one will evertake that away from you, but thatdegree also represents society’sinvestment in you.”

Fawwaz�Ulaby�(Doctor�of�Humane�Letters,�2019)Keynote�speaker,�GraduateCommencementScientist,�Engineer,�Scholar�

Face to FaceA Long and Winding Road

For Ziad Shaaban, the road to leadingand ultimately transforming AUB’sCenter for Continuing Education hasbeen long and winding. He joined AUBin 1999 to be close to his fiancée. Heremembers Provost Mohammed Harajli,who hired him, saying, “Why, with your credentials, do you want to be aresearch assistant here?” He’d justfinished leading a team at the UNDPthat helped the Ministry of ForeignAffairs in Saudi Arabia in its transitionfrom a paper-based bureaucracy to acomputer-based one.

“We started with two computer labs,and when I left we had thirteen. Icreated the first IT unit at AUB, then Ibecame a full-time IT administrator,then the IT manager for FEA.” Shaabanhelped secure a large donation to fundthe start-up of MSFEA’s IT lab, throughwhich have passed many students whohave gone on to work for high-profiletechnology companies like Google,Mirex, and Dell. He stays in touch withmany of them.

A turning point in his career came in2010, when he traveled to Tunisia totrain students in Mircosoft and Oracleproducts, a project that ground to a halt with the arrival of the Arab Spring.“From that point, I wanted to move from IT into professional development,”he says.

Shaaban then entered the ExecutiveMBA program at the Suliman S. OlayanSchool of Business. “I focused oncontinuing education and theprofessional development industry.” He became the first full-time director of AUB’s Continuing Education Center(CEC).

During his tenure as CEC director, hehas put in place a strategic vision andmore than tripled the size of studentenrollment. He has focused oncertification and the strengthening ofAUB as a professional certifying body. “I integrated Project ManagementProfessional certification into one of our courses,” he says. To fill in gaps incourse offerings, he’s partnered withoutside organizations. He also securedaccreditation for CEC from theAccrediting Council for ContinuingEducation and Training, making CECthe first continuing education center inthe Middle East to receive thatorganization's seal of approval.

Though he’s been at AUB for nearly 20 years, he still has to pinch himselfsometimes. “I remember when I firstsaw the campus, it was like a dream. It was the first time I ever saw anything like it in Lebanon,” he says.

Inspiration

Number of ushers

Number of balloons

SyllABUS

“I teach primary texts,” Professor Juli Carsonsays. It is not surprising therefore that Carson’ssyllabus includes readings by art historiansand public intellectuals, such as BenjaminBuchloh, Serge Guilbaut, Nikolay Lübecker,and Walter Benjamin. “They are actually mucheasier for students to understand than manysecondary texts,” says Carson. She pairsprimary texts with specific case studies toprovide an overview of the different formatsand approaches that curators use—and todemonstrate how economic, political, andcultural contexts inform curating.

ClASS TiME

Students come to class each week with threequestions and prepared to wrestle—yes,wrestle—with that week’s case study. “Curatingis something you do,” Carson explains. “It isnot just moving knowledge around.” Over thecourse of the term, students learn how toapproach that week’s case study and any othertopic that might appear overwhelming, evenincomprehensible, at first. According toCarson, they also learn discipline andcollaboration. In the final third of the course,students lead presentations on a case study ofa contemporary exhibit.

iNSTrUCTOr’S BiO

Juli Carson was the Philippe Jabre Professor ofArt History and Curating at AUB’s Departmentof Fine Arts and Art History in 2018-19. Aprofessor of critical and curatorial studies inthe Department of Art at the University ofCalifornia, Irvine, Carson is also directoremeritus of the University Art Galleries. She isthe author of Exile�of�the�Imaginary:�Politics,Aesthetics,�Love (Vienna: Generali Foundation,2007) and The�Limits�of�Representation:Psychoanalysis�and�Critical�Aesthetics�(BuenosAires: Letra Viva Press, 2011). Her most recentbook is The�Hermeneutic�Impulse:�Aesthetics�ofAn�Untethered�Past�(Berlin: b_books/PoLyPen,2019).

By the Nu bers

8

none

Number of cellphones turned in to lost and found

Number of lost children

Number of hours that the four-person Eventsteam slept on Thursday and Friday nights

not one

none

maybe 60

Commencement 2019

By the BooksCourse: Curating as a Verb

AUB does not use or distribute balloons because of thedamage they cause to sea life

Number of faculty and trustees on stage 125 on Friday;95 on Saturday

It was hot and muggy both evenings. In addition, manypeople were fasting for Ramadan.

Number of chairs on the Green Field

Number of water bottles distributed

Number of cans of dried fruit and nuts distributed

Amount of dates distributed

8,900

16,000

15,000

10 kilos

Number of prominent guests 350 on Friday;750 on Saturday Commencement is a two-day event at AUB.

The Honorary Doctorate and GraduateCommencement Ceremony was on May 31. The Undergraduate Ceremony was on June 1.

Average number of hours each member of the janitorial staff slept on Friday and Saturday nights

fewer than 4

They worked through the night and took just a couple hours off to sleepbefore getting back to work. The Green Field was spick and span by noonthe next day.

Number of programs printed 6,000

AUB formerly printed 10,000 programs, but now prints fewer programsand distributes one for every three chairs to save paper and reducetrash waste.

Combined. For both nights. They’re not sure. It’s all a blur.

1110

Inspiration

On a visit to campus last year, architectand landscape architect Abdallah Tabet(BAR ’03) realized that AUB andLebanon could provide a uniqueopportunity for his master’s levellandscape design students at theUniversity of Pennsylvania. Whatwould it take to bring them to Beirut,introduce them to AUB, and upon theirreturn have them prepare final projectson the creation of a waterfront park inBeirut?

Tabet’s unflappable demeanor suggeststhat he effortlessly cut through red tapein arranging the trip last February forhis Penn colleague Professor LaurieOlin and 10 University of PennsylvaniaSchool of Design (PennDesign)students. The full itinerary includedannotated sightseeing from Beirut tocoastal cities and snow-capped

mountains before the students settledinto classes on the AUB campus and atstudios in Tripoli and the coastal zoneof Zouk.

Using their sightseeing and research ascontext, the students consideredBeirut’s need for public green spaceswhile studying the project site, a 50-acre landfill on the coast in downtownBeirut. The students’ design proposalshad to address the needs of a diversesociety and the park’s function as thecity’s main open space, whilereferencing the ecological benefits ofthe undeveloped Dalieh (the slopingbreak-away rock formations of thebeachfront, and one of the last naturalcoastlines of the city).

In May, the PennDesign studentspresented their final projects for juryreview. Drawing inspiration fromLebanon’s vitality and hospitality, itslong and complex history, and itsecological, geographic, anddemographic diversity, the studentspresented work that wasextraordinarily inventive under thetutelage of Tabet and Olin—professorswho share an ethos of gently nurturingstudents by undergirding their ideaswith firm, expert guidance. Theirstudio is a textbook case of how thesynergy between teacher and student

can yield surprising creativity andgrowth. Commenting on theexperience, PennDesign student LucyWhitacre said, “It was amazing to seethe Corniche come to life with all walksof life, gravitating to the sea. And thetwo-day charrette with AUB designstudents was a great experience. Bothschools not only presented their workthus far in the semester, but alsocollaborated in small mixed teams onan exercise that incorporated all of oururbanized waterfront sites.” The grouphopes to publish a book and present atalk and exhibit in Beirut in the nearfuture.

Next year, Tabet plans to coordinateclosely with AUB professors so thatgreater collaboration can occurbetween the two groups of studentsand faculty. He is thankful for theparticipation of AUB professors CarlaAramouni, Nicolas Fayad, MonaKheshen, and Sandra Frem, and to theOffice of International Programs. AsAUB forms more partnerships withprominent American universities,there’s good reason to celebrateAbdallah Tabet’s initiative and to hopefor an ongoing PennDesign/AUBexchange.

