I 19, Vol 43

The American University of Beirut

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Vol. XLIII, No. 19

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

New look coming soon...

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The Independent Student Publication Since 1949

First Toastmasters convention in Lebanon

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Globalization: liberating or humiliating?

AUB’s Non-smoking campaign, a success?

Caterina Belardi Staff Writer

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new semester has begun and one can’t but notice the extensive non-smoking campaign that has been plastered all over our campus. Banners, fliers, weblinks, letters to the community, all sorts of tools have been used to awaken our spirits and take a lookout on what a crucial issue smoking is.

In our world today, the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that every “6.5 seconds a current or former smok-

Dalia Hosn Staff Writer

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Live ‘Acoustic Bands’ Every Thursday night at Crepaway, Hamra.

(Photo by Ahmad Itani)

continued on page 4

Youth-generated media in uprisings n the revolutions that have recently shook the Middle East, it is nearly impossible to deny the key role played by the youth and their media. On Thursday, March 3, a lecture was given

by Dr. Joe F. Khalil on precisely that, “The Making and Unmaking of Uprisings: Reflections on Youth-Generated Media.” In the lecture, the main focus was on the components of youth-generated media, what differentiates it from mainstream media, and the way in which it has a unique power in affecting the cultural, social, and political spheres in the Arab World.

Don’t Miss!

er dies” and with an expected rate of “1.3 billion smokers worldwide,” the picture doesn’t look quite good. In Lebanon, smoking is still allowed in indoor public premises, despite the many suggested law drafts, bringing in risks not only for smokers themselves, but for people around them who could be affected by second-hand smoking.

So what is this new campaign all about? Smoking is still allowed on campus but only in specific areas that are clearly designated. A total of

Dr. Joe F. Khalil, A visiting assistant professor from Northwestern University in Qatar, is an expert in this field. He has over 15 years of experience in professional television as director, executive producer and consultant for major Arab channels. He received the Smith Richardson Foundation grant, and has authored and co-authored many works that deal with the subject. He is currently working on a bookproject based on his dissertation, Youth-Generated Media in Lebanon and Saucontinued on page 4

The AUB Music Club with Crepaway’s management, presents live “Acoustic Bands” at Crepaway, Hamra every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. For reservations, please call 01/745845 or contact AUB student Tarek Abi Mosleh at tja06@ aub.edu.lb

Civilization sequence program from different angles Khodor Abou Daya Staff Writer Ali Alawieh Special to Outlook This is a continuation of the interview published in the last issue with Dr. Peter Shebaya and Dr. Richard Smith; the former and current coordinators of CVSP respectively.

How did the CVSP program start?

In the late 1930’s, Charles Malik, Ph.D. in philosophy, wrote a long letter to President Bayard Dodge illustrating the need for an associated program in general education at AUB. Thus, in 1951, an autonomous Department of General Education was first mentioned in the AUB

(Photo by Khodor Abou Daya)

catalogue. Between 1965 and 1967 the name Cultural Sequence Program (CSP) was introduced. However,

it was unofficially called the great books program. The continued on page 4

Speakers’ Corner Sequel: Arab revolutions ‘domino effect’

INSIDE

Campus News Arts & Culture Alumni New Entertainment Out Loud

Wednesday March 9 at 1:00 p.m. - West Hall - Ada Dodge Hall Area. With respect to the recent Arab revolutions and regime changes, will the “domino effect” reach the Lebanese political scene? The first Speakers’ Corner for Spring 2011 DON’T MISS IT!

www.aub.edu.lb/outlook

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Sports Viewpoint Out of the Box 14 15

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‫وجهة نظر‬ ‫منوعات‬

Campus News First Entrepreneurship Initiative Speaker Series

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Campus News Rabih Mroue presents his life’s work

Bliss Street, West Hall 208 Tel: 01 350 000 or 01 374 444 Ext.3193

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Alumni News One on one with AUB Alumnus Tarek Atrissi

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readoutlook@gmail.com

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Campus news

March 8, 2011

First Toastmasters convention in Lebanon

Outlook

Deedee El-Jilani

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oastmasters international is an international organization headquartered in the United States of America. This club works on improving communication and leadership skills. The experienced members of the club show great improvement in comparison to the shy quiet people they were, into the strong confident person they are now.

For the first time, Lebanon will participate in the biggest convention that Toastmasters International holds annually.

Saturday February 26, the AUB club Speakers&Leaders, a chapter of Toastmasters International, held a convention which included two other chapters of Toastmasters in Lebanon, Pro Toast, for working people and alumni, and LoudSpeakers, in Tripoli.

This convention covered four contests, prepared speeches, Table Topics (or impromptu speaking), evaluations, and lastly, humor contest.

There were also educational sessions where skilled mem-

bers talked about the difference between a vision and a mission, and the other about leadership.

It should be mentioned that nearly 40 members took active roles to make this event come true. The chairpersons for each contest, the participants, the guest speaker, the ballot counters, the Sergeant at Arms, who made sure things went well and on time, and lastly, the judges.

Also, the entertainment of the event who is not a member of the club, but a student at AUB was, the guitarist Tarek Abi Mosleh.

Each club individually had these contests, and their winners were to compete with the winners of the other two clubs. Guests ranging from all ages, interested people, family, friends, all came to witness this great event, and all of them learned so much about speaking and the ways to be an efficient leader.

The reason this event is so important is because the winners of this convention will move on to the Division level (Jordan, Lebanon, and

the Gulf Cooperation Council countries or GCC), to compete with them. This convention will take place in Jordan. From there the winners will go on to the International Convention in Las Vegas, America to be exact.

As for the winners of each contest, they will move on to the Division Convention. The winners are, for the Prepared Speeches contest, Philippe Jamhouri from Speakers&Leaders, from the Table Topics contest, Walid Hajj from Speakers&Leaders, from the Evaluation contest Jana Jabbour from LoudSpeakers took first place, Alaa Abi Morshed from Speakers&Leaders took second, and Nisrine Katergi from Pro Toast took third place. For the Humor contest Mehdi Ghurayeb from Pro Speakers.

Although there were winners, everyone did well, the meeting ran smoothly with food and refreshments, a break in the middle, and a guitarist entertainment act that kept the atmosphere up and running. This big con-

(Photo by Mohamad Alameh)

vention was prepared by Zahraa Shaito, the President of Speakers&Leaders and a student at AUB doing her Master’s in Public Relations.

All of these members and over 40 participants deserve a big round of applause for the effort and hard work, their dedication and motivation to make the best of the convention, and now, the

winners who will represent Lebanon in front of Jordan and the GCC! Best of luck to them all, hopefully, one of them will win and represent Lebanon Internationally!

Deedee El-Jilani is the Secretary at Toastmasters.

First Entrepreneurship Initiative Speaker Series hosts “Element ^n” Co-founder and CEO Lara Traboulsi Business Manager and Contributing Writer

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n March 3, Entrepreneurship Initiative invited the AUB community to attend its first Speaker’s Series featuring entrepreneur Rabih Nassar in the Maamari Auditorium. Co-founder and CEO of Element^n , Nassar talked about his experience as an entrepreneur and what it takes to truly achieve a dream.

Nassar began by mentioning that as long as he could remember he was an entrepreneur. With a candid demeanor and a sense of humor that left the audience chuckling in their seats, Nassar shared his 20 years worth of stories of success and failure in the pursuit of dreams. Nassar addressed the audience telling them that they do not be-

come an entrepreneur overnight. They might get lucky and have their ideas come to life with one shot; however, most likely they are going to have to put some effort into them, as they might fail a few times and even face despair before seeing their passion pay off.

After graduating from Saint Joseph Engineering School (USJ), Nassar teamed up with two of his friends and made his first attempt at opening a business. However, after a few months their operations were cut short once they realized that they had naively neglected to factor in all the elements that they should have. Following this incident, Nassar partook in several other work attempts that did not pay off as well as he expected. He bravely took to the world and travelled and lived in various places

such as Brazil and Paris. He ultimately returned to Lebanon with a determined spirit and an idea he was adamant in seeing come to life.

Nassar then factored in the years of wisdom he had accumulated and with persistence and hard work co-created Element^n in 2002.

Today, he has offices both in New York and Beirut.

This passionate CEO credited his success to four characteristic skills that he believes every entrepreneur should possess. According to Nassar to truly become an entrepreneur one should have to believe in one’s vision, be tenacious, resourceful, and simply sincere. One will often find oneself lacking the needed resources to reach the end result, but instead of being hindered, such a fact push one even further. Investors might be ruthless and

treat as a person as no more than a commodity. For this reason, a belief in one’s vision is what should propel a person to fight hard. Nassar believed that the true entrepreneur is “someone who has a vision and is able to gather all the means to make it concrete.” While one should be risk aware, one should be

(Photo by Wael Salem)

careful not to be risk averse.

Without taking a few risks one might never achieve the dream one set out to attain.

Believing in oneself, believing in one’s dream, and remaining true to one’s vision will enable a person to see his or her efforts come to fruition.

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Campus news

March 8, 2011

Globalization: liberating or humiliating?

Yasmine Saab Staff Writer

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ur parents often complain about it; why do we listen to incessant beats with meaningless lyrics instead of Fairuz? Or why do we read English and French more easily than Arabic? Whether we like it or not, the undeniable movement of globalization is gaining momentum. Sociologist Dennis Smith gave a lecture on Monday, February 28 in AUB on the power relations of globalization, in a more political context than music choice.

Dr. Smith is a professor of sociology at Loughborough University and has written a book on the power dynamic found in globalization. In the lecture, he discusses how it often leads to a situation where one party is dominating another, the dominated, thus producing humiliation.

Although it may often seem that our generation is especially Westernised (or at least that’s what our parents say), Dr. Smith argues the contrary; he points out that “globalization is a process that

has been going on for centuries.”

The three main proponents in spreading the process, he explained, are trade, exploration, and war. Being the principle means by which previously separate communities interact, these three are the most common ways that peoples and governments have increasingly been faced with the temptation to adopt the ways of the West (here meaning Western Europe and the USA).

The humiliation arises when the ways of another community are preferred over those of one’s own. To go back to the relatable example, it is somewhat humiliating that individuals our age would rather become experts in and supporters of another community’s culture, because it is an implicit rejection of the Lebanese cultural output.

This may partly explain anti-western sentiment in nonwestern parts of the world.

“Globalization is continuing to create and transform relationships,” Dr. Smith affirmed. Especially relevant today is the Arab uprisings

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(Photo by Hasan Nisr - AUB Office of Communications)

that have swept eastward since Tunisia’s overthrowing of Ben Ali. While dictatorships and monarchies are common to the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, peoples are progressively (pun unintended) choosing democracy – a system, it should be noted, which the USA and first world European nations pride themselves

on.

Of course the outcomes of the uprisings in several of the Arab countries are far from final or clear, but as for the cause – is it globalization? Is what Dr. Smith has called protests for “the right to have their right and dignity respected and protected” a product of attempted emulation of other nations?

Although he concluded that globalization is in its essence humiliating, we may wonder how that differs if agency involved. Perhaps globalization is not humiliating when we actively and openly choose to apply someone else’s system as an alternative to our clearly dysfunctional own.

Russian Orientalism Mohammad Yaghi Staff Writer

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n March 2, 2011 the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) invited Professor David Schimmelpennick van der Oye to discuss the relation of Edward Saïd’s “Orientalism” to Russian society while discussing ideas was inspired from his recent book Russian Orientalism: Asia in the Russian Mind from Peter the Great to the Emigration.

Schimmelpennick used two distinct but profound Russian artists during different tsarist invasions of Central Asia to portray the lectures objective Schimmelpennick is a professor of Russian History at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. After studying at the University of Toronto and Yale College,

he has published two books on Russian History so far and they are Toward the Rising Sun: Russian Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan and more recently Russian Orientalism: Asia in the Russian Mind from Peter the Great to the Emigration. Schimmelpennick has also received various fellowships at Harvard Universi-

society and its relation to Saïd’s “Orientalism”. “In 1960, Konrad Adenauer flew over the German Democratic Republic airspace. The plane flew low over the border and Adenauer peered out his window to see the Berlin Wall and said, “Welcome to the Chinese sector.” Schimmelpennick started his lecture in an attempt for the audience

been a geo-political fight in Russia for centuries as Russians see themselves as Europeans and view Asia as their own arena for Russian conquests, while many others oppose this belief and see Russian origins and political ambitions in another light.