From Jellyfish Umbrellas to GlidingPark Benches, University ofPennsylvania Students Imagine aBeirut Waterfront Park

Highlights from PennDesign proposals: • Natural resources: prototypes of “jellyfishumbrellas” that light and pulse at night,projecting images collected by deep-seasonar robots -Krista

• Trains: a tribute to the long-vanished trainsystem with wheeled benches on rails -Paolo

• Balconies: inspiration from Beirut’s curtainedbalconies -Sarah

• Flora: Lebanon’s mulberry bushes, pine trees,

olive trees with outdoor classrooms, farmersmarkets, and water filtration systems -Nikki

• History: a botanical garden representinghistorical phases and landscapes -Shuyao

• Terraced plantations: plantation terracesconnected with an irrigation system inspiredby the canals of Deir el Qamar -Lingyu

• Ridge and tunnel: a ridge, rocky outcrops, apark with sports activities, an arts tunnel, anda public pool -Lucy

• Racecars: a concretization of Beirut’s lostdreams of a formula one circuit -Wenqian

• Trails: trails that intertwine to channel visitorsthrough different landscapes ofMediterranean trees -Lingui

• People’s park: addressing the socioeconomicdisparities of the city from food kiosks toupscale restaurants—centered around a largemarketplace -Andi

1312

“As soon as I heard that AUB offeredexchange programs for undergraduatestudents, I knew this was something Iwould want to do someday,”remembers Vahe Panossian (BS ’19). “I love to travel and am interested indifferent cultures.” It wasn’t until hissenior year, however, that he arrived atBoston University (BU). “I wasn’t in arush. I wanted to be ready to take fulladvantage of the opportunity,” heexplains.

Panossian was especially interested inspending a term at BU—both becausethe competition for that particularprogram was tough but also becauseBoston is “a great place to be for anystudent aspiring to a career inmedicine, as the city is home to theworld’s top academic and researchinstitutions and their affiliatedhospitals,” he says. Panossian, who isnow a medical student at AUB, lovedevery moment of his time in Boston.

The highlight of Panossian’s five-monthstay was the research internship that

AUB chemistry professor Dr. BilalKaafarani helped him set up at theDivision of Trauma, Emergency Surgeryand Surgical Critical Care atMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH).Panossian worked under thementorship of AUB alumnus Dr.Haytham Kaafarani (BS ’99, MD ’03), a trauma surgeon at the hospital and an associate professor of surgery atHarvard Medical School. While at MGH,Panossian worked on a project thatused a nationwide database to evaluatethe outcomes and predictors of thefutility of Emergency ResuscitativeThoracotomy, a procedure that isperformed to resuscitate major traumapatients. He is the lead author on thepaper that reports on this project andhopes that it will be published soon. He also contributed to two other MGHprojects, including a multi-institutestudy between MGH, Brigham andWomen’s Hospital, and Boston MedicalCenter, which evaluated FunctionalOutcomes and Recovery after TraumaEmergencies (FORTE).

Reflecting on his experience at BU,Panossian appreciates that the learningwas not just about the topicsthemselves, but more importantly,about how to “approach a big tasksystematically, to be curious, thinkcritically, and be open to receiving helpand feedback from smarter and moreexperienced people.” He also learned a lot from the extraordinarily diversegroup of exchange students that BUattracts. Panossian says he now hasfriends from Denmark, Spain, theNetherlands, Italy, Mexico, Singapore,Japan, and many other countries aswell.

“None of this would have been possiblewithout Dr. Bilal, Dr. Haytham, the AUBOffice of International Programs, andmy AUB mentors—I have so manypeople to thank,” he says. Panossianhas one final word of advice to AUBstudents: “Take advantage of exchangeprograms. You learn so much.”

An InvaluableExperience: An ExchangeProgram atBoston University

Congratulations to the 2019 Penrose Award Winners!

The Penrose Award is an honorary annual award granted to anoutstanding undergraduate from each faculty on the basis ofscholarship, character, leadership, and contribution touniversity life.

- Karim Safieddine, Faculty of Arts and Sciences- Jana Jawhar, Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

- Lyne El Khatib, Faculty of Health Sciences- Tara Kanj, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences- Maria Kahale, Suliman S. Olayan School of Business- Lama Assi, Faculty of Medicine- Laya Yammout, Hariri School of Nursing

Published & ProducedArt

Artists’ statements:

1. Noha Khalifeh“The viewer stands in front of aninviting yet closed space and is takeninto an alternate reality of a oncerealistic space.”

2. Nataly Hindaoui“I continue to explore questions ofgender and what it means to fit in abody that we can callour own.”

3. Rebecca Wakim“Politics has always marginalizedpeople and caused conflict betweenthem. But what about someone who isindifferent towards politics? How arethey supposed to answer the mostasked question in Lebanon, Enta ma3min? Whose side are you on?”

4. Waad Abdulaal “An interactive video installation piece;the ongoing loop; a traditionalhousehold; societal terms of the Arabiclanguage; memories; and ongoingquestions.”

5. George Ekmekji“Following years of work on the topicof the kidnapped and disappeared, thisproject embodies the act ofdisappearance connecting to visibilityand permanence. How do all threeconnect, and is the invisible notpermanent?”

STUDiO ArTS SENiOrS

FiNAl yEAr ExHiBiTiON

May 27–June 1, 2019

Poster of Studio ArtsSenior Final YearExhibition

1

2

3

4

5

Inspiration

1. MODErN AND CONTEMPOrAry POliTiCAl THEATEr FrOM THE lEvANT: ACriTiCAl ANTHOlOGy

Sentence�to�Hope:�A�Sa’dallah�Wannous�Reader�(2019, Yale University Press),translated from the Arabic and with an introduction by Robert Myers and Nada Saab.This is the first major English language collection of plays and essays by Sa’dallah Wannous,one of the Arab world’s most significant playwrights, writers, and intellectuals of thetwentieth century. Selections include the groundbreaking 1969 play An�Evening’sEntertainment�for�the�Fifth�of�June, and Wannous’s most celebrated play, Rituals�of�Signs�andTransformations. In addition to his work as a playwright, Wannous, like Brecht, was anastute theatrical and cultural critic, and his essays, some of which are included here, offershrewd diagnoses of the ills of Arab society and the essential role of theater in amelioratingthem.

2. SENTENCE TO HOPE: A SA’DAllAHWANNOUS rEADEr

3. THE SilENT G

4. iNSiDE THE UNiTEDNATiONS: iN AlEADErlESS WOrlD

5. THE PAlESTiNiAN iDEA: FilM, MEDiA, AND THE rADiCAl iMAGiNATiON

Modern�and�Contemporary�Political�Theater�from�the�Levant:�A�Critical�Anthology (2018, Brill)by Robert Myers and Nada Saab. The variety and complexity of political theater produced inand around the Levant from the 1960s to the present is presented within a context of widerdiscussions about political theater and the histories and forms of performance from theIslamic and Arab worlds. Five major playwrights are studied: ‘Isam Mahfuz, from Lebanon;Muhammad al-Maghut and Sa‘d Allah Wannus, from Syria; Jawad al-Asadi, from Iraq, Syria,and Lebanon; and Ra’ida Taha, from Palestine. The volume includes translations of theirplays The�Dictator,�The�Jester,�The�Rape,�Baghdadi�Bath, and Where�Would�I�Find�SomeoneLike�You,�‘Ali?, respectively.