Schimmelpennick introduced a painter and composer to shed further light

ty’s Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Brock Univeristy Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence, the National Humanities Center and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada.

Schimmelpennick discussed the nature of Russian

to understand the cultural fight that the Russians faced.

“Most of Europe viewed and still view Russia as an Oriental or Asian state as the World saw with Hitler as he was quoted as seeing the Soviets as Asiatic,” Schimmelpennick added. According to Schimmelpennick, this has

on the discussion. He first introduced Vasilii Vereshchagin’s, a Russian painter, to provide an account of a non-Orient view of Russia. Vereshchagin’s opinions on this matter were shown with various portraits from the “Turkestan Series” that included The Apotheosis of

“Most of Europe viewed and still view Russia as an Oriental or Asian state as the World saw with Hitler as he was quoted as seeing the Soviets as Asiatic”

War and Tamerlane’s Gates.

The meaning of the paintings was supposed to show Asia as dangerous and uncivilized. These paintings were inspired and finished during the Tsarist invasion of Central Asia in the 1870’s while Vereshchagin travelled with the army working as a staff member.

Schimmelpennick then introduced Aleksandr Borodin, a composer, who had an opposing view to Vereshchagin on Russia’s Oriental state. Schimmelpennick showed this in Borodin’s opera Prince Igor. The opera focuses on an unsuccessful campaign of a Russian Prince against Islamic khanates. According to Schimmelpennick, Borodin was trying to feminize Asia and make Russians more accepting of their geographic half.

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Campus news

March 8, 2011

AUB’s Non-smoking campaign, a success?

continued from page 1

18 smoking zones have been selected all over AUB, from lower to upper campus, Medical to Penrose gates, smokers all have a place to rightly relax their nerves, release the stress and catch up on the latest news.

With this picture, everyone seems to have room to feel happy, yet is this campaign considered a real success?

President Dorman has defined it as so, stating in his letter to the community that

“on the whole, the University campus non-smoking policy has been deemed a tremendous success, certainly

by Lebanese standards but also by international ones,” to such an extent that the “AUB campus was recently chosen as the venue to announce the introduction of a law to ban smoking in indoor public places and to institute other sanctions against the pernicious addiction of smoking.”

Yet, not everyone seems to share this same opinion, as

AUBites express mixed feelings about the topic.

Adam Jaradi clearly defines this new campaign as “unfair [and] discriminative towards smokers like us.” Maha Kaafarani takes the relay and states how “this campaign interferes with our rights, it’s supposed to work both ways, yet as it is right now, we all feel cramped up in delimited areas, stressed, making us smoke even more because we just can’t manage our time.”

A conciliatory opinion comes from Hani Hassan, CVSP

teacher, asserting how “this is indeed a very good policy, because as smokers we don’t feel discriminated, it’s a good compromise and it does create an interesting social space. Yet this shouldn’t be a mean to ban smoking completely, we should always maintain the possibility to do so.”

Basically, what the smoking community of AUB, mainly demands, is improvement to make this a true a fair midpoint; “these spaces should shelter us from the

Outlook

rain, have more benches, be more equipped.” As Hassan Al Zein suggests, “we are human beings after all!”

An inspiring final word comes from Ali Kassem who encourages AUBites in stating that “people shouldn’t ignore this campaign, we shouldn’t frown upon AUBites who make sure it is respected and we should definitely be more participative and aggressive as a community, to make sure the campaign achieves its success for all.”

Civilization sequence program, digging beneath the surface continued from page 1

main idea was to have common courses to all students from different majors where they can discuss their views towards human life and thought. In 1978, the name changed to Civilization Sequence Program (CVSP).

Do you believe that the instructor should affect the students’ judgment on the provided texts?

It is not a matter of indoctrination. The whole emphasis is on getting the students to interpret. The instructor is the guide, while the text is the teacher. The instructor has read the books many times and could help the students interpret it. But when the students interpret, they

should imagine themselves as in a court of law where they are supporting their interpretation with evidence that comes from primary material not from somebody’s opinion including the instructor’s own opinion about the text.

Does the fact that the students view the Professor as an instructor whose interpretations are to be adopted influence their judgments?

Unfortunately it does, you have a whole set of problems there about regurgitating professors notes and does this constitute plagiarism?

Yes that constitutes plagiarism. Teachers in the university would say: “To give back my interpretation is correct.”

I think that it is incorrect and

we have to get some agreement around this. This question needs to be discussed by the whole university.

Does CVSP aim at a preliminary level to make students question the conceptions that they already have?

That is a more difficult thing; to try to get the student to be able to criticize, there we are faced with difficulty that we have 15 weeks in which to train the student and we have eight to nine texts to get through and we are caught a little bit between going too fast over too much and not going deeply enough in order to be able to get a real sense of what the intellectual concept of a particular work and to be able to critique it. But,

the justification for our approach is that this is an introduction to great works and we hope that students are not being put off by the exercise but will have the method of approaching things in their heads for the rest of their lives.

Were there problems in delivering religious views that students perceived as false information?

One of the aims of CS is to discuss things in an atmosphere of mutual toleration.

This means that you should accept that people have different beliefs, views, and interpretations. The main aim is to base your interpretation on the evidence that you have in front of you; not taking it as truth but in a criti-

cal sense. As soon as you take something as truth then: “What is truth?” There you get to other problems.

Will there be any changes in CVSP? I feel that the absence of great books from other civilizations is lacking in the program. Is this not a tool of western imperialism? My answer is that it is not easy to incorporate other books since we need specialists in that field. This is done in core courses in Columbia and in some universities of the States. But, here there is lower funding and little endowment for the department. But, there are many ways to improve CS that are being discussed.

Youth-generated media in uprisings continued from page 1

di Arabia.

Dr. Khalil defines YouthGenerated Media as, the “historical processes of re-appropriation and re-definition of multi-platform converging self-expressive artifacts as developed, circulated, and consumed by young people.”

This re-appropriation and re-definition is another way of describing the reworking of already present material, taking things like images and music and changing them in order to bring forth

a single coherent message.

This media is multi-platform and therefore does not necessarily stem from a single political or social background.

Furthermore, this type of media is in no way unique to this internet-obsessed generation, rather it has always been present in everything from graffiti to student protests throughout the ages.

However, one cannot deny that the internet definitely made expressing one’s opinions a lot easier. Dr. Khalil expands on this, describing how “twenty years ago if you wanted to shoot a vid-

eo you needed to have a very bulky camera that cost about $10,000. Now you can do that with much less and on a smaller level. So as communication production tools become more accessible… young people are developing their own identities as individuals through media.” This seems quite obvious, as nowadays everyone spends more and more time editing their facebook page and typing away at their blackberries.

However, one of the key factors that define the Arab Youth, according to Dr. Khalil is that “they are educat-

ed and eager to demonstrate their competence…yet are often unemployed with very limited future prospects.”

Indeed many of the protesters in recent demonstrations were unemployed and educated. Furthermore, “Young people are absent from the political process…yet are expected to uphold arms and support regimes,” says Dr. Khalil. These are key realities that push the youth to generate their own media.

Yet despite the independence of youth-generated media, the mainstream culture still finds a way to cast their

own light on the situation.

Dr. Khalil explained how “young people’s uncontrolled dissent in increased public visibility equals to a perception of power and that’s why political elites, columnists, sociologists, police and commercial interests cast their own definitions and interpretations of what their seeing in terms of uprising.” Therefore, there is always an interplay between youth-generated media and mainstream media, and it is the combination of the two that fuels political uprisings.

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Campus news

March 8, 2011

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Rabih Mroue presents his life’s work and visions Fouad Badaoui Senior Staff Writer

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heater director and multifaceted artist Rabih Mroue gave a presentation on Tuesday March 1st entitled “Theater with dirty feet.” In the form of a series of works he had undergone throughout his career, Mroue introduced the audience to his main principles as an artist and exposed his source of motivation. Civically engaged, Mroue attempts to express, through his artistic work, his opinions and feelings on political and social issues. His work almost constantly makes reference to one of his main dilemmas in life: are we really individuals, or merely convinced to believe so; and how do we reach true individuality?

Mroue does not count himself as a traditional director, since he does not believe a stage, actors, an audience, or even a performance are still relevant in today’s theater. For him, the only defining factor in the theater

is the discussion that follows the performance, for it offers feedback and new ideas in his opinion. Mroue went as far as saying “the talk becomes the performance itself,” thus reflecting the socially engaging nature of his work.

Mroue talked about his first acting role, in which his character was an old man, and an offer in Maska magazine, asking him to imagine himself in the year 2023. He compared the 2 ideas, describing an “impossible meeting [between] two Rabih’s” of two different times. “As for my incapacity to plan and think ahead [I have but] envy towards artists who are in control.” Mroue then tackled the seemingly complicated issue of legitimacy in art, by exploring the question of whether or not he himself was a visual artist in addition to his being play director. “Who decides what is art, and what isn’t?” he asked. Mroue discussed artists such as Marcel Duchamp, who had pushed

(Photo by Hasan Nisr - AUB Office of Communications)

the limits of what can be considered “art.” With the picture of an overturned urinal on screen, Mroue came to the conclusion that an artist’s job is simply to convince everyone else, without any credentials, that what he or she does is indeed art.

When in Vienna, after the Lebanese Civil War, Mroue was surprised that no one was frightened by the real destruction of Beirut as much as they were by the mere idea

of the destruction of Vienna.

This bothered him and led to the creation of a series of video postcards in which Vienna and war torn Beirut were combined:”I wanted to destroy Vienna.”

On the topic of censorship, Mroue recounted the events that led to the censorship of one of his own plays, entitled “Who’s afraid of representation.” But to him, censorship is nothing more than a “form of latency.” “I will play it

again in Beirut, I know this.”

Answering some of the audience’s questions, Mroue explained that he believes secularism is the only solution in a country where the only way to achieve individuality is to be martyred or to disappear. “I don’t have a method,” he announced, adding that social ideas expressed artistically cannot be limited to schools and techniques:”art is not university; it is a platform for discussions.”

Pirate modernity

Ravi Sundram on media and the post-colonial city Yumna Ghandour Staff Writer

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avi Sundram, the Indian sociologist who coined the term ‘pirate modernity,’ gave a lecture in AUB’s Design Department on February 28, 2011. Sundram researches postcolonial and contemporary media technologies and how they are used to challenge certain notions of cultural and urban theory. He presented his research particularly focusing on cities in India, where he lives.

Sundram began the lecture by giving a description of how modern culture is completely swept by media technology.

“The entire population who inhabit the thing we call the city is now mediatized. In India, 700 million cellular phones are used. These are

phones with cameras. You can send photographs, videos… They are the ones that now show the city,” he said.

The last point is stressed on in Sundram’s lecture, for he states, that this ‘mediatized’ age is creating an anxiety among city planners, considering that ‘seeing’ the city is now in the hands of the majority, and not only a select few. As there has always been a planner and architect eye which aims at stabilizing the city, there is now a ‘mobile eye’ which is showing and recreating the city freely and at astonishing speeds.

So, Sundram asked: “What happens when the city changes?”

To answer this question, the lecture then served to present a history on postcolonial India from the perspective of

city development. Sundram parallels his explanation to Henri Lefebvre’s theory on how urban lifestyles have replaced the secret codes of the city, essentially, its maps. In the 1950’s US city planners were designing city maps for Indian cities, many of which were refused. By the 1970’s the city had proliferated and created an informal network.

“This raises a big problem for city planners to try and map these places eligibly.

You have huge expansion, endless proliferation which makes it virtually impossible to do so. Informality becomes wild urbanism, outside of the law. But informality is what helped transform the postcolonial city into a media city,” Sundram said.

This is precisely what Sundram calls ‘pirate moder-

nity,’ the informal network that is able to produce and sell ‘counterfeited, unbranded’ items in the ‘grey’ market. Now, he said, almost anything is reproducible.

Copies of original material can be sold for the same quality at a ridiculously cheaper price. Sundram believes this informal, mediatized market is presenting a form of materiality that is fundamentally different. Huge powerful entities, such as companies, can now be disrupted by small, but numerous entities.

Sundram concluded the lecture by looking at the consequences.

“Pirate culture further expands the experience of the city. The borders of culture and technology blur, and it disrupts capitalist control.

But, it is not a one way street.

Expansion reorganizes but disconnects the people who produce this space,” he said.

The lecture is left with the question: What is the city that is yet to come?

Ravi Sundram is a Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, India. He is also a co-director of SARAI, a research institute on South Asian development in which they are involved in publishing, exhibiting art, setting up events and workshops in disadvantaged parts of the city.

Sundram holds a Phd in Sociology from Binghampton University.

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Arts & Culture

March 8, 2011

Image in Conflict workshop:

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The power of pictures

Edrees Elrachidi Staff Writer

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hotography’s ability to inform and inspire – from fueling revolutions to informing global audiences – was demonstrated at an AUB workshop bringing together Lebanese and Spanish journalists and photographers.

The “Image in Conflict” workshop, held in AUB’s West Hall on February 25, was organized by the Spanish association Aida, the Lebanese association Zakira and the Cervantes Institute. It was funded by the Spanish Embassy and the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

“An image can have a deeper impact than thousands of words,” said Spanish Ambassador Juan Carlos Gafo during his inaugural speech. “An image can also compel us to reflect and meditate.”

Over the last two months, photographs were successfully used as a tool for change in the Middle East, following the self-immolation of a Tunisian street vendor protesting social and political injustices, according to Spanish journalist Monica Prieto.

“Images can travel in a few seconds to the world,” she said, in reference to photographic coverage of Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. “Images in the Arab world were able to shake the faces off these totalitarian regimes.”

With capitalism on the rise, the world was until recently ignoring Arab countries, according to Lebanese journalist Amin Issa. He said that the regime changes of early 2011 had reversed this decline in attention.

“We were becoming indifferent to the suffering of others,” Issa said. “There has been a change in the mentality of the young Arabs. Images of young Egyptians cleaning [Cairo’s] Tahrir Square at the end of a riot were a reflection of that.”

Cinematographer Mai Masri showed how images could raise global awareness about ongoing issues. She played

her silent movie, “Children of Shatila,” which showed Palestinian children from a Lebanese camp travelling by bus to see Palestine for the first time.

“Creating this movie allowed me to realize my responsibility as a photographer to engage in human rights,” Masri said.

Historian and scholar Levon Nordiguian spoke on how photographs could act as an historical record of human development.

Nordiguian displayed archive images of Jounieh bay taken in 1920 beside recent photos of the same landscape.

While much construction has taken place since 1920, the level of green cover had increased significantly, replacing largely barren hills.

Former Reuters photographer Ramzi Haidar, however, warned how the latest wave of citizen journalism is putting his profession at risk.

“Our photography career is in trouble,” he said. “Also, amateur photos lead to a lack of accountability.”

Similarly, photographer and journalist Jeanlou Bersuder gave examples of amateur photos showing Saddam Hussein’s execution. While he acknowledged the images as the event’s sole documentation, Bersuder said press photography is not confined to professionals anymore, and is, therefore, less rewarding.

“Exclusivity in today’s world no longer exists. A lot of photos are no longer accredited,” he said. “Anyone can be taking them.”

Lebanese journalist Nabil Ismail underlined the difficulty of objectively taking photos.

“The photo reflects the photographer and the mind of the photographer,” he said.

Similarly, photographer and journalist Ramzi Haidar said a photographer can only see fragments of any given situation.

Spanish photographer Al-

(Photo by Hasan Nisr - AUB Office of Communications)

fonso Moral disagreed. He said images conveyed reality more accurately than printed articles. Through his photos of heroin addicts in Afghanistan, Moral argued it was possible to convey multiple messages simultaneously.

Journalist and photographer Gervasio Sanchez spoke about the moral code of pho-

tography.

According to Sanchez, one must always strive to convey the truth. “One must not only be objective but accurate,” he said.

Sanchez’s slides, some of which revealed the suffering of war-affected Africans, played in the background as he spoke. One photo showed

five people seated on a bench, all with a leg missing.

“Getting close without looking at color, religion or race allowed me to convey the messages,” Sanchez said.

Reprinted with permission from the AUB Office of Communications.

AUB Social Club hosts Spring Fever Anis Kadado Staff Writer

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he night of Friday, March 4 witnessed an event that was definitely missed out by those that couldn’t make it, or chose not to make it. As was expected

by AUB’s notable Social Club, the annual spring party at Maison Blanche was exactly what AUBites needed before the beginning of another hectic semester. “Spring fever”, as was the name of the event, attracted some 350 partiers at the “white house,” leaving a mark of an unforgettable night. DJ Scarface played the tunes, providing the clubbers with the latest RnB and Hip

Hop music to date; and the attendees completed what was required of them, partying all night long. At 10 pm, people began showing up at the doors, mostly those that had not bought their tickets and came early just to secure their spots. Two hours later, the party began. AUBites covered the place showing delight in the music being played and enjoying the company of friends. Francis Abou Elias, an AUB freshman, claimed “The atmosphere really is crazy and the right club was chosen.” Rony Sawaya, a Business sopho-

more stated that “at the last Social Club party, the place was crammed. This time, it’s perfect.” By 2 am DJ Scarface played his last few songs and gave way to the resident DJ of Maison Blanche, and people began leaving the club.

The Social Club has once again proven to satisfy the students of AUB with a variety of different events and happenings; and so have the students have put trust into the AUB Social Club for making their nights memorable and their experiences unforgettable.

Outlook

Alumni news

March 8, 2011

WAAAAUB Second MENA Regional Meeting

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Young alumni and career prospects: Building a better path to a brighter future

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n March 11, the Worldwide Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut (WAAAUB) and AUB is organizing a session focused specifically on “Young alumni and career prospects: Building a better path to a brighter future.” Our goal is to bring AUB alumni and students together with business leaders and entrepreneurs in Lebanon and the MENA region to explore innovative ways to create employment opportunities for young AUB alumni today and in the future.

We have invited several speakers working in business and entrepreneurship in the region to participate in this event along with AUB faculty members and administrators.

More information on the event https://e-surveys.aub.edu.lb/menaregional/

Alumni profiles

Nadim Issa (BA ’00) After five years in journalism with Zawya, Dow Jones and Bloomberg News, Issa established a furniture company called Alinad (www.alinad. com), wrote a children’s book in Arabic called Hide & Seek Game, translated a book from English to Arabic on the history of Turkish cinema, and edited an Arabic book on strategic consulting. He is currently enjoying life in Lebanon with his wife Habi-

ba Fathallah (BA ’01, MA ’07) and their daughter. [nadim. issa(at)alinad.com] Laila Houri (BS ’05, ME ’08) Has worked as a data analyst in AUB’s Registrar’s Office, toured the world—Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Italy, Jordan, Dubai—(“the best was Thailand with all the yummy sushi and fascinating temples”), and earned a master’s degree in engineering management with a concentra-

tion in financial engineering.

She is currently working as a financial officer in FAFS, while she pursues an MBA. [laila.houri(at)gmail.com] Silva Kouyoumdjian (BS ’05) Currently lives in Zalka, Lebanon. With her degree in nutrition and dietetics, she began her career as a dietetic intern at Saint Georges Hospital, then joined Abela Frères Pharmaceuticals SAL as a medical represen-

tative, attending nutritional supplement conferences in Bangkok, Thailand and Hammamet, Tunisia sponsored by Nutricia Middle East. In 2009, Kouyoumdjian rejoined AUB as a fulltime graduate student to pursue a master’s in population health in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She’d be glad to hear from friends and former classmates. [spk01(at)aub. edu.lb] [Onersissian(at)hotmail.com]

Wissam Tawfic Doudar (MPH ’09) After earning a master’s in health management and policy, Doudar resumed his duties with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency as a field laboratory services officer with special duties related to health reforms in Lebanon. [w.doudar(at)unrwa. org]

One on one with AUB alumnus Tarek Atrissi

Tarek Atrissi (BA 2000)

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as established an International reputation as a graphic and typographic designer running a highly successful studio in the Netherlands. He teaches design all over the world and readily shares his ideas through his website and blog (www. atrissi.com).

What attracted you to Arab graphics and typographic design in the first place?

It was mainly my education at AUB that created the strong interest in Arabic graphic design and typography. I carried on this interest in Holland—where I focused on Arabic design and typography in digital media—and

later in New York where I focused specifically on type design.

AUB emphasized the Arabic side of typography and bilingual communication and encouraged us to create a unique contemporary Arabic design language that reflects the social, economic, and political environment of the Middle East today.

There was, however, relatively less done with Arabic typography, which was frustrating to see. This eventually became the core philosophy of my studio: starting from a specific focus on developing a contemporary Arabic graphic design language, and growing to a larger interest in cross-cultural design and communication.

What are the particular challenges facing an Arab graphic designer today?

The not-so-well documented history of Arabic design makes it harder for practicing designers to find references for inspiration and a clearly defined timeline of the profession’s progress.

The Arabic script is also complicated and poses more difficulties to work with in some aspects of design.

What inspires you?

In the past I have drawn a lot of my inspiration from my teachers, and today I find myself always inspired by my students—the upcoming design generation—who see things with fresh eyes. I am lucky to have the chance to work with students from different backgrounds through the various workshops and short courses I give in universities around the world. I am obsessed with documenting street signs, graffiti, and popular and political graphic street manifestations— which I always bring back into my design work in one way or another.

Which project, to date, has given you the most satisfaction?

If I had to choose, it would be designing the logo of Al-Ghad daily newspaper in Jordan in 2004. The newspaper was a newcomer then and I never anticipated that it would grow to become one of the most established brands in Jordan. The philosophy behind the design was to create contemporary, simple Arabic lettering that is bold and confident, and the opposite of the rather traditional calligraphic approach other newspapers adopt on their mastheads. The client accepted a

daring, different design proposal, and that helped AlGhad’s identity.

What has been the main personal challenge so far?

The fact that, at the end of the day, graphic design is a business. So actually it is the non-design aspect that is the most challenging.

What would be your dream project?

To create the full corporate identity, visual language, and branding for the Olympic games when they take place in the Arab world for the first time. It will be such a challenging task to conceptualize and visualize the identity for such an international and historic event but still give it a local flavor—to create an iconic visual identity from the Arab world that is as unique and as localized as that of the Mexico 1968 Olympics, designed half a century ago by the legendary Lance Wyman.

Inevitably I have to ask you how it felt to “design a nation”?

[Qatar] was a very exciting commission: branding an entire country! It is a country that holds onto its Arab roots but needed to express them

visually to a western audience. Nation branding is so rare an occurrence for any designer to experience, and there is not much training or research done on the subject.

I looked at what other countries have done in terms of nation branding during the last 30 years, and carefully analyzed why some were more successful than others.

The logo of Spain, developed

by Joan Miró, was certainly one of the examples. One thing I read that I found to be true is that specific things come to mind when mentioning a country—some negative and some positive. Take Colombia, for example, you think coffee, drugs, jungle, kidnapping—a mix of positive and negative images.

It will always be debatable if a logo can reflect an entire culture of a country, but it should present its positive image. I lived in Qatar for the entire project, just under a year, which helped me experience and understand the city and country both as a foreigner and a local, which resulted in the final, simple calligraphic approach that was adopted behind the branding of Qatar.

Reprinted from AUB Main Gate’s Fall 2010 issue.

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Entertainment

Movie Review

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ollowing Ziad Doueiri’s West Beirut (1998) and Josef Fares’s Zozo (2005), Georges Hachem’s Stray Bullet establishes itself as another Lebanese movie set in Arabic dialect dealing with the Civil War. Gripping, touching and true, Hachem’s movie is indeed as commendable as Doueiri’s works.

Set in the Northern suburb of Beirut in the summer of 1976, at the onset of the Lebanese Civil War, the movie sheds light on the atrocities and the impact of the unpleasant outcomes of the war on Noha (played by Nadine Labaki) and her family.

As Noha’s wedding to a man she does not love approaches, she is torn between her heart – Joseph (Rodrigue Suleiman), the man she loves – and her duty towards her family, represented by her mother (Hind Taher), brother (Badih Bou Chakra) and sister (Takla Chamoun). Unable to resolve the conflict, she decides to go on a ride with Joseph for the last time. Upon her re-

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Stray Bullet

turn, she has changed and so has her world.

Beautifully shot with warm colors, Stray Bullet transcends its humble production to authentically capture both the horror and splendor of the 70s in Lebanon. Labaki is as magnificent onscreen as when she is behind the camera. Her performance enables her to voice the dreadfulness of the war by those who were unable to articulate it, in particular women.

These were victims of both patriarchal society and convention even before becoming victims of the war. Deep and minimalist, the plot reveals the shattering effect of war on the country, families and most important, the individual.