The�Silent�G (2019, Corrupt Press) by Arpine Konyalian Grenier is a collection of poems. Inthe words of the poet, it is “a songbook of whats, why and hows, experienced ontologically,culturally, socially and multi-nationally against a backdrop deemed Armenian—its prolificand full bodied history, all too subtle and volatile a song for legal restraint, as enchantedsyllables lash the wind, unwilling to match desire to the attenuation of the passion it comesfrom.” It is dedicated to Nora Rose, the poet’s granddaughter, and Grandma Gul, thegrandmother she would never meet (Gul is “rose” in Turkish). This is Grenier’s fifthpublished collection.

Written Word

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Inside�the�United�Nations:�In�a�Leaderless�World�(available on Amazon) by Samir Sanbar. Inhis work at the United Nations under five different Secretaries-General in variedassignments over a period of 33 years, Sanbar was both a participant in and a witness toglobal history. As head of the UN Department of Public Information, he amassed anencyclopedic knowledge not just of the structure and workings of the United Nations, butalso of its people—the staff, diplomats, and heads of state. Students of politics, history,and diplomacy will find this book essential to their understanding of the UN system andits place in history.

The�Palestinian�Idea:�Film,�Media,�and�the�Radical�Imagination (2019, Temple UniversityPress) by Gregory A. Burris. The�Palestinian�Idea�argues that film and media are vehiclesfor hope, emancipation, and freedom. Burris employs the work of Edward W. Said, JacquesRancière, and Cedric J. Robinson to locate Palestinian utopia in the heart of the Zionistpresent. He analyzes the films of prominent directors Annemarie Jacir (Salt�of�This�Sea,When�I�Saw�You) and Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise�Now) to investigate the emergence andformation of Palestinian identity. Looking at Mais Darwazah’s documentary My�LoveAwaits�Me�by�the�Sea, Burris considers the counter-histories that make up the Palestinianexperience—stories and memories that have otherwise been obscured or denied.

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Legends & Legacies

Howard Wheeler Page was a member,vice chairman, and chairman of the AUBBoard of Trustees between 1955 and 1976.He also was the executive vice presidentof Standard Oil Company of New Jersey(Jersey Standard) from 1966 until hisretirement in 1970, led the team of oilcompanies that negotiated theConsortium Oil Agreement in Iran in1954, and was director of Aramco from1955 until 1966. As he said himself whenhe testified before Congress in 1974, “Iwas involved in practically all of theearly activities that occurred in that area,everything I would say except Kuwait.”1

Page earned a BS from StanfordUniversity in 1927. Shortly after hegraduated from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) with amaster’s degree in chemical engineering,Page joined the Humble Oil & RefiningCompany, Standard Oil Company of NewJersey’s affiliate in Texas. (Standard OilCompany of New Jersey became knownas Exxon in 1973.) He held variouspositions in Europe with Standard ofNew Jersey in the 1930s and worked withthe Petroleum Administration for Warduring World War II (1942–45).

The postwar period was a time oftremendous change in the oil industry.Iran, which was then led by the Shah,briefly nationalized its oil industry in the early 1950s. OPEC was founded in1960. As vice president and Middle Eastcoordinator for what was then theworld’s largest oil company, Pagesometimes found himself in a difficultsituation. He was acutely aware of thechanging political landscape in theMiddle East and so, for example,opposed Exxon’s decision on August 9,1960, to unilaterally reduce the postedprices of Middle Eastern oil. As Pagepredicted, “all hell broke loose” whenthe decision was announced.2 OPEC was founded less than a month later.

This was also a turbulent time at AUB,where there were frequent politicaldemonstrations, student strikes, and sit-ins. The economic situation in the USand the Middle East caused seriousfinancial difficulties for AUB as well.3 The

university’s financial situation becamemuch worse with the outbreak of theLebanese civil war in April 1975. Pagelived up to his reputation as a “smoothand expert negotiator”4 as he led effortsto secure the money that AUB neededfrom the Lebanese government andothers to keep the hospital open and pay faculty and staff salaries. When hestepped down as chairman in 1976, Pagewas awarded the Order of Cedars inrecognition of his contributions toeducation in Lebanon. He had earlierbeen decorated by Iran with the Order of Humayun, second class.

The legacies of Howard W. Page and his wife Eileen Elizabeth Wheelan live on at AUB in the Howard W. PageProfessorship in Engineering and themany students who have receivedsupport from the Eileen Page MedicalEndowed Scholarship and the HowardW. Page Endowed Scholarship.

1. “Multinational Petroleum Companies andForeign Policy,” Subcommittee on MultinationalCorporations of the Committee on ForeignRelations, Washington, DC, March 28, 1974.

2. www.geoexpro.com/articles/2016/05/the-road-to-opec-1960

3. www.nytimes.com/1975/12/16/archives/american-university-of-beirut-may-become-a-casualty-of-lebanese.html

4. www.nytimes.com/1974/03/10/archives/the-richest-oil-companyin-the-world-aramco-is-not-so-much-a-company.html

“A smooth and expert negotiator”

HowardWheelerPage

Inspiration 16

Discoveriesresearch, the arts, and current events

Tag Tour Tagging activities in the bustling Center for Civic Engagement and CommunityService (CCECS) office24

Quiz Test your Phoenician proficiency23

18POHA The Palestinian Oral Histories Archive: restoring voice, visibility, andvalidity to a pivotal refugee community

Under Discussion Sectarianism: debunking and demystifying assumptions 20

22R+D Christelle Akl: a doctoral student investigates the epidemiology ofnon-communicable diseases, including obesity, in Lebanon and the Arab region

Archives departments of major librariesroutinely preserve and analyze olddocuments that clarify historicalmoments. But in the past decade, thePalestine Oral History Archives (POHA)at AUB’s Nami Jafet Memorial Libraryhas done something more moving—almost magical—with its eight hundredinterviews of Palestinian men andwomen who became refugees in 1948.

POHA has restored voice, visibility, andvalidity to a pivotal refugee communitythat has been largely ignored by moreformal historical accounts: the 750,000Palestinians who fled or were driven

out of their homes and lands in the1947–48 period of the first Arab-Israeliwar. POHA has done this by usingdigitization technology to produce abilingual, multi-media online databasefor Palestinian oral history that featuresmulti-format interviews and is indexedthoroughly, retrievable through a user-friendly search engine, and accessiblethrough a state-of-the-art Web interface.

Any interested person with web accesscan see and hear the Palestinianrefugees tell their tales, sing theirfolksongs, remember their villageweddings, weep when recalling how

they were driven out of their homes byIsraeli militants, or affirm what theyunderstand to be their legal right toreturn home one day.

The managers of the project, after muchconsultation, decided not to transcribeor translate the Arabic testimonies inorder to make them searchable onpaper. Instead, they took the morechallenging route of repeatedlylistening to every tape, indexing everymention of an item, place, person,event, or other noteworthy feature, andproviding a search engine using keywords and names of places and peoplethat allows the viewer to see or hearthat specific section of the tape.

Preserving the “orality” of thecollection was a critical priority,according to the two AUB projectmanagers, former archives directorKaoukab Chebaro (now at ColumbiaUniversity Library) and project managerHana Suleiman (now a PhD student atCambridge University). They wantedinterested people to actually see andhear the refugees as living people withtheir own complex and orderly societythat was suddenly destroyed in 1948,rather than to read about them as staticor one-dimensional characters inEnglish translations.

POHA was initiated at AUB in 2011, butits collection of some 1,100 hours oftaped oral history was generated from1994 to2009 by the Beirut-based groupsthe Nakba Archive (Mahmoud Zeidanand Diana Allen) and the ArabResource Center for Popular Arts−Al

Restoring Voice, Visibility,and Validity to a PivotalRefugee Community

Rami G. KhouriSenior Public PolicyFellow, Issam FaresInstitute; Directorof the AnthonyShadid Archivesresearch project;Journalist inResidence, MediaStudies Program

Link to POHA:libraries.aub.edu.lb/poha/Contact POHA via e-mail:poha@aub.edu.lbShort video on theproject: youtu.be/ouoj22s5qtc

Discoveries

Jana (Moataz Dajani). They offered thecollection for permanent safekeeping tothe Issam Fares Institute for PublicPolicy and International Affairs (IFI) atAUB, which recognized the value of thematerial and immediately initiated ajoint project with the AUB Libraries. Thefunds needed to undertake thissophisticated project were provided byAUB Libraries and IFI, the NationalEndowment for the Humanities, theHeinrich Böll Foundation, the WelfareAssociation, and the Gladys KriebleDelmas Foundation.