As such, it is no surprise that the movie has won the first prize at the Dubai International Film Festival back in December 2010. Stray Bullet is indeed a movie which reminds us of the war in order to make sure we avoid it.

Book Review haled Hosseini’s intriguing first novel The Kite Runner brings out our curiosity about the world. Its themes are numerous, but the most important ones are family relationships, loyalty and friendship in the middle of war.

The novel is about a boy, Amir, who grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan. Being from the upper classes and belonging to the dominant Pashtun community in the country, Amin enjoys the luxury of education, material comfort and a lifetime friendship, that of the son of his father’s longtime Hazara servant, Hassan.

Twice during his lifetime, Amir’s relationship with Hassan is tested. The first time Amir fails to remain loyal to his friend. Hiding behind his class, Amir chooses the easiest path, but the scar of betrayal keeps hunting him. Wanting to show his

March 8, 2011

Maya Sfeir

Photo from Facebook.com

The Kite Runner

father than he can achieve something, Amin decides to take part in the annual winter kite tournament in Kabul. With the help of Hassan, who is an excellent kite runner, he ends up winning the tournament. Before running the last kite, Hassan tells him: “For you, a thousand times over”—an utterance which reveals his strong love for Amir. While on his way, Hassan meets Assef and his friends. Assef beats and rapes Hassan. Amir witnesses the incident, but does not do anything because he is scared. Nevertheless, he does not heal from betraying Hassan, even after he moves away from his homeland.

Amir is then offered a chance to redeem himself by an old friend, Rahim Khan. The second challenge is equally dangerous, and Amir recognizes the very real implications of his choice. This internal struggle is the core theme of

Outlook

the novel.

Amir is challenged as never before. He is handed the responsibility of the protection of a young boy that has already been scarred by the violence that has happened to him. With extreme compassion and surprising simplicity, Hosseini describes Amir’s impossible problem.

The Kite Runner is a page turner with a lot of complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal and forgiveness. It is an interesting book which teaches the importance of friendship, religion and culture. It also reveals that it is harder for us to forgive ourselves than to forgive others, simultaneously highlighting the sad and shocking consequences of war. In brief, it is a very fascinating book.

Aziza Khalil

Photo from Facebook.com

Outlook

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Out Loud

March 8, 2011

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What do you think of the Arab Revolutions and their impact on Lebanon?

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1) Lojine Kamel (Psychology): As an Egyptian, I’m extremely honored and proud of my country and of the arab world as a whole and I think now is the time to be proud of being arab and to invest in the Arab world expecially in the economy. Hopefully it will trickle its way doewnhere. So far the fact that we don’t have a concrete government nor a single governing entity has kind of affected I guess people’s take on the revolution but I hope that people get the message and start investing it into the lives and realizing that democracy applies everywhere and not just in the west.

2) Tatyana Hawat (Biology): The revolutions are beautiful and necessary but I don’t think they can happen here because we don’t have the same problems in Lebanon.

3) Furat El Hatab: It will affect Lebanon because of the political stuff and the way people are dealing with the political issues. I think it affects.

4) Jad Rahme (Business Administration): Huge domino effect in the Arab world going from Tunisia, Lybia, Egypt, Bahrain and all those stuff. Those kinds of stuff won’t happen in Lebanon ‘cause we’re not really in a dictatorial government or we don’t have a dictatorial president or those kinds of stuff. We’re not in a real democracy, but we’re not in a perfect dictatorship.

5) Malek Teffaha (Computer Science): Basically, it is an excellent change to see what is going on in the Arab world because the regime that has been ruling the Arab world for more than 40 years has been finally changing. It’s impact on Lebanon- it’s actually quite funny that overnight Lebanon became the most stable country in the Arab world but in terms of its effect on Lebanon, I don’t see a direct affect other than what the people here might think that they can make a difference when it comes to the power of the people. In the end, what happened in Tunisia and consequently in Egypt, Bahrain and everything was because people actually realized that they can make the difference and it’s not the government that makes the difference.

6) Karinia Khoury: I completely support the Arab revolutions and I really feel happy that they’re getting their freedom these days but I don’t see much of of an impact that’s it’s having on Lebanon. Maybe not as much as in other arab countries and I would really like Lebanon to more with them and perhaps to start a revolution of their own. Well not that much! But follow in their footsteps.

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7) Jamal Awar: There’s a momentum. The Arab revolutions around us, in the region, have built momentum and you can see the domino effect taking place in many arab countries and middle eastern countries. It’s impact on Lebanon is more like we’re cheering for something right now, just like we cheer for brazil in the Mondial. We like excitement, you know. So nothing’s going to happen.

8) Mohamad Chamas (Business Administration): I think that the Arab Revolutions are based on revolting against tyranny from the government or the people that are governing the countries. Whereas in Lebanon we have a democratic system and sadly, the people that are governing us are being elected by the people. So if you’re trying to revolt against someone you’ve already elected, there’s no point. Just do it in the next elections.

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9) Dara El Masri (Majorless): Should give them ideas to revolt.

10) Left to right: Noura Dajani & Jude Sakakini (Majorless): No comment!

11) Patrick Eid (Mathematics): I think it’s about time that the arab people hold their leaders accountable and we should be conscious about our leaders’ own mistakes. However, we should focus on our real problems as well.

12) Left to righ: Rakan Imad Mallak (Majorless) & Jamal Chaar (Majorless): I think the Arab Revolution has a huge impact on Lebanon because it’s giving the idea of freedom to Lebanese people and giving them like the choice of removing the sectarian governmental system that we have in Lebanon I think we will have revolution sometime soon. (All photos by Mohammad Azzam)

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Sports

March 8, 2011

Outlook

Exclusive for AUB students (outsiders cannot join). These training sessions are taking place twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the Activity Room at Charles Hostler Student Center. Our trainer Coach Bahaa El Fakhih, is the world champion in kickboxing. Each student is required to pay a fee of 100,000 L.L per month in order to be part of the club. For more info, contact Bahaa El Fakih at 03/052709.

League Match

Date

Volley Ball (Women)

Scoreboard Location

Teams

Score

Tuesday March 1, 2011

AUB

AUB vs.LAU (Beirut)

2-0 (25-11) for AUB

Volley Ball (Men)

Tuesday March 1, 2011

AUB

AUB vs. LAU (Jbeil)

2-0 (25-17) for AUB

Basketball Men

Wednesday March 2, 2011

AUB

AUB vs. USEK

83-99 for USEK

Handball

Thursday March 3, 2011

AUB

AUB vs. USJ

29-21 for AUB

Swimming Men 100m IM

AUB

AUB-USJ-BAU-LAU-Haigazian-Balamand

Top 5 AUB

Swimming Women 100m IM

AUB

AUB-USJ-BAU-LAU-Haigazian-Balamand 1st place USJ 2nd-4th AUB

AUB

AUB-USJ-BAU-LAU-Haigazian-Balamand

AUB

AUB-USJ-BAU-LAU-Haigazian-Balamand

Swimming Men 100m Freestyle

Friday March 4, 2011

Swimming Women 100m Freestyle

Top 5 for AUB 1st place USJ 2nd-4th AUB

Football Men

January 15, 2011

International College

AUB vs. LAU.

4-1 for AUB

Rugby ‘s Men

Friday March 4, 2011

AUB Hostler centre

AUB vs. UOB

28-28 (Tie)

USEK: Université Saint-Esprit De Kaslik, LAU: Lebanese American University, UOB: University of Balamand, BAU: Beirut Arab University, USJ: Université Saint-Joesph de Beyrouth

AUB Departments Play for Health medals distribution ceremony last Thursday March 3 at the CHSC Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Left to right: Dr. Ghassan Hamadeh (Chairman of the Committee on University Wellness), Mr. Samer Maamari (Vice President for Facility Planning & Design Unit), Mr. James Radulski (Vice President for Human Resources), Ghaleb Halimi Director of University Sports and Dr. Talal Nezameddin Dean of Student Affairs) (Photo courtesy of Dina Mahmasani)

Mens Volleyball Tournement AUB VS. LAU Jbeil, Score: 25-17 for AUB (Photo by Mohammad Azzam)

Outlook

Viewpoint

March 8, 2011

Opinion

Editor’s Corner Sectarianism

Change in Lebanon

Plight not might

Rami Diab Editor-in-Chief

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oday, on my way to AUB passing by Sanayeh public park, I witnessed three modestly sized tents were demonstrators had been spending the night after yesterday’s antisectarian movement with the a banner overhead that read “down with the sectarian system.” Then, only minutes later, I noticed yet another overlying banner, only this time just across from AUB’s main gate. This banner has taken refuge there for at least a week now and read “‫لبنان يفنى‬ ‫ ”باحلزبية الدينية‬or in other words, “Lebanon perishes under sectarianism.” It got me wondering just how long we’ve been calling for separating religion from the state. Evidently enough, we’ve been discussing a secular, nonsectarian state for years now, the problem therefore is not with speech, but with implementation. Why should some people enjoy the privileges of better job opportunities while others suffer the heartache of unemployment and lower-end jobs some may ask? But sectarianism is far more than just that isn’t it?

As a constant threat to nationalism and generic patriotism, religious sectarianism is constantly placing us at odds with one another, spelling out our differences rather than celebrating them under some boarder heading. How can we prosper together as a nation under such terms?

In Ameen Rihani’s words,

“ And should we be laid asunder by religion, let us be united by nationalism, for God does not want to see us divided” The Rihani Essays 2010, p.35 (translated

by Ms. Rola Baalbaki).

“Let us forget religion in our trade; shun trade in political and literary meetings; and let us kneel in worship of our God and give him glory... and divide only to go to temples” The Rihani Essays (2010), p.36 (translated by Ms. Rola Baalbaki). Indeed, if we are to parade in our religions as we do in our garments, then truth be told, we were better of naked.

Fouad Badaoui Senior Staff Writer

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hile the rest of the Arab World is freeing itself from the chains that made it “Arab,” we Lebanese are suddenly noticing that giant piece of humble pie wedged in our throats. We have a habit of considering ourselves slightly superior to our neighbors.

Some would go as far as saying “I am not Arab, I am Lebanese.” Aside from the lack of historical and genetic backing to such a claim, and as Arabs everywhere else gather behind the banners of democracy, job opportunities, freedom of speech and dignity, today, I would rather say

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nless you live in a box, there’s no way you could have gone about your business without hearing all that talk on revolution and change. First Tunis happened, but that’s a bit far from home and we were studying for finals anyway, so it’s okay if you weren’t that interested. But then Egypt overthrew Mubarak and that’s right in our neighborhood, and now Libya’s up in flames. Personally, I may not know much about politics but when Mubarak resigned and the people started celebrating with all their hearts, I’ll be damned if can’t admit that I was crying like

a little baby. It’s not empathy exactly, maybe a bit of envy if anything, but mostly I kept thinking: “It worked!”

People, normal citizens, young university students just like you and me, actually made a difference. I blame Lebanon for my usually pessimistic outlook on things, but all of a sudden this gave me hope. I kept wondering if maybe, just maybe, that can happen here. But then I remembered that every other house has arms and everyone seems to love shooting randomly up in the air (even though what goes up must come down). And, more importantly, we don’t have one dictator, we have a couple dozen “za3ims.” We have family names that have been in office for a hundred years, that’s not even dictatorship, its good old-fashioned feudal monarchy.

Despite the fact that we spend half our time whining about things like unemployment and “wasta,” when we need something we have no problem getting a “wasta” ourselves. It’s only wrong when you’re not the one doing it, and it’s only unfair when someone else’s “wasta” ruins your chances. We spend half our time complaining

about this politician or that, and then when it comes time for elections we crawl back to them on our hands and knees even though clearly they haven’t done much to change things.

I’m not siding with one party or another, that’s the whole point: we shouldn’t have to! We shouldn’t have to go through ten “wastas” and twenty appointments just to get our voice heard. The young people in Egypt did it all on their own, using Facebook, of all things. We know this country’s heading nowhere, that’s why every year the majority of AUB graduates try to find jobs outside of the country, and that’s why there are more Lebanese outside of Lebanon than there are in it. The overwhelming reality is that this country needs fixing!

Everyone keeps repeating, “Nothing will change, nothing will change.” Well I’m sure people in Tunis and Egypt thought that too at one point or another, and look at them now. We need to stop relying on the higher-ups and take some personal responsibility. Take charge of our own lives… wouldn’t that be a nice change?

just the opposite: “I am not Lebanese, but I am proud to be Arab.”