POHA’s oral accounts of the life storiesof Palestinians in refugee camps andother communities in Lebanon focusheavily on how they experienced the1947–48 expulsion and exile known asthe Nakba. The collection also providesrare first-person accounts of ordinary,everyday life in villages and citiesbefore 1948 that give each society itsdistinct character.

Chebaro and Suleiman note that thetestimonies “reveal the presence of asocially rich, complex, and pluralisticsociety in historic Palestine, and theyrender palpable the displacedcommunities’ sense of identity, culture,and belonging. . . . The correctivepotential of oral histories cannot beover-emphasized.”

The collection is organized into foursubcategories: “Uprooting,” from 1947to 1948; “Folktales,” comprised of pre-1948 elements of intangible culturesuch as folktales, storytelling,traditional songs, proverbs, and poems;

“Ayn al-Hilwat,” stories of women’slives, families, and roles in the refugeecamp in South Lebanon; and“Biographies,” the life stories of leadingmen and women in their communities.

The technical challenges of creating asearchable, bilingual, online archive ofvideo and audio materials wereovercome through constantconsultations among scholars, AUBLibraries technicians, and otherexperts, and through years ofpainstaking work to make sure thatevery identifiable element in thetestimonies was captured andaccurately indexed and translated.

Sarah Swidan, who was responsible for quality control and is now the laststaff member completing the final tasksof a few translations and other checks,noted in an interview the interplaybetween process and substance: “Werepeatedly checked and changed keywords and subject headings to be surethat the material could be easily andaccurately accessed. In the end, though,what stays with anyone who worked onthis project is the realization of howhundreds of thousands of Palestinianswho had lived in orderly, peacefulsocieties one day woke up and foundthemselves occupied or exiled, throughno fault of their own.”

Swidan’s colleague Hana Haidarworked on the indexing andcataloguing challenges. She said inretrospect that “to preserve orality,assure easy access for users, andguarantee accuracy, clarity, and

truthfulness, we eventually created aweb of key words that captures dialects,historical events, and many otherthings . . . we created a harmony ofwords and ideas that reflects both thepolitical and humanitarian history ofthe refugees.”

POHA was formally launched in June ata two-day international conference,where AUB President Fadlo Khuridescribed the project as “a lens into thelives of people who were robbed of theiridentity.”

The conference speakers reflected thewide range of scholarly projects tocapture and preserve Palestinian oralhistory and integrate them into schoolsand community activities. Threepioneers in this field—RosemarySayigh, Bayan Nuwayhed Al-Hout, andFaiha Abdulhadi—were honored forhaving recognized the importance ofrecording the experiences ofindividuals, especially women, whoselife experiences were usually ignored in official histories.

The project has achieved its main goalof creating the searchable onlinearchive. Future goals includeincorporating other existing privatecollections of oral histories andengaging local communities andacademic institutions to “explore morethoroughly the official discourses ofhistoriography and of the history ofmodern Palestine.”

Color pastel painting artist: Nabil Anani Haju, Sa‘d, al Jana Collection, Palestinian Oral History Archive, Archives and Special Collection, Jafet Library, AmericanUniversity of Beirut

1918

This past January, Rand Paul, theAmerican senator from Kentucky,tweeted: “Sunnis have been killing Shiasince the massacre at Karbala in 680AD. If we wait until they stop killingeach other, [American troops] will stayfor a thousand years or more . . .” Itremains one his most popular tweets,receiving over 40,000 likes. Alibertarian, Paul was doubling down onone of the most oft-cited narrativesabout the Middle East—that itssectarian divide is central,omnipresent, and enduring.

News headlines in both Arabic andEnglish are full of sectarian bywords;the names of politicians,neighborhoods, and whole countriessignal sect for many readers. Analystsappearing on popular news shows oftenbreak down conflicts in sectarian terms.

Even songs and films, like ZiadDoueiri’s The�Insult, play up the dramaof sectarian conflict. The narrative isread, reread, and reproduced day inand day out. For sociology professorRima Majed, that’s a big problem,because while sectarianism may be apolitical reality, it does not touch onmany of the underlying forces drivingactivity in the region. “Sectarianism is areadily available framework, a kind offast food,” Majed says. The bulk of herwork as an academic has focused ondeconstructing the sectarian narrativeand its origins.

“Political scientists in the 1950s and’60s were preoccupied with thequestions of democracy and stability:Can we apply liberal Westerndemocracy to those post-war societies?”They came to the conclusion, Majed

says, that the ethno-sectarian divisionsin newly independent countries meantthat they had to be treated differently;regular democracy assumes a degree offlexibility and openness to dialoguethat was lacking in those countries,hence their being classified as “deeply-divided.”

“This is where theories ofconsociational democracy came about.It started as a discussion about dividedsystems and became a discussion aboutdivided societies,” she says. “Academicsalways want to have an impact onpolicy. Well, in this subfield, they’reliterally shaping how we’re writingconstitutions.” Implicit in the system ofconsociational democracy is the idea“that at any level below the leader, ifpeople talk to each other it’s going to bea civil war.”

A Sectarian Story

Rima Majed is anassistant professorof sociology in AUB’sSociology,Anthropology andMedia StudiesDepartment. She isworking on a bookthat looks at “howshifts in sectariandivides are verymuch linked tostructural changes.”In 2018–19, she wasa visiting fellow atthe Mamdouha S.Bobst Center forPeace and Justice atPrinceton University.

“Sectarianism is a readily availableframework, a kind of

fast food.”

Discoveries

Majed pokes holes in this paradigm,starting with the definitions thatunderpin it. “How are we defining[sectarianism]? Are we talking aboutsocial sectarianism? Are we looking atreligion? Are we talking about it as alegal system? Are we talking about it asa political phenomenon?” And shewonders why, given prevailing socialconditions in the West, this paradigmhas only been applied to developingcountries. “If we are coming up withpolicy prescriptions based on whatsociety is, why doesn’t the US figure inthis literature of deeply dividedsocieties? Is race not a deep division?”

Ultimately, she calls for a change interminology. “Instead of talking aboutsectarianism, we should be talkingabout sectarianization.” This is becausethe phenomenon of sectarian conflictthat pundits see as central tounderstanding the Middle East shouldbe treated not as a “given,” but ratheras a constructed and permanentlychanging one. She says that varioussocial inequalities—sharpened duringthe spread of the neoliberal economicsystem—are being exploited by“political entrepreneurs.” “Think ofProtestants and Catholics in the UnitedStates versus in Northern Ireland. Whyis it a religion [in the United States] anda sectarian divide [in Northern Ireland]?There’s an active effort at politicizing it[in Northern Ireland], right? Lebanon,for example,” she continues, “has hadfour main shifts in sectariandichotomies, from Druze-Maronite, toSunni-Maronite, to Christian-Muslim, to Sunni-Shia. Clearly these are notenduring. So why base a policyprescription on something sounstable?”

In critiquing the sectarianism narrative,Majed has also questioned the idea that diversity predisposes a society toviolence, and that people who don’tworship in the same way or have thesame history or ethnic background arebound to spontaneously attack eachother. “Wars are not social explosions,

they are political decisions. Theyrequire funding, arms, leaders, fighters.So it doesn’t just happen overnight.Some of the most socially sectarianpeople I’ve interviewed are people whohaven’t participated in violence.”

She equally opposes the idea that if wedesegregate societies, everyone “willrealize we’re all humans, that we allhave ears and eyes, that we’ll love eachother.” Instead she points to conditions,like unequal access to capital andservices, as predisposing a country tosectarian violence; research showsconflict is lower in states that providetheir citizens with a strong social safetynet. “So why is this not taken seriously?Given what the research shows, why areconstitutions not saying that youshould redistribute wealth in a certainway?”

She says that a delicate balance must bestruck when it comes to politicizingidentities. Repeating narratives ofidentity politics in the media can serveto retrench those narratives in people’sminds: “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”Yet politicization can be necessarywhen it comes to righting past wrongscommitted along gender, ethnic, orracial lines. In those cases, “youpoliticize, but it’s a first step towarddepoliticizing in the long run.”

“Given what the research shows,why are constitutionsnot saying that youshould redistributewealth in a certain

way?”

2120

THE LEBANESE CONSTITUTION

PROMULGATED MAY 23, 1926

WITH ITS AMENDMENTS 1995

Article 24

(As amended by the Constitutional Law ofOctober 17, 1927, And by order 129 ofMarch 18, 1943, And by the constitutionallaw of January 21, 1947, And by theconstitutional law September 21, 1990)

The Chamber of Deputies shall becomposed of elected members; theirnumber and the method of their electionshall be determined by the electoral lawsin effect.

Until such time as the Chamber enactsnew electoral laws on a non-confessionalbasis, the distribution of seats shall beaccording to the following principles:

a. Equal representation betweenChristians and Muslims.

b. Proportional representation among theconfessional groups within each of thetwo religious communities.

c. Proportional representation amonggeographic regions. Exceptionally, andfor one time only, the seats that arecurrently vacant, as well as the newseats that have been established by law,shall be filled by appointment, all atonce, and by a two-thirds majority ofthe Government of National Unity. Thisis to establish equality betweenChristians and Muslims as stipulated inthe Document of National Accord. Theelectoral laws shall specify the detailsregarding the implementation of thisclause.

R+DChristelle Akl

PhD in Epidemiology,projected 2022

life before her PhD: I grew up in Beirutand used to spend most of my summervacations in my natal village of Akoura.I earned a master’s degree in nutritionat AUB and was awarded a prize ofexcellence that allowed me to presentmy thesis results at an internationalconference in Paris. Since then, I havebeen engaged in research to investigatethe epidemiology of non-communicablediseases (NCDs), including obesity, inLebanon and the Arab region. I enrolledin AUB’s PhD program in epidemiologyin 2018 and am currently working on mydoctoral project with the Center forResearch on Population and Health(CRPH) at FHS.

What matters most: Childhoodoverweight and obesity are major publichealth problems and are associated withadverse health consequences such ashypertension, cardiovascular diseases,and musculoskeletal disorders, as wellas psychological consequences such aslow self-esteem and low educationalattainment, which are observedthroughout the lifespan of obesity.Prevalence of overweight and obesity is

estimated to have doubled amongchildren in the Arab region over the last two decades, reaching about 30percent in Lebanon. Nearly a third of the region’s population is under the age of fifteen. If current overweight andobesity trends are not curbed, there willbe a severe impact on health systems asthey strain to deal with the burden ofNCDs.

research: Children’s food choices anddietary behaviors are early risk factorsfor the development of obesity andNCDs and are influenced by a complexset of factors, including individualphysiology and behaviors, familycharacteristics, and structural forces. Myresearch aims to better understand theetiologies of obesity burdens in childrenby investigating the contextual factorsthat influence children’s food choices inLebanon to inform interventions andpolicies.

10 am Tuesday, 10 am Saturday: OnTuesday morning I am most probably atthe CRPH working on my PhD projectwith my colleagues. On Saturdays, I try

as much as possible to spend my timeoutside Beirut, either with my familyand friends or hiking.

Most admires: I admire strong-mindedand dedicated women scientists who aredetermined to succeed in their researchcareers despite the barriers imposed bygender bias. I also look up to successfulresearchers who are willing to mentor,empower, and share their knowledgeand expertise with others.

Why this topic interests her: I amparticularly interested in and passionateabout improving the nutritional andhealth status of child populations in theArab region, a region witnessing a rapidnutrition transition. The study isdesigned to explore early preventablerisk factors in children’s foodenvironments that represent threats to,as well as opportunities for, healthyeating. The identification of theseleverage points will inform the design of interventions and contribute toimproving child diets in urban middleincome settings in the Arab region.

Discoveries

2322

Fun Phoenician Facts

1. They called themselves Kena’ani(Canaanites), but were known tothe Greeks as Phoiníkē(Phoenicians), which means whatin English?

2. The god El was the father of thePhoenician gods, but the principaldeity was a goddess—what was hername?

3. What shipbuilding innovation isthought to have originated in thePhoenician city of Byblos?

4.What craft did Phoeniciansfamously perfect?

5. What was the name of thePhoenician colony in modernTunisia that dominated theMediterranean region during thefirst millennium BC?

6.What is thought to be thePhoenicians’ greatest contributionto world civilization?

7. What was added to the Phoenicianalphabet when the Greeks adoptedit in the eighth century BC?

8.The golden-threaded treasure fromSidon from the fifth century BC atAUB’s Archaeological Museum isthe earliest known relic from whichbranch of medicine?

9.Phoenicia enjoyed 1,200 years freefrom foreign incursions becausetheir traded goods were so highlyprized. Which empire builderended its independence?

1. C|2. H|3. F|4. i|5. E|6. G|7. D|8. A|9. B

A. Dentistry

B. Alexander the

Great, in 332 BC

C. People of Purple

D. vowels

E. Carthage

F. The curved

wooden hull

G. The alphabet

H. Astarte

i. Glassblowing

Quiz

Bodashtar Inscription, AUB Archaeological Museum

Phoenician glass bead,AUB Archaeological Museum

There is always something—usually lots ofdifferent things—going on in the crampedCenter for Civic Engagement and CommunityService office (CCECS) in the basement of WestHall. (CCECS will be moving to a larger spacesoon.) This photo shows a team of USAID-AUBUniversity Scholarship Program (USP) studentssetting up and testing a model production line.The project is part of their Community ServiceProject with women from Fakeha village,which aims to preserve the traditionalhandicraft of Feccan carpets. At CCECS,students are mentored to learn in unstructuredenvironments to develop leadership skills andenact impactful change in challengingsettings.

1–4. AUB USP students testing the modelproduction line that includes combing (1),spinning (2), weaving (3), and designing (4).

5. Coming up with a marketing plan.6. A woven carpet.7. A sapling in organic compost produced

from another student-led CommunityService Project, Compost Barja.

8. CCECS staff member configuring tabletsfor children who are not currentlyattending school as part of theProFuturo–Classroom in a SuitcaseProject.

9. The Civic Action Toolkit to equip youngpeople with the tools they need to designan effective community service project.

10. A model of the award-winning Ghata,which increases refugee access toeducation during protracted crises.

11. CCECS team members planning anupcoming workshop.

12. “Most Civically Engaged Campus in theMENA Region” award received by CCECSin November 2015, in a regionalcompetition organized by the Ma’an ArabUniversity Alliance.