In truth, no one is Lebanese anymore. There is no national belonging, no sense of civic engagement, and all forms of patriotism come under confessional concepts (“the haven of Christians in the Middle East,” “the resistance to Israel” and so on) with ties to the civil war (“we fought the invaders here,” “my cousin was shot at this checkpoint” and so on). In addition, we have been trampling in squares and waving flags since God knows when! In contrast, Tunisia, Egypt and other places were absolutely devoid of any form of demonstration of public discontent

just a couple of months ago!

But now, they are on their way to building the most modern and reformist constitutions. What changed? And why is that very same thing taking so much time and effort in Lebanon, with barely any progress? Can we even consider it progress? Are we actually satisfied with a status quo that provides little social security, electricity, public services and the worst Internet on Earth, or are we just compromising due to the fear of another Civil War? Others have taken the leap of faith. But the Lebanese challenge is much harder: what we need to conquer is not oppression, but our own social instincts and our fears.

In a vertically divided and extremely diverse society, cohesion is impossible without a drastic change of mentality. A Tunisian is Tunisian, an Egyptian is Egyptian, a Bahraini is Bahraini, but a Lebanese is _____. The first thing people want to know about you is your confession.

This applies to job opportunities, potential dates, moving to a new neighborhood and so on. We still cling to the blanket of sectarianism like an overgrown, insecure toddler with developmental issues.

The only question that remains: do we have the courage to change ourselves, or do we just not care about our nation that much?

Dalia Hosn Staff Writer

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Proud to be Arab

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Viewpoint

March 8, 2011

Opinion

Outlook

Three pizzas, one Lebanon Amal Al Dahouk

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onight, on January 24 to be exact, I experienced political turbulence in Lebanon and as a result I decided to write this down. Political instability is no stranger to Lebanon, so why tonight you might ask?

Why did I decide to write down how I felt about the commotion going on tonight?

It’s strange really, I mean let’s face it! If you are a university student this is a night where you are probably pulling your hair trying to study for your finals; if you are a Lebanese or residing in Lebanon you are probably scared, confused or just disgusted by the political situation; if you

are a Tunisian you are probably spending the night wondering about tomorrow; if you are a Palestinian, well, you are probably hoping they will let you get to work, and then they will let you go back home. So you see tonight is not really a great night to celebrate the start of anything, let alone the surfacing of my writing skills…

But tonight I witnessed and experienced something so simple, yet so touching and inspirational, I felt I found the secret ingredient I was looking for to start writing again…

Tonight, if you were between Bliss Street and Ain Al Mray-

seh, at the American University of Beirut, on the third floor of the Business School, you would have been part of real Lebanon (vs. the nominal one for those economically minded, or the publicized one for the news stalkers).

You would have gathered with eight Lebanese graduate students and a Lebanese professor on blue and orange couches. Each one of us belonged to a different religious sect, believed in different values, came from, lived or were raised in a different part of Lebanon, if not the world; yet we didn’t talk politics. Blocked roads surrounded us; yet we didn’t analyze

Red Cross blood drive Ali Faraj

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he questionnaire given by the Red Cross on their monthly blood donation campaign does not target the right and fair questions. First of all, you are asked if you had engaged in a homosexual activity; if you are “courageous” to the extent of saying yes, you are not allowed to donate blood anymore. Second of all, this action implies that any homosexual must have an STD. I don’t understand how the Red Cross, and AUBMC more generally, have this wrong stereotypical medical attitude towards homosexuals.

First of all, homosexuals might or might not be more susceptible to STDs than heterosexuals, but this does not mean that a heterosexual donor is evidently STD free. The risk of an STD being transmitted is related to not using protection, and not to one’s sexuality. Second of all, would the Red Cross and AUBMC accept that a homo-

sexual donates his/her blood if there were no other donors? Would the patient in need eventually die because simply homosexuals can’t donate?

The Red Cross and AUBMC evidently test the blood for STD before transmitting it to the patient. Seeing as it is a medical necessity, I don’t see the reason why the donor’s sexuality is of Red Cross and AUBMC’s business. When I asked a Red Cross member during the blood drive, she answered saying: why would we? It’s more probable they do have an STD, so why spend time and money testing their blood for nothing? This is a very interesting answer, and we might have understood this if AUB was actually a non-profit organization.

Ali Faraj is a Computer and Communications Engineering major at AUB

of Lebanese, loving each other, caring about one another and sharing three pizzas.

This is the real Lebanon, this my Lebanon and this is the Lebanon you can still find at different streets and corners if you look hard enough, beyond the political mambo jumbo of tonight...

Amal Al Dahouk is a graduate student at the Olayan S. Suleiman School of Business at AUB. The original script of this article can be found at http://whenhopespeaks. blogspot.com as first produced on January 24, 2011

Opinion

Letter to the Editor Transfusing stereotypes

the situation. Distress sang through our cell phones; yet we didn’t exchange our political opinions. We all simply ate pizza! We sat there, joked, laughed, shared stories, came up with a new slogan for Domino’s and ate pizza... Every once in a while, we made a call to make sure our friends made it home safely.

The pizza was yummy. It was consumed fast, and our little gathering soon ended.

Our professor (God bless his heart), kept note of where we lived and asked those who lived further than Hamra to miss call him when they get home. Tonight, I saw one Lebanon, filled with all kinds

You’ve got the power Wissam Nuwayhid

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s it not the same pure rain that descends from the skies and falls upon garbage emitting foul smells that which comes down on flowers and scatters there fragrance?

Is it not the same rays from the sun which shine upon a stone that remains dull and yet shine on a ruby that glows with a splendid red aura?

Is it not the same flower nectar that the bees and the fruit flies drink, where the fruit flies do not utilize it and bees transform it into a golden honey?

Is it not the same oxygen in the air that both Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Ghandi once breathed, with Hitler converting it to hate while Ghandi translating it to love?

Is not the same seed which we plant in arid soil and fertile soil that which remains dead within the arid soil while it sprouts into a beautiful tree in the fertile soil?

Is it not the same holy text which Prophet Muhammad recited, the text which Us-

sama bin Laden recites today? That which Bin Laden uses to move people from light to darkness and Prophet Muhammad has used to move people from darkness to light?

At every moment, we have all been given an indefinite number of potential paths to tread. Some of these paths lead upwards, raising the person higher and higher.

Other paths plateau, neither benefiting the person nor harming her. While the third type of paths, drag the person to the lowest of states, which is ever descending.

Within us is both potential for arid soil and fertile soil.

When we concentrate on fertility we become fertile and our hearts become a colorful garden, while if we focus on aridity, our hearts transform into a thorny desert. It is in our hands to collapse our potential realities, either into light or into darkness.

Wissam Nuwayhid is a History major at AUB .

Brought to you by the Palestinian Cultural Club (PCC)

Outlook

Out of the Box

March 8, 2011

Crossword puzzle: Lord of The Rings Theme

The Outlook team Chairperson

Talal Nizameddin

Faculty Advisor

Cleo Cacoulidis

Responsible Director

Antonios Francis

Editor-in-Chief

Rami Diab

Associate Editor

Timmy Malkoun

Editor at Large

Yahia Hamade

Arabic Editor

Mariam El Ali

Photography Editor

Salim Batlouni

Layout Director

John Hajjar

Members at Large

Samer Bu Jawdeh Giovanny Reaidi

News Executives

Heather Jaber Maya Sfeir Mostafa Fadlallah

Webmaster

Mohamad Al Medawar

Business Managers

Sally Khalifeh Lara Traboulsi

Staff Writers Khodor Abu Daya Nader Al Ahmadieh Fouad Badaoui Caterina Belardi Amir Bitar Jackie Daoud Sarah Al Dirani Edrees Elrachidi Mark Francis Dalia Hosn Elie El Khoury Aziza Khalil Yasmin Fansa Yumna Ghandour Maryam Hoballah

Lynn Itani Anis Kadado Tala Kardas Wajiha Jurdhi Kheir Marie Nakhoul Rita Obeid Rami Panayoti Yasmine Saab Joseph Saba Amer Sare Mohammad Yaghi Emile Zankoul Rayane Zahreddine Lama Zakharia

Photographers Mohamad Alameh Tariq Buhilaigah Dima Hajj Nadi Nassar

Lotfi Al Salah Wael Salem Antoine Salloum Mohammad Azzam

Cartoonist

Deedee El Jilani Jamila Mehio

Outlook is a weekly publication of the American University of Beirut (AUB) and represents the voice of the student body.

It is an independent, non-affiliated publication that favors no ethnic, religious, or political group. All columns, articles, and reports are the property of Outlook and do not necessarily represent the views of Outlook or the AUB community.

Outlook welcomes all contributions. Authors please include full name, major, ranking, and contact information for verification. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written consent of Outlook and/or higher authorities. Outlook reserves the right to edit all material. © Outlook 1949

13

ACROSS: 3. Who travels under the name “Mr. Underhill?”

5. What is the name of the village where The Prancing Pony is located?

8. What was the name of King Theoden’s horse?

9. Which character is portrayed by Liv Tyler in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings?

11. Who wrote the words “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost” about Aragorn?

12. Which city is also known as The White City?

14. Which creature kills Gandalf?

15. Who was originally known as Sméagol?

DOWN: 1. Who was Denethor’s (the last ruling steward of Godorfavorite son?

2. Who is also known as Wormtonge?

4. How many rings of power are there?

6. Who is also known as the

Note to player: Questions adressing different identities have only first names as answers.

River-daughter?

7. What is the elvish word for “friend?”

10. Which member of the fellowship of the ring bears an

axe?

13. What is the name of The Sword Reforged?

Old-time shapers of AUB: A brief journey through time

“

Emile Zankoul Staff Writer

W

here are you heading to?”

“I have an English class in Fisk. What about you?”

“I have a break, I think I’m going to spend it on West or probably study in Jafet.”

Fisk, West, Jafet, etc. are the names of AUB buildings, names we say numerous times every day. Have you ever wondered why our university’s buildings named in that manner were? Or who were those people whose names still resound until today? I know I have. This is why I took some of my time to undertake a brief research concerning this issue ,so I thought I’d share it with you in case you didn’t know.

Here goes: * Bliss Hall: Daniel Bliss (1823-1916) was the founder of AUB. He first arrived to Lebanon in 1856 and he died on campus in 1917. He founded AUB in 1866 and was named President that same

year. Also, he is the greatgreat grandfather of current President Peter Dorman. * Fisk Hall: “Completed in 1900-02 and named after Pliny Fisk, an early American missionary who arrived at Beirut July 10, 1823 and died two years later. It was the headquarters of the School of Commerce at one time, and later was used mainly for men’s dormitories. The Hall was remodelled in 1960 and is presently used for classes and offices of some departments of the School of Arts and Sciences” (quoted from AUB website www.aub.edu.lb). * West Hall: Robert Haldane West (1862-1906) worked in AUB for 23 years. He taught mathematics, philosophy and astronomy, also filling administrative positions. He was a very devoted teacher. The West Hall building was completed in 1914. * Jafet Library: Nami Jafet (1860-1923) was an AUB student. He graduated in 1882 receiving a BA degree with distinction. That same year,

his father, who used to teach in Thalathat Akmar School, died so he took his place and taught in that school for 11 consecutive years. He then emigrated to Brazil where he became a businessman. Despite that, he said “Commerce has indeed a special fascination, but the fascination of learning is still greater.”

1921, he went back to Lebanon were he contributed a lot to education. * Penrose Hall: Stephen Penrose (1908-1954) taught physics in AUB from 1928 to 1931.