For more on CCECS, visit:www.aub.edu.lb/ccecs/Pages/default.aspxFor more on USP, visit:www.aub.edu.lb/usp/Pages/default.aspx

Tag Tour

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Discoveries24

WellnessHealth and Medicine

26Check Up Pediatric ophthalmologist Christiane Haddad on theunique features of her field

AIWF A conference organized by the Arab International Women’s Forum empowerswomen leaders in innovation, medical education, and healthcare delivery 31

29

NMCE Laying the cornerstone for the New Medical CenterExpansion—the final phase of AUBMC’s 2020 Vision totransform healthcare in Lebanon and the region

28

AUB SpacesEcotoxicologist and Marine Biologist Carol Sukhn’schallenging mission—a clean and safe environment

Sahtein 32 Nutritionist Sara Farhat Jarrar’s healthy summer dessert

Check Up: Christiane Haddad, MD,Assistant Professor Pediatric Ophthalmologyand Adult Strabismus

Wellness

Q. What is pediatric ophthalmology?What does it cover?

A. It’s one of the subspecialties inophthalmology. We have differentsubspecialties: cornea and glaucoma.We treat pediatric eye problems. Wealso see adults with eye muscleproblems common in children. Istarted the pediatric ophthalmologyservice at AUB. It wasn’t that popularearlier on. The person practicing atAUB before that was a part-timer, Dr. Edward Khawaam. So before, if a child came with a cornea problem,the cornea specialist would see them.But it’s a different approach when wesee a child. It takes training and afellowship to learn how to examine a child.

Q. What are some common eyeproblems you see in children?

A. Myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or a child with headaches. Strabismus is more commonly seen in children.It’s mostly a congenital problem. Wesee eye tumors. Retino glaucoma. Wehave a whole program dedicated tothat that we run in concert with theChildren’s Cancer Center. A child candevelop a lazy eye or amblyopia. Thisis our main concern in a child. Anyeye problem that is untreated canlead to this.

Consanguinity is also an issue. Wesee higher rates of cataracts andcongenital glaucoma in countries like Lebanon where consanguinity is higher. The congenital form isdiagnosed in the first year of life.

Q. Are computer screens harmful forchildren’s eyes?

A. Currently, there is no solid scientificevidence that screens increase theincidence of vision problems ordamage the visual system. TheAmerican Academy of Pediatricsrecommends limiting screen time. We know for sure that increasedscreen time can cause dry eyesbecause you blink less. Blinking is a means of moisturizing the eyes, so sometimes children complain of excessive blinking, rolling their eyes, or having pink eye.

It’s suggested that total screen timebe limited to two hours for childrenup to five, with breaks every twentyminutes. Studies show time spent

outdoors decreases the risk ofprogression of near-sightedness. But the evidence is not one hundredpercent; this is only a finding fromstudies, if you will.

Q. What can children do to keep theireyes healthy?

A. The most important thing that weadvise is vision screening. The goal isto identify children at risk of lazy eyebecause this can lead to permanentvision impairment unless treated inearly childhood, before seven or eightyears of age. Any child that hasabnormal or known risk factors orsymptoms needs to be screened by apediatric ophthalmologist.

Q. What is lazy eye? is it an eye thatwanders?

A. That’s a common misconception.Actually, it means lazy in terms ofvision, a weakness of vision that can’t be corrected after seven to eightyears old. After that it becomes muchharder for the visual system, which is by then fully formed, to adapt. You can force the brain to adapt.Amblyopia affects 2 to 4 percent ofthe population. It’s totally treatable if you detect it in time. Repetitivescreenings are more important thanone-time full eye exams, as they cancatch developing issues.

What’s more popular now isautomated vision screening. Thisinvolves taking a picture of the eye in a fraction of a second and can beperformed by nurses. Some schoolsin Lebanon have started using them.

Q. How good is lebanon at screeningfor eye problems among children?

A. I know for sure that a number ofschools in Beirut do screenconsistently every year. There’s nogood data. We do get a lot of childrenreferred from schools because theyhave failed a vision screening.

Q. What do you think of lASiK? A. We do laser eye surgery when the

child is 17 or 18. We do not advise itbefore then because eyes can change.After two years of a stableprescription, it’s proven to be safe. I refer LASIK candidates to a corneaspecialist. It makes a big differencefor kids with nearsightedness whocan’t see when they wake up untilthey put on their glasses.

Q. What is the effect of reading on theeyes?

A. What we said about computerscreens applies to reading as well. We advise breaks because readingstrains the eye muscles and cancause dryness.

Q. What about eye infections—whatare the most common ones? What’sthe best way to prevent and treatthem?

A. Children are more prone to eyeinfections than adults. They get earand sinus infections more often. Thiscould be caused by viruses, bacteria,or allergies. They are moresusceptible to upper respiratoryinfections than adults because oftheir immune systems. You can’t ask children not to touch their eyes.Infections spread from the upperrespiratory system to the eyes. Weadvise washing hands and avoidingtouching the eyes and sharing towels.You should treat the primaryinfection to get rid of the virus earlyon. Catch it early and use topicaldrops. Don’t leave red eye lingering.When we talk about children in thefirst month of life, that’s moreserious. So in those cases we treatthem differently.

Q. What kind of research are youinvolved in?

A. We are doing research on all mannersof pediatric eye problems. I am doingstudies on how eyes track text on ascreen. We want to give people hopethat the research is ongoing when weencounter an intractable problem.

“We see higher rates of cataracts andcongenital glaucomain countries likeLebanon whereconsanguinity is

higher.”

2726

Wellness

AUBMC News

Under the patronage of Lebanese President MichelAoun, AUB President Fadlo Khuri, and ExecutiveVice President of Medicine and Global Strategyand Raja N. Khuri Dean of the Faculty of MedicineMohamed Sayegh, an enthusiastic gathering ofAUB and AUBMC staff and friends celebratedlaying the cornerstone of the New Medical CenterExpansion (NMCE) building, the final milestone of the AUBMC 2020 Vision.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony marks, onceagain, AUBMC’s dedication to taking healthcaredelivery to unprecedented levels of excellence.The 30th of May 2019 is a day that will affirmAUBMC’s commitment to healthcare, education,and research for many years to come,” saidSayegh.

The NMCE is part of AUBMC’s goal to transformhealthcare in Lebanon and the Middle East and to reinforce its position as a leading academicmedical center. Khuri commented, “At the heart of both AUBMC 2020 Vision and our Boldly AUBCapital Campaign is building a state-of-the-artnew hospital such that the people of Lebanon andthe Arab world can receive care that is the equal of the best care one can receive at any of the topmedical centers in the world.”

The NMCE is designed as a 12-story above-groundbuilding with an additional ten undergroundlevels. It will be constructed at the site of theparking lot extending from Maamari Street toClemenceau Street and will be connected to theexisting Medical Center buildings through bridgesand tunnels and to the AUB campus through theMedical Gate. Upon completion, NMCE willinclude operating rooms, intensive care units, anemergency department, support functions,parking facilities, and 135 beds distributed over apediatric pavilion and a cancer treatment center.

In his speech, Khuri emphasized the importanceof this groundbreaking ceremony, which“witnesses the laying of new stones for a newfuture, not only for AUB but for Lebanon as well.”He added, “Despite the economic and politicalstruggles, AUB and its medical school have existed to bring hope, in the forms of education,empowerment, emancipation, and healing to thepeople of Lebanon and the region.”

President Aoun’s comments echoed AUB’shealthcare mission: “We aspire to develop thehealth sector in Lebanon and to ensure that thecitizen is well-cared for, without being concernedabout the cost or deprived of the ability to receivetreatment, no matter of what type and duration. I congratulate the president of the AmericanUniversity of Beirut and all concerned officials atthe Medical Center for embracing this new projectand for aspiring to a better future.”

Building the Future of Modern Medical Care

Dr. Sukhn’s workspace is the materialworld—the air we breathe, the waterwe drink, the food we eat, the toxinswe are exposed to. She manages theday-to-day operations of a toxicologylaboratory, but that’s just the tip of theiceberg. Underneath the surface is thereal mass, which is constant work andworry about the environment. Sukhn isnot just a clear-headed scientist; she’sa passionate advocate for the well-being of ordinary citizens, many ofwhom come to her lab to have theirwater tested. She believes that“Lebanese citizens should not have toworry about the simplest requirementsof life, such as clean water and air. . . Ithink we all need to start thinkingoutside the box and outside of ourcomfort zones for solutions.”

Currently Sukhn is collaborating withother researchers from AUB and theWorld Health Organization’sInternational Agency for Research onCancer on testing for toxicants thataffect reproduction and the overallhealth of pregnant women. She’sexcited about a number of new tests atthe lab: for environmental nano and

macro particulates, for asbestos, andfor viruses such as norovirus andhepatitis A in water. But as the only lab that tests endotoxins for all thehospitals and hemodialysis centers in Lebanon, the workload can beoverwhelming.

Challenges include handling a sharpincrease in job requests for analyseswith a minimum number of staff,keeping up to date with the latesttechnologies, and bringing in newequipment and instruments so thatAUB can stay on track to become theGlobal South’s foremost public healthinstitution. While these overarchingconcerns are always on her mind, whatdrives Sukhn is what’s in her heart: toimprove the lives of ordinary citizensby making sure that the air theybreathe, the water they drink, and thefood they eat will undergird a long andhealthy life.

Want to lend a hand? Check outvolunteer opportunities at:www.aub.edu.lb/fm/PLM/EVL/Pages/default.aspx

AUB SpacesOn the Front Line of the War on Toxicants

Carol Sukhn (BS ’88)

Research Associate,Pathology and

Laboratory MedicineMS, PhD ’13,

University of SouthWales, Biological

Sciences—Ecotoxicology andMarine Biology

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Wellness

AUB’s Global Health Institute launched SANADI tostrengthen the healthcare of Syrian refugeesresiding in Lebanon. (June 20)www.aub.edu.lb/articles/Pages/GHI-launches-SANADI.aspx

The Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences atFAFS organized an 11-day intensive trainingworkshop with the Institute of Global Health,University College London, on nutrition inemergency environments in Beirut and the Beqaa.(June 17-29) www.aub.edu.lb/fafs/news/Pages/2019_NIE.aspx

AUB MasterCard Foundation scholars participatedin the Resolution Project Baobab Summit’s SocialVenture Challenge in Kigali, Rwanda. (August 1-6) mastercardfdn.org/our-work/events/baobab-summit-2019/

MSFEA and the UN Department of Political andPeacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA) brought togetherprofessionals across disciplines to explore ways of using artificial intelligence (AI) and social media monitoring to enhance political analysis,peacemaking, and conflict prevention efforts. (July 4–5) www.aub.edu.lb/msfea/news/Pages/ai-for-peace.aspx

101 Facts & Figures on the Syrian Refugee Crisis,Volume II is available through the Issam FaresInstitute for Public Policy and International Affairs.Volume II presents key facts and figures on theSyrian Refugee Crisis retrieved from credible reportsand studies.www.aub.edu.lb/ifi/news/Pages/20190702-101-facts-and-figures-on-syrian-refugee-crisis-volume-2.aspx

AUBMC and the International AIDS Society (IAS)organized the first MENA regional IAS EducationalFund meeting on HIV. (June 2019) executive-bulletin.com/other/aubmc-in-collaboration-with-ias-holds-the-first-ias-educational-fund-regional-symposium-on-hiv-in-the-mena-region

An article on the randomized trial of Voxelotor insickle cell disease (SCD) was recently published inthe New�England�Journal�of�Medicine, co-authored byDr. Miguel R. Abboud, professor and chairman atthe Department of Pediatrics and AdolescentMedicine at AUBMC. The study concluded thatVoxelotor is capable of significantly improvinganemia in people with SCD, with no toxicity ornegative side effects. www.aubmc.org/Pages/Dr-Miguel-Abboud-on-the-treatment-of-Sickle-Cell-Disease.aspx#sthash.XzeDgQKO.dpbs

A three-year, high-impact study led by Dr. HabibDakik, chief of the Division of Cardiology at AUBMC,has been published in the Journal of the AmericanCollege of Cardiology (JACC). The investigatorsderived a new cardiovascular risk index (CVRI)based on six easily acquired data elements. (Studypublished on June 25)www.aubmc.org/Pages/medical-research-study-led-by-Dr-Habib-Dakik-receives-international-acclaim.aspx#sthash.VOA4yb09.dpbs

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Health & Wellness

Last April, the Arab InternationalWomen’s Forum (AIWF), in partnershipwith AUB and the University ofMassachusetts Medical School, held“Women Leaders & Health:Empowering Women Leaders inInnovation, Medical Education andHealthcare Delivery,” an impressivebroad-scope conference that took placeat AUB. The conference welcomed over150 inspirational women leaders inmedicine, the healthcare sciences, andSTEM, originating from Lebanon, thebroader MENA region, the UK, Europe,and the United States. Among themwere senior representatives ofinternational developmentorganizations, universities, NGOs, andother civil society institutions.

Saad Hariri, president of Lebanon’sCouncil of Ministers, delivered theGuest of Honour Keynote Address andwas followed by the opening sessionspeakers Mrs. Haifa Fahoum AlKaylani, AIWF founder and chairman;Dr. Fadlo Khuri, AUB president; and Dr.Mohamed Sayegh, AUB executive vicepresident. In addition to speakers fromAUB, distinguished conferencespeakers also came from the Universityof Massachusetts Medical School, St.Marks Hospital in London, PfizerBiopharmaceuticals, the King FaisalSpecialist Hospital and Research Centrein the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, andother prestigious institutions. Pfizer

and PricewaterhouseCoopers werevalued supporting partners.

Women Leaders & Health broughttogether some of the world’s foremostArab and international women leadersto address public health, economicdevelopment, and humanitarianconcerns in the MENA region. Theconference focused on key challengesand opportunities for women’sleadership in medical education,healthcare delivery, STEM, research,innovation, sustainability, andinternational development.Discussions yielded actionablerecommendations for empoweringwomen in these critical sectors.

Following the conference, a workshopfocused on three key themes: refugeematernal health in vulnerable andconflict situations, maternal mortalityand the making of maternal ill health,and strategies to maintain services andsupport when faced with donor fatigue.Workshop sessions brought togetherleaders in public service, internationaldevelopment, and global advocacy todiscuss the impact that the refugeecrisis has had on women in vulnerableand conflict situations, and to provideinsight into how these challenges canbe overcome or mitigated throughmulti-level engagement, concertedaction, and dialogue.

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“There are no doubts that gender equality, like all diversity,increases the pool of talent, enhances teamwork andcollaboration, and allows different perspectives to beconsidered. So we must redouble our efforts to empower morewomen, not only to become leaders in health and medicine forthe benefit of our professions, but more importantly for thebenefit of our patients and for the health of communities.” President Fadlo Khuri

“AUB has a longstanding history of promoting the role of women in society, specifically in education and healthcare. . . .Through engaging in platforms similar to AIWF, we prioritize the involvement of women and youth towards finding innovative and actionable solutions to the multi-faceted andcomplex environmental, economic security, gender, anddevelopmental challenges the MENA region faces.”EVP and Faculty of Medicine Dean Mohamed Sayegh

“The Arab International Women’s Forum is proud to have worked in full collaboration with UMASS and AUB to deliver thismuch-needed and timely initiative that brought into focus keychallenges and opportunities for women’s leadership in medicaleducation, healthcare delivery, STEM, research, innovation,sustainability, and international development.” Founder and Chairman, Arab International Women’s Forum Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani

EmpoweringWomen Leadersin Critical Areas

SahteinAvocado and Date Chocolate Pudding Sara Farhat Jarrar (BS ’06, MS ’10)

This nutritious no-cook avocado and datechocolate pudding is rich, creamy, and delicious.With avocados as the main source of fat, thispudding contains no butter, hydrogenated oil, orfull-fat dairy products, unlike most traditionalchocolate puddings. It is also egg free and isnaturally sweetened with dates and honeyinstead of refined sugar. Vegans can enjoy thispudding by simply substituting the milk andpowdered milk called for in the recipe with any oftheir favorite plant-based milks (this maycompromise the richness of the flavor and texture,however).