He became AUB President in 1948. He worked really hard to secure financing for the university. In fact, one night he worked late then slept to never wake up again, giving his life to AUB. There is also an AUB award holding his name, “The Penrose Award”. * Bechtel: Bechtel is the name of an engineering company. * SRB: Acronym for “Scientific Research (Laboratory) Building”

‫اوتلوك‬

‫اذار ‪2011 ,8‬‬

‫عامر الص ّريع‬ ‫كاتب صحفي‬

‫الهزَبر األسدي‬ ‫حدثنا‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ليث مربنة ِ‬ ‫للسو ْق‪ ،‬ألفطر‬ ‫نزلت‬ ‫قال‪:‬‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بيضا مسلو ْق‪ ،‬وإذ شاهدت امرأ ًة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫من العمر تبلغ العشرين ربي ًعا‪،‬‬ ‫ومن الدهرِ ظفرت وجها ً بدي ًعا‪،‬‬ ‫اخلالق اكتست جماال ً‬ ‫ومن‬ ‫مني ًعا‪ .‬تُقل ِ ُد مشيها الغزال ُن‪،‬‬ ‫وتسر ُق صوتها األحلا ُن‪ ،‬ومن‬ ‫خدها اجلوري ألوا ُن‪ .‬وفي املقلتني‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫والشعر شال ُل‬ ‫بحارٌ وخلجا ُن‪،‬‬ ‫قمح ير ُعد لط ّياته الوجدا ُن‪،‬‬ ‫ومن ٍ احمل ّيا شرب اجلما ُل‪ ،‬وقال إني‬ ‫أب َد الدهرِ ظمآ ُن‪.‬‬ ‫فدنوت من ذلك اخمللوق دنو‬ ‫الليث من الغزا ْل‪ ،‬أأعرفها؟ أم‬ ‫ضرب من اخليا ْل‪ ،‬أظنّها‬ ‫ذاك‬ ‫ٌ‬

‫نورا أنور سوبره‬

‫إذا سكت الزمان عن املظالم‬ ‫وعميت األبصار عن الوقائع‪،‬‬ ‫تك ّلم القلم‪ .‬تك ّلم ليترجم‬ ‫معاناة شعب عانى من االحتالل‬ ‫ستني سنة وما زال‪ .‬تك ّلم‬ ‫لينقل ما عجزت الكاميرات عن‬ ‫التقاطه واملرء عن رؤيته‪ .‬عندما‬ ‫يتك ّلم القلم وحتكي الكلمات‬ ‫ال شيء يسكتها‪ .‬هي أقوى من‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫كل سالح‪ ،‬ألنها كلمة احلقّ ‪ ،‬هي‬ ‫ما نحارب به عندما تنفد منّا‬ ‫الصواريخ والقذائف‪ .‬رمبا لن‬ ‫سنتقدم‪،‬‬ ‫يتراجع العد ّو‪ ،‬لكنّنا‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫و رمبا لن نقتل منه جنديًا واح ًدا‪،‬‬ ‫نفوسا‪،‬‬ ‫لكنّنا سنحيي فينا‬ ‫ً‬ ‫نفوسا غائب ًة نائمة‪،‬كانت‪،‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫لكنّنا سنوقظها‪.‬‬ ‫العالم اليوم ينظر إلى غ ّزة بعني‬

‫الزهراء ماجد‬

‫هل سألت نفسك في أحد األيام‬ ‫تعريف يالئم املصطلح‬ ‫عن‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫اليومي «األلم»؟ وهل يحقُّ لنا‬ ‫أن نتأ ّلم لفقد أصغر األشياء؟‬ ‫ومن نحن ومن هو هذا الكائن‬ ‫املصطنع‪ ...‬األلم؟!‬ ‫يولد اإلنسان وفي عينيه ألف‬ ‫دمعة حتاوطها آالف التساؤالت‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫يتنشقها‬ ‫ني يذرف احلياة وملّا‬ ‫جن ٌ‬ ‫ح ًقا‪ .‬رحيقٌ سا ّم يق ّويه على‬ ‫محاربة أيامه القادمة‪ .‬متا ًما‬ ‫كما هو جهاز املناعة‪ ،‬ما إن‬ ‫يواجه لدغة خارج ّية حتاربه‬ ‫وتؤذيه‪ ،‬حتى يرميها بق ّوة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫املركز على كيف ّيات‬ ‫جسده‬

‫املقام ُة َ‬ ‫الكيد ّي ُة‬

‫كوثرأً‪ ،‬أميرة بادية الرما ْل‪ ،‬كنّا‬ ‫جيران ًا حني كنّا فوق عراعير‬ ‫تفكير سألتها‬ ‫اجلبا ْل‪ ،‬وبال‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ظننت‬ ‫في احلا ْل‪ :‬أهذا أنت؟‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫لقيانا محا ْل‪ .‬أجابت وقد‬ ‫رأسها‪ ،‬حزين ًة حطمت‬ ‫أطرقت َ‬ ‫فأسها‪ ،‬وملّا عن حالها سألتُها‬ ‫َ‬ ‫بأسها‪ .‬ر ّدت‪ ،‬وقد‬ ‫ر ّدت‪ ،‬كاسر ًة َ‬ ‫استعارت الدمو ُع صوت َها‪ ،‬وقد‬ ‫كأسها‪:‬‬ ‫شرب العلقم َ‬ ‫جاءنا في األمس ٌ‬ ‫رجل‪ ،‬قد بلغ‬ ‫من العمر أرذله‪ ،‬ومن اجلمال‬ ‫أقبحه‪ ،‬ومن اخلُلُق أحقره‪ .‬مشيه‬ ‫بطريقْ ‪ ،‬وصوته نقيقْ ‪ ،‬وصراخه‬ ‫نهيقْ ‪ ،‬وسعاله عريقْ ‪ .‬ميشي‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫وكرش قد تد ّلى من ُه‪ ،‬وقد أخذ‬ ‫الطبل الصوت عن ُه‪ .‬أما عرعرتُه‬ ‫فصلع ٌة‪ ،‬كصحن النحاس‪ ،‬لها‬ ‫ملع ٌة‪ .‬تب ّرأ احلُسن منه‪ ،‬وقال إ ّن‬ ‫ذاك العجوز لبدع ٌة‪.‬‬

‫جسمه موسوع ٌة طبية‪،‬‬ ‫وخزان ُة دوائه صيدلية‪ ،‬ال تعتب‬ ‫فقلب‬ ‫األسقام في رسمه‪،‬‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫وجلطات وذبح ٌة صدرية‪ ،‬وسك ٌر‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫وشقيق ٌة وشحو ٌم ثالثية‪ ،‬وزكا ٌم‬ ‫وحمى ورجف ٌة عصبية‪.‬‬ ‫واجترار‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ه‬ ‫كنعيق الغراب كال ُم‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫الباب‬ ‫وصرير‬ ‫الدواب طعا ُم ُه‪،‬‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫أنغا ُم ُه‪ ،‬وفي الفهم اجتازته‬ ‫أنعا ُم ُه‪ ،‬من وصله تب ّرأت أرحا ُم ُه‪،‬‬ ‫ومن احلُسن خابت أحال ُم ُه‪،‬‬ ‫وك ُثرت في البال أوها ُم ُه‪.‬‬ ‫دق بابنا‪ ،‬وقد طرق َملَ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫املوت‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫في‬ ‫ا‬ ‫د‬ ‫مجد‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ة‬ ‫زوج‬ ‫يريدني‬ ‫باب َ ُه‪،‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُسيل‬ ‫شباب َ ُه‪ ،‬باملال تزخ ُر جياب ُ ُه‪ ،‬لت‬ ‫ولي لعاب َ ُه‪ .‬فعريسي األَمور ْ‬ ‫من ِّ‬ ‫بشيكات وجواهر‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ه‬ ‫نفس‬ ‫زين‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫تواري‬ ‫نحس ُه‪ .‬فنصف احلي بات‬ ‫َ‬ ‫يأس ُه‪.‬‬ ‫له‪ ،‬ورصيد املصرف جاز َ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫وعزرائيل ونكي ٌر يتأهبون‪،‬‬ ‫وأنك ٌر‬

‫يلعب‪ ،‬فمحا ٌل‬ ‫للطرنيب‬ ‫لالعب‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫أن يكونوا ثالث ًة‪ ،‬وحبيبي يأبى‬ ‫ويتجنب‪ .‬لكن أهلي أحبوا مالَ ُه‪،‬‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫أني‬ ‫رغم‬ ‫أص ُغ ُر عيالَ ُه‪.‬‬ ‫بدهر‪ْ ،‬‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫خدها‬ ‫ثم قالت ودمعة على ّ‬ ‫تكرج‪ ،‬وصوتها من البكاء‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫يحشرج‪ :‬كتابنا يوم اخلميس‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫يكتب‪ ،‬واسمنا بني العرسان‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫يدرج‪ ،‬أال يا من فضحت له‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫أسراري‪ ،‬وكشفت عنه أستاري‪،‬‬ ‫رافضا‬ ‫ويا قابالً حني إنكاري‪ ،‬ويا‬ ‫ً‬ ‫عند إصراري‪ ،‬افعل ما كنت‬ ‫تفعل‪ ،‬وأقل عثرة األحرارِ‪ ،‬فإن‬ ‫أنت من ذاك البوم خلصتني‪،‬‬ ‫دعوت لك في الليل واألسحارِ‪،‬‬ ‫الكالم‪ ،‬وثوبًا من‬ ‫وألبستك‬ ‫ثوب ح ّل ِ‬ ‫فتك باخلالق‬ ‫أجود األشعارِ‪،‬‬ ‫أترضى جيزتي من ذلك اخلتيار ِ‪.‬‬ ‫فتذكر الليثُ‬ ‫احلب القدميْ‪،‬‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫فتأهب‬ ‫العظيم‪،‬‬ ‫وراع ُه ال َو ْج ُل‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َ‬

‫واحدة فقط‪ ،‬عني ترى أ ّن املقاومة‬ ‫هي سبب ّ‬ ‫كل ما يحصل في‬ ‫أما العني األخرى‪،‬‬ ‫فلسطني‪ّ .‬‬ ‫العني املغلقة‪ ،‬ففيها صور توالت‬ ‫ستني سنة‪ ،‬صور فظيعة‪ ،‬كانت‬ ‫اسرائيل سببها عندما احت ّلت‬ ‫فلسطني‪ ،‬تطبي ًقا لوعد بلفور‪.‬‬ ‫إسرائيل هي التي اعتدت عندما‬ ‫استوطنت أرض املقدس‪ ،‬وليس‬ ‫اجملاهدين الذين يدافعون عن‬ ‫أرضهم‪ .‬أأصبحت اآلن إسرائيل‬ ‫هي الدولة وفلسطني ال وجود‬ ‫لها؟‬ ‫أإسرائيل هي الدولة عندما‬ ‫تنتهك ّ‬ ‫كل بند من بنود اإلعالن‬ ‫العاملي حلقوق اإلنسان؟ أهي‬ ‫الدولة أم العصابة عندما‬ ‫تقصف منشآت األمم املتحدة؟‬ ‫أم تكون دولة عندما تستعمل‬ ‫األسلحة احملظورة دول ًيا؟‬ ‫وليست املصيبة في كونها‬

‫دولة أو عدم كونها فحسب‪،‬‬ ‫بل هي في كونها دولة تسعى‬ ‫للسالم! فمنذ متى‪ ،‬تكون‬ ‫دولة لديها أكبر ترسانة حربية‬ ‫وأقوى األسلحة في العالم‪،‬‬ ‫ثم تعتدي على البشر‪ ،‬دولة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تسعى للسالم؟ هل الدولة‬ ‫التي تسعى للسالم تنقض‬ ‫مواثيق السالم واالتفاقيات‬ ‫والهدنات؟ أ َ َقتْل األطفال الع ّزل‬ ‫النيام والنساء والشيوخ‪،‬‬ ‫طريقة حتقيق السالم؟‪ .‬فإذا كان‬ ‫مفهوم السالم يتغ ّير مع الوقت‪،‬‬ ‫أخبروني‪ ،‬حتى أعرف كيف‬ ‫أتك ّيف مع هذه املتغ ّيرات!!‪.‬‬ ‫ثم إ ّن ّ‬ ‫احلكام في معظم الدول‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫العربية يُدينون ما يحصل في‬ ‫غ ّزة لكنّهم اليجرؤون على‬ ‫واألمة العربية‬ ‫التحرك‪ ،‬هم‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫جمعاء ال يؤمنون بأنفسهم‬ ‫وبأنّهم يستطيعون مقاومة‬

‫العد ّو‪ .‬يعتبرون َّ‬ ‫كل ما يقومون‬ ‫به ليس ذا أهمية بالنسبة‬ ‫الفلسطيني‪ ،‬لكن‬ ‫للشعب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫احلقيقة أ ّن من األمور التي‬ ‫يحتاجها الفلسطينيون هذه‬ ‫املعنوي‪ ،‬وهذا‬ ‫األيام هو الدعم‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫نقدمه لهم‪.‬‬ ‫أقل ما ميكننا أن ّ‬ ‫علينا أن نؤمن بأنفسنا وبقدرتنا‬ ‫على تغيير األشياء‪ ،‬كما علينا‬ ‫أن نزيد من إمياننا بديننا أل ّن ذلك‬ ‫هو أكثر ما يخشاه عد ّونا‪.‬‬

‫النهوض واالستمرارية‪ ،‬فتزرع‬ ‫فيه هذه األخيرة روح النضال‬ ‫والتحمل لكي يواجه‬ ‫والصبر‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بقلب كاحلجر‪.‬‬ ‫القادم‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫إنّنا نتأ ّلم عندما نفقد أصغر‬ ‫األشياء‪ ،‬مهما كان حجمها‬ ‫أو ثمنها فاأللم مرادف للحياة‬ ‫ومشتقاتها من عبارات اخلذالن‬ ‫والتخاذل‪ .‬نحن نفقد العزيز‬ ‫فنأسف للرحيل‪ .‬ولكن إذا‬ ‫بحثنا عن س ّر هذا األلم جند أ ّن‬ ‫سبب الوجع هو طول االشتياق‬ ‫وبعد املسافة التي تفصل بيننا‪.‬‬ ‫ونحن نفقد املركز أو النجاح‬ ‫لوقت معي‪ .‬ولكن سبب األلم‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫هو وهم الوقوف عند دائرة‬ ‫الفشل والتي ميكن تفاديها‬ ‫بالتحليق إلى دوائر أخرى‪ .‬ونحن‬

‫نفقد أنفسنا‪ .‬نستسلم‬ ‫للحياة‪ ،‬نستسلم للخذالن‪،‬‬ ‫يسيطر علينا احلزن كأنّه لون‬ ‫سرمدي مزخرف باالنتظار وطول‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫األمل املشؤوم‪.‬‬ ‫ونحن نفقد أصغر األشياء‪..‬‬ ‫كأسناننا‪ ،‬نتأ ّلم لفقد أعصابنا‪.‬‬ ‫ميكننا أن جنعل من هذا األلم‬ ‫حر ّية لقيودٍ وضعناها لقوانني‬ ‫احلياة‪ ..‬لذلك عندما ّ‬ ‫نركز على‬ ‫تفاصيل األسنان وكيف ّية‬ ‫انسجامها مع بعضها‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫أ ّن ّ‬ ‫أدق التغ ّيرات بها ميكن أن‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تحُ دث تشابك ّ‬ ‫الفك‪،‬‬ ‫لكل ترتيب‬ ‫ميكننا أن نشابه هذه احلقيقة‬ ‫باحلياة‪ .‬فنحن عندما نح ّرر‬ ‫أنفسنا من قيودٍ ُفرضت علينا‬ ‫بغير إرادتنا ونحارب الفشل بكل‬

‫إلى غ ّزة‬

‫وجهة نظر‬

‫الدولي‪،‬‬ ‫اعذرني أ ّيها اجملتمع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫إن كنت أعيش في عالم آخر‪.‬‬ ‫فإنّني في عاملي أعرف أ ّن للمرء‬ ‫حقّ املقاومة والدفاع عن‬ ‫النفس‪ ،‬وفي عاملي يف ّرق الناس‬ ‫بني اخلير والش ّر فيدعمون اخلير‪،‬‬ ‫كما أ ّن الناس في عاملي ّ‬ ‫يفكرون‬ ‫بعقولهم ويرتكزون على املنطق‬ ‫والشرع‪.‬‬

‫ٌ‬ ‫تعريف آخر‬ ‫حر ّية مقابل األلم‪ ،‬وللحر ّية‬ ‫نتوجع‬ ‫أوجهه‪ ،‬نتأ ّلم لنرتاح‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ونشم رائح َة العنفوان‬ ‫لنح ّلق‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫واحلر ّية‪ ،‬من أصغر القيود‪.‬‬ ‫إذا كان األلم سبيالً لنا للتح ّرر‬ ‫لم نخ ّبئه أو‬ ‫واالستمرار ّية‪َ ،‬‬ ‫نخجل منه؟‬ ‫ال يجدر باإلنسان الصمت‬ ‫الدائم‪ ،‬حتى إن تأ ّلم‪ ،‬ملا لذلك‬ ‫من آثار سلبية على جهازه‬ ‫العصبي‪ ،‬ولكن عندما يق ّرر‬ ‫الكالم‪ ،‬عليه أن يعي ما يقول‪.‬‬ ‫تلك هي احلر ّية‪ ...‬وجه آخر من‬ ‫أوجه الصديق الكئيب‪ ،‬األلم‪...‬‬ ‫طريق ٌ آخر الكتشاف جوهر‬ ‫االنسان ومعدنه‪.‬‬ ‫نناضل من أجلها‪ .‬حر ّية احلياة‪،‬‬ ‫حر ّية التفكير‪ ،‬حر ّية االختيار‪،‬‬ ‫حر ّية التح ّرر‪ .‬حر ّية الصراخ‬

‫‪14‬‬

‫وتر ّددَ وحت ّيرْ‪ ،‬واستخار البارئ‬ ‫فتقدم إلى األمام‬ ‫العليم‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ثم إلى األمام‬ ‫ثم ارعوى‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫خطو ًة ّ‬ ‫تائها‪ ،‬حائرًا‪،‬‬ ‫ثم ارعوى‪،‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تقدم ّ‬ ‫فقر‪ ،‬وآالمته‬ ‫ليالي‬ ‫آالمته‬ ‫قد‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ليالي النوى‪ .‬فراح إلبنة األعمام‬ ‫اشتد‬ ‫يطلب مهرها‪ ،‬لكوثرَ التي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بها اجلوى‪ ،‬وقلبها من نار ح ّبه قد‬ ‫اكتوى‪.‬‬ ‫صهرهم‪،‬‬ ‫على الفور قبل األهل‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫هم‪،‬‬ ‫وعجل الشباب‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫عرس ْ‬ ‫والليث قد َع ُج َب وانبهرْ‪،‬‬ ‫علم وال خبرْ‪،‬‬ ‫فض ّر ُه*‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫غائب‪ ،‬ال َ‬ ‫وإلى ما بعد الزواج قد علم‪ ،‬بأ ّن‬ ‫العجوز َ على نسج اخليال قد‬ ‫إنس‬ ‫اقتصرْ‪ ،‬فال‬ ‫عريس ّ‬ ‫تقدم‪ ،‬وال ٌ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫النساء‪،‬‬ ‫حيل‬ ‫من‬ ‫ة‬ ‫حيل‬ ‫أو بشرْ‪،‬‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫قد عجز عن إتيانها القدر ْ‪.‬‬ ‫*مذكر ض ّرة‬

‫أما في عاملكم‪ ،‬فإنّني أرى الناس‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تُقتل ّ‬ ‫كل يوم وال حقوق لها‪.‬‬ ‫في عاملكم ال تستطيعون‬ ‫التفريق بني اخلير والش ّر وإن‬ ‫فعلتم فإنّكم تدعمون الش ّر‪.‬‬ ‫وفي عاملكم الناس ال ّ‬ ‫يفكرون‪،‬‬ ‫هم عميان يتبعون رائحة املال‬ ‫والسلطة‪ ،‬ولو قادتهم إلى‬ ‫اجلحيم!!‬ ‫اعذريني يا فلسطني‪ ،‬فقد‬ ‫مقصرة في‬ ‫قصرت وسأبقى‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫فعلت ألنّنا اليوم‪،‬‬ ‫حقك مهما‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫أهل احلقّ ‪ ،‬أصبحنا عكس التيار‬ ‫فعلينا أن جنتهد ونتعب كثيرًا‬ ‫للوصول إلى أهدافنا‪ ،‬لكنّنا إن‬ ‫شاء اهلل وبعونه‪ ،‬سنصل‪.‬‬ ‫*نورا أنور سوبره هي طالبة‬ ‫علم األحياء في اجلامعة‬ ‫األميركية في بيروت‬

‫والبكاء والنهوض بوجه ما‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ويعكر سبيلنا في‬ ‫يعاكس‬ ‫احلياة‪ .‬كفانا تعكيرًا لطرقنا في‬ ‫احلياة وإطال ًقا لتعاريف تس ّود‬ ‫أيامنا وتلغي أحالمنا‪ ...‬كفانا‬ ‫بكا ًءا وكت ًما لدموعنا‪.‬‬ ‫فلنجعل من صرخاتنا طري ًقا‬ ‫يشقّ األحالم‪ ،‬ولنغ ّير األلم‬ ‫بدرب يحيي‬ ‫الكئيب‪ ،‬أللم مل ّون‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫السالم في ٍ أرواحنا‪ ،‬عسانا‬ ‫نتح ّرر مع العالم‪ ،‬ونستحقّ ما‬ ‫يقال لنا‪ :‬إنسان!‬ ‫الزهراء ماجد هي طالبة علوم‬ ‫اخملتبرات الطبية في اجلامعة‬ ‫األميركية في بيروت‬

‫‪15‬‬

‫منوعات‬

‫سارة أحمد الديراني‬ ‫كاتبة صحفية‬

‫ولدت الدكتورة فرح جنا في‬ ‫‪ 1975/2/22‬في مدينة طرابلس‪،‬‬ ‫لوالدين كرميني هما األستاذ‬ ‫عبد القادر جنا‪ ،‬والذي كان رئيس‬ ‫قلم في وزارة العدل‪،‬والسيدة‬ ‫غادة حالب والتي كانت تعمل‬ ‫كمرشدة صحية في وزارة‬ ‫التربية‪ .‬الدكتورة فرح هي اإلبنة‬ ‫الصغرى في هذه العائلة التي‬ ‫تتألف من‪ :‬نبراس‪ ،‬غسان‪ ،‬مها‪،‬‬ ‫وفرح‪ .‬درست في مدرسة روضة‬ ‫الفيحاء وتخرجت منها في‬ ‫العام ‪ .1992‬عاشت الدكتورة‬ ‫فرح كل فترة طفولتها وصباها‬ ‫في طرابلس وتأثرت كثيرا ً باحلرب‬ ‫خضمها‪.‬‬ ‫األهلية التي ولدت في‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الدكتورة‬ ‫فاحلرب كما قالت ّ‬ ‫ليست دمار أبنية وحسب‬ ‫بل هي أكثر من ذلك وأعمق‪،‬‬ ‫فاحلرب هي دمارٌ ّ‬ ‫للطفولة لم‬ ‫تستطع ال هي وال كل أبناء‬ ‫جيلها من أن يعيشوها بسبب‬ ‫احلروب الكثيرة التي عاشها‬ ‫لبنان‪ .‬وبال ّرغم من هذا كله‪،‬‬ ‫فإ ّن األجواء العائلية التي تر ّبت‬ ‫الدكتورة و ّفرت لها بيئة‬ ‫فيها ّ‬ ‫مثالية‪ ،‬فالقيم واملبادئ التي‬ ‫زرعها والديها فيها وفي إخوتها‬ ‫وإرشادات‬ ‫كان مبثابة دوافع‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ساعدتهم في ٍحتقيق ذواتهم‬ ‫ومستقبلهم‪ .‬واجلدير ّ‬ ‫بالذكر‪،‬‬ ‫الدكتورة وكل إخوانها هم‬ ‫أ ّن ّ‬ ‫من حملة الشهادات العليا؛‬ ‫فأختها نبراس دكتورة في‬ ‫القانون الدولي‪ ،‬وأخوها غسان‬

‫شخصية األسبوع‬ ‫الدكتورة فرح جنا‬ ‫جراح ودكتور قلب وشرايني‪،‬‬ ‫ومها دكتورة في طب العائلة‪.‬‬ ‫دخلت إلى اجلامعة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫األمريكية ودرست فيها التغذية‬ ‫وفي العام ‪ 1996‬نالت شهادتها‬ ‫اجلامعية في علوم التغذية‬ ‫وبعدها مباشر ًة تابعت دراستها‬ ‫العليا ونالت املاجيستير أيضا ٍ‬ ‫في علوم التغذية في العام‬ ‫‪ .1998‬ثم بعدها تزوجت من‬ ‫الدكتور محمد علم الدين‬ ‫وسافرت برفقته إلى الشارقة‪،‬‬ ‫حيث عمال في احلقل االكادميي‬ ‫هناك‪ .‬وفي العام ‪ 2002‬قررا‬ ‫أن يذهبا إلى كندا لكي يتابعا‬ ‫دراستهما ويناال الدكتوراه‪.‬‬ ‫وهناك تابعت الدكتورة دراستها‬ ‫في مجال التغذية ونالت‬ ‫شهادة الدكتوراه في العام‬ ‫‪ .2008‬وفي أثناء وجودها في‬ ‫كندا قامت الدكتورة بالعديد‬ ‫من النشاطات واملؤمترات في‬ ‫مجال اختصاصها و في اجملال‬ ‫االجتماعي وكان أبرزها املؤمترات‬ ‫التي قامت بها مع بعض زمالئها‬ ‫والتي كانت تهدف إلى توحيد‬ ‫األديان‪ ،‬وذلك من خالل النظر إلى‬ ‫أوجه التشابه بني األديان كافة‪،‬‬ ‫واإلبتعاد عن كل ما من شأنه أن‬ ‫يو ّلد صرا ًعا أو خال ًفا بني األديان‪.‬‬ ‫الدكتورة فإ ّن دورها‬ ‫وكما قالت ّ‬ ‫في هذا املوضوع كان يشتمل‬ ‫على توضيح صورة اإلسالم‬ ‫بشكل خاص والتّركيز على‬ ‫مبدأ أن اإلسالم هو دين احملبة‬ ‫والسالم‪ ،‬وليس دين اإلرهاب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫والقتل كما يصوره البعض‪.‬‬ ‫وبعد نيلها شهادة الدكتوراه‬