iNGrEDiENTS:

• 7 medium or large ripe Hass avocados• 14 medium or large soft, pitted Medjool dates• ⅓ cup raw honey• 2 cups skim milk• 6 tbsp. powdered skim milk• 1 ½ cups unsweetened dry cocoa powder• ½ tsp. dry vanilla powder* • ⅓ tsp. salt

*or, scrape the seeds from ¼ to ⅓ of a vanillabean, or use 1 tsp. alcohol-free liquid vanillaextract

PrEPArATiON:

Remove avocado skins and pits. Set in a largebowl and mash with an avocado masher or fork.Add the pitted dates; mash and mix. Set aside. Ina separate bowl, sift the cocoa powder, then mixin the powdered milk, vanilla, and salt. Pour inthe milk and honey, then whisk well. In twobatches, process the two mixtures in a large foodprocessor, scraping down the sides as needed andprocessing until all the ingredients are wellblended and smooth. Pour both batches into abowl and combine well using a hand whisk. Covertightly and store in the refrigerator until servingtime, or spoon the pudding into individual bowls

and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least30 minutes before serving. Can be served as adessert topped with strawberries (or any otherfruit) or eaten as a breakfast with oats, flaxseeds,chia seeds, or nuts mixed in. Best eaten within afew days.

Makes 12 servings (3/4 cup pudding per serving).

GOOD FOr yOU? The expert weighs in...

Avocados and dates are two superfoods that mayplay a role in minimizing one’s risk of chronicdisease (especially heart disease) when consumedas part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Thisavocado and date chocolate pudding is bothenergy- and nutrient-dense. It provides a greatsource of carbohydrates, high-quality protein,heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (with hardlyany saturated fat or cholesterol), and dietary fiber.Although the pudding is quite high in naturalsugar, the fiber present (especially the solublefiber) is known to help slow down sugarabsorption, thus preventing blood glucose levelsfrom spiking. The pudding is loaded with amultitude of micronutrients, including thefat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well assome water-soluble vitamins including folate andvitamins C and B12. This pudding is also rich inminerals, including calcium, magnesium,potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and copper. Inaddition, it offers potent phytochemicals by wayof the avocados, dates, cocoa, and honey. It’s hardto find a dessert this tasty that packs such astrong dose of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,and immune-boosting health benefits.

Sara (MS, LD) is a formernutrition research assistant atFAFS. Her cookbook of healthyrecipes will be published in2020. Follow her on Instagram(homemade_healthyandwhole)or Facebook (Sara FarhatJarrar).

Per serving:calories (kcal): 284 protein (g): 6.3fat (g): 13.8

carbohydrates (g): 45fiber (g): 11.2 sugar (g): 30

Send your recipesubmissions tomaingate@aub.edu.lb

Wellness32

42Business and Human Rights An organic social contract between local businesses and thecommunities they serve

Impactregional impact, advocacy, and policy initiatives

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Child Labor Professor Rima Habib is the lead investigator of an alarming study onchild labor in Lebanon and the region

Bilal Orfali Teacher and scholar Bilal Orfali dispels the either/or myth 38

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Columbia P&S and AUBMCFor more than a century Columbia University and AUB doctorshave found common ground

Bold Steps FAS Dean Nadia Maria El Cheikh on the role of the arts andhumanities in shaping the future of education in the region.

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MSCHEThe Middle States Commission on Higher EducationReaccreditation Report reaffirms AUB’s achievements andaspirations

The dozen children with kitchen knivesscuttle like bipedal crabs as they pickover the dusty ground, tending to theprecious onion crop that lies beneaththe stony tilth. Seven days a week, theycultivate this land with their barehands, from early morning to mid-afternoon, in the heat of summer andthe bitter cold of winter. Instead ofclaiming the education to which theyare entitled, their lot is to work thefields surrounding their families’ smallcluster of tents near the town of Zahle,earning about $2.50 a day per child, sodestitute parents can avoid fallingdeeper into debt.

“There is absolutely no excuse to havechildren not go to school and work theway they are working.” So spokeLebanon’s minister of labor, CamilleAbouSleiman, upon the release of the“Survey on Child Labour in Agriculturein the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon: TheCase of Syrian Refugees,” the mostcomprehensive child labor study everconducted in the Middle East orbeyond. The minister noted its findingsare “incredibly informative andmoving.”

The AUB study saw surveyors, bothSyrian and Lebanese, fan across theBeqaa Valley to gather data from 1,902tents and testimony from 4,090 working

Shining Light on the Plight ofChild Labor

Impact

children between the ages of 8 and 18.AUB faculty and staff trained thesurveyors in interviewing children andreporting child abuse, and theuniversity’s Internal Review Boardcarefully reviewed the protocols of thestudy “to make sure that the study didnot harm the children in any way.”

The results confirm the ubiquity ofchild labor among the Syrian refugeepopulation and highlight the harshconditions under which those childrentoil. Roughly 75 percent of the childreninterviewed work in agriculture. “It’sthe worst form of child labor. They’recompletely exposed to the elements.When it’s hot it’s hot, when it’s cold it’s cold, snakebites, heavy lifting, badpostures, and pesticides. It’s not meantfor kids. Even adults need protection,”says Rima Habib, an environmental andoccupational health professor at AUBand the study’s lead investigator.

Roughly a third of the children reportedbeing injured on the job, with 22percent saying their injuries were nottreated immediately. In the vastmajority of cases, family members andrelatives paid for the treatment.

A large proportion of childrenexperienced abuse at work: 43 percentof boys and 41 percent of girls reportedbeing insulted, and 20 percent of boysand 12 percent of girls said they’ve beenhit. Dependence on their jobs for

survival may force children and parentsto accept degrading workingconditions.

“Displaced children that continue to beoutside school are likely to suffer fromdiminished future prospects,” thereport says, as they miss learning skillsthat might lift them out of manuallabor.

The families of working children arepoor. Their average monthly incomehovers above the internationallyrecognized poverty line at $51 permonth, while monthly expenses are$120. “A lack of resources to pay foreven basic needs, such as food andhealthcare, led many families to runthrough their savings or rely onborrowing to cover monthly shortfalls.These conditions were what pushed thevast majority of children away fromschool and towards work,” the reportsays.

Decree 8987 of the Lebanese Labor Lawpassed in 2012 and underpinned byAUB research prohibits children under16 from working in hazardous sectors,including agriculture. And the mostrecent National Action Plan toEliminate the Worst Forms of ChildLabor explicitly calls for action on childlabor in the Syrian refugee community.Both are in keeping with internationallaws and conventions governing childlabor. However, the challenges lie inimplementing the National Action Planin the current economic and politicalenvironment.

In spite of the hardships they face, thechildren carry on. “What stands out tome is the fact that they are positiveabout the future,” says Habib. “Themajority of the children believe theywill have a better future.” Sheremembers hearing the children say,“Bidna nishtaghal minshan na’esh waminshan nsa’ad ahlnaa. [We want towork to live and to help our families.]”

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“Rise! Get up! Be aware! Roll yoursleeve up your forearm ofdetermination! Culture is standing atyour doors from all sides knocking . . .Reject your sectarianism, partisanship,and personal prejudices and outstretchyour hand to shake the hand ofculture.” FAS Dean Nadia Maria ElCheikh likes this quote from Butrus al-Bustani (1819–83). “The voices ofpeople like al-Bustani, Jurji Zeidan, andothers from the Nahda still resonatestrongly with present concerns,” sheexplains. “Some of the morechallenging problems facing Arabsocieties today are social, historical,cultural, and political in nature. Thosewere the concerns of the Nahdaluminaries. They are also the