‫ما هي أبرز األشياء التي تعلمتها‬ ‫وجودك في كندا؟‬ ‫من‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫« كندا علمتني الكثير وواحدة‬ ‫من األشياء التي علمتني إياها‬ ‫وال ميكنني أن أنساها‪ ،‬هي أن‬ ‫ال أضع تصورات مسبقة عن‬ ‫الناس قبل أن أتعرف إليهم عن‬ ‫كثب‪ .‬وسأدعم ما أقوله بتجربة‬ ‫حياتية عشتها‪ .‬الدكتور‬

‫املشرف على بحثي كان يهوديا ً‪.‬‬ ‫في بداية األمر كان هذا املوضوع‬ ‫يزعجني وذلك ألننا نحن العرب‬ ‫لدينا تصور أن كل اليهود أشرار‬ ‫كاإلسرائليني‪ .‬ولكن فيما بعد‬ ‫إكتشفت أن هذا غير صحيح‬ ‫وأن اليهود مثل كل الناس‪،‬‬ ‫فمنهم اجليد ومنهم السيء‪.‬‬ ‫كما أنه فيما بعد تعرفت على‬ ‫زميلة يهودية‪ ،‬وأصبحت فيما‬ ‫بعد من أعز أصدقائي‪».‬‬ ‫ما هي نصيحتك لكل الطالب؟‬ ‫« أنصح كل الطالب أن يدرسوا‬ ‫الشيء الذي يحبونه ومييلون‬ ‫إليه‪ ،‬ألن الشخص الذي ال يحب‬ ‫ما يعمل ال بد من أن يفشل‬ ‫في عمله‪ .‬كما أنني أطلب من‬ ‫كل الطالب أن ال يضيقوا نظرة‬

‫عشب الليل‪ ،‬نداء ما كان‬ ‫بعيدا‪ ،‬ونالت الرواية األخيرة‬ ‫جائزة الشيخ زايد للكتاب‬ ‫في دولة اإلمارات عام ‪. 2008‬‬ ‫كما فاز الكوني بجائزة الدولة‬ ‫االستثنائية‬ ‫السويسرية‬ ‫الكبرى على مجمل األعمال‬ ‫املترجمة إلى األملانية عام‬ ‫‪ ،2005‬وجائزة ملتقى القاهرة‬ ‫الدولي اخلامس لإلبداع الروائي‬ ‫العربي عام ‪ ،2010‬وعدة جوائز‬ ‫وأوسمة أخرى‪ .‬فالكوني كتب‬ ‫أكثر من ستني رواية مبستوى‬ ‫رفيع وتُرجمت أعماله إلى عدة‬ ‫لغات ومعظمها عن عوالم‬ ‫الصحراء مع أنه يسكن جبال‬ ‫سويسرا الثلجية‪ .‬تلك اجلبال‬ ‫التي زادته إلى غربته األولى‬ ‫غربة ثانية‪ .‬فهو غريب عن‬ ‫هويته الصحراوية وغريب في‬ ‫أوساط املثقفني واجملتمع حيث‬ ‫املبدعون احلقيقيون ال يأخذون‬

‫التقدير الالزم وال يُعترف بهم‪.‬‬ ‫فأبرز مفارقات الكوني اخلطيرة‬ ‫هي دراسته للكون ّ‬ ‫بكل أبعاده‬ ‫املتأصلة في الطبيعة واحليوان‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫واإلنسان ‪ ،‬حيث تقوم النباتات‬ ‫والظالل واحليوانات بدور الكائنات‬ ‫االجتماعية بنوع من التعاطف‬ ‫الصوفي‪ .‬فحركة الوجود التي‬ ‫لم تتمخض عنها احلضارة بعد‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بكل بكارتها األولى هي ما يحفر‬ ‫فيه الكوني بفأسه الروائي‬ ‫ليعيد بناء الصحراء بقيثارته‬ ‫الشعرية‪ .‬تلك الصحراء التي‬ ‫يقول عنها في التبر‪« :‬الصحراء‬ ‫تتطهر‪.‬‬ ‫وحدها تغسل الروح‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تتفضى‪ .‬فيسهل‬ ‫تخلو‪ .‬تتفرغ‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫أن تنطلق لتتحد باخلالء األبدي‪.‬‬ ‫باألفق‪ .‬بالفضاء املؤدي الى‬ ‫مكان خارج األفق وخارج الفضاء‬ ‫بالدنيا األخرى‪ .‬باآلخرة‪ .‬نعم‬ ‫باآلخرة‪ .‬هنا فقط‪ ،‬في السهول‬ ‫املمتدة‪ .‬في املتاهة العارية‪.‬‬

‫حيث تلتقي األطراف الثالثة ‪:‬‬ ‫العراء‪ ،‬األفق‪ ،‬الفضاء لتنسج‬ ‫الفلك الذي يسبح ليتصل‬ ‫باألبدية‪ ،‬باآلخرة «‪( .‬ص ‪)127‬‬ ‫يص ّر الكوني على جعل‬ ‫شخصياته مفاهيم تصارع‬ ‫مفاهيم أخرى في ح ّيز شاسع‬ ‫والتوسع هو عالم‬ ‫ودائم االمتداد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الصحراء فلديه قدرة خاصة‬ ‫على خلق األساطير ومهارة‬ ‫في ابتكار احلكايات ولطاملا‬ ‫أشار الناقد عبداهلل ابراهيم‬ ‫إليه بالقول صانع «ميثولوجيا‬ ‫الطوارق»‪ .‬فالكوني متم ّرس في‬ ‫يتوسط‬ ‫مجتمع الطوارق وأدبه‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الطبيعة والثقافة حيث‬ ‫ينتمي إلى األولى بالعالقات‬ ‫األولية وإلى الثانية بالعالقات‬ ‫أسس الكوني روايته‬ ‫اإلنسانية‪ّ .‬‬ ‫على مبادئ التراجيديا اليونانية‬ ‫تبدل سير األحداث‬ ‫حيث ال يؤ ّدي ّ‬ ‫إلى تغ ّير في املصير املأساوي‬

‫اذار ‪2011 ,8‬‬

‫اوتلوك‬

‫في العام ‪ 2008‬عادت هي وزوجها‬ ‫إلى لبنان‪ ،‬وبعد ان طلبت منهم‬ ‫اجلامعة االميرك ّية االنضمام‬ ‫الى صفوف الهيئة التدريس ّية‬ ‫فيها‪ .‬واآلن الدكتورة تعيش‬ ‫مع زوجها في حرم اجلامعة‪،‬‬ ‫ولديها طفالن هما‪ :‬مرمي مواليد‬ ‫العام ‪ ،2004‬ومالك مواليد‬ ‫العام ‪(2010‬ويبلغ من العمر ‪3‬‬ ‫أشهر)‪.‬‬ ‫قامت بالعديد من األبحاث‬ ‫العلمية في مجال التغذية‪،‬‬ ‫ولها العديد من املقاالت‬ ‫املنشورة والتي تتعلق بأبحاثها‬ ‫تلك‪ ،‬ومنها‪:‬‬

‫‪Dietary patterns and‬‬ ‫‪their‬‬ ‫‪determinants‬‬ ‫‪in‬‬ ‫‪Dietary‬‬ ‫‪,)2009(Lebanon‬‬ ‫‪exposure to essential and‬‬ ‫‪,)2010(toxic trace elements‬‬ ‫‪Effect‬‬ ‫‪of‬‬ ‫‪Helicobacter‬‬ ‫‪Pylori on the availability‬‬ ‫‪)2010(.of vitamins E and C‬‬ ‫‪Effect of Helicobacter ,‬‬ ‫‪Pylori on the availability‬‬ ‫‪,)2007(.of vitamins E and C‬‬ ‫‪Helicobacter Pylori and the‬‬ ‫‪Prevention of Gastric Cancer‬‬ ‫‪.‬‬ ‫(‪)2004‬‬

‫الدكتورة فرح جنا‬

‫العلم‪ ،‬ألن العلم ال يقتصر على‬ ‫الكتب واملراجع فقط‪ ،‬بل العلم‬ ‫يتخطى هذه اإلطارات الضيقة‬ ‫ويتخطها كونه يساعد‬ ‫اإلنسان في رفع مستوى ثقافته‬ ‫ووعيه ويساعده في اإلنفتاح‬ ‫على اآلخرين‪ .‬وأحب أن قول لكل‬ ‫طالب اجلامعة األمريكية أن‬ ‫الشهادة التي ستأخذونها من‬ ‫هذه اجلامعة‪،‬هي شهادة مهمة‬ ‫للغاية وهذا الشيء ملسته أنا‬ ‫عندما سافرت إلى كندا‪ .‬كما‬ ‫أن شهاداتكم ستخولكم‬ ‫أي‬ ‫من متابعة دراستكم في ّ‬ ‫مكان في العالم‪ ،‬ألنها شهادة‬ ‫مصادقة ومعترف بها في‬ ‫معظم اجلامعات‪».‬‬

‫كاتب من هذا الزمن ‪ -‬إبراهيم الكوني‪ :‬عاشق الصحراء‬

‫نهاد غازي عواد‬ ‫كاتبة صحفية‬

‫كتب عن البادية التي غادرها‬ ‫َ‬ ‫صغيرًا لكنها ما فتأت تداعب‬ ‫مخ ّيلته وتبعث احلنني للماضي‪،‬‬ ‫حلضارة الطوارق ولغتهم‬ ‫التي يراها أصل لغات العالم‪.‬‬ ‫يكتنفه الغموض كالصحراء‬ ‫التي وصفها كما لم يصفها‬ ‫أحد حتى من أبناء الصحراء‬ ‫العربية‪ .‬درس الكوني االبتدائية‬ ‫واإلعدادية والثانوية في اجلنوب‬ ‫الليبي (فزان) وأكمل دراسة‬ ‫املاجستير في العلوم األدبية‬ ‫مبعهد غوركي لألدب العاملي‬ ‫مبوسكو عام ‪ .1977‬ومنذاك‬ ‫يعيش في أوروبا ‪ .‬بدأ نشر‬ ‫أعماله في مطلع السبعينيات‬ ‫وله روايات منها‪ :‬التبر‪ ،‬نزيف‬ ‫احلجر‪ ،‬رباعية اخلسوف‪ ،‬اجملوس‪،‬‬

‫الذي تنتهي إليه الشخصية‪.‬‬ ‫والعالقات في معظمها هي‬ ‫بني اإلنسان واحليوان وتضمحل‬ ‫تلك التي بني البشر أنفسهم‪.‬‬ ‫واألساطير تتغ ّلب على روايات‬ ‫الكوني فما إن تضيء واحدة‬ ‫حتى تخبت األخرى ويبدأ مزاد‬ ‫احلكايات‪ .‬حكايات ليست‬ ‫لتمجيد األصول أو لتوضيح‬ ‫تتعدى ذلك‬ ‫قضية فحسب بل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫لتكون منارة درب فلسفي ممتد‬ ‫للتراجيديا اليونانية حيث تبيان‬ ‫عن اجلبلة اإلنسانية‪ ،‬واإلجابة‬ ‫عن سؤال الطبيعة اإلنسانية‪،‬‬ ‫عن العالقة بني اخلير والش ّر‪.‬‬ ‫ليجيب عن سؤال يبني ماهية‬ ‫احلقيقة املطلقة‪ .‬سؤال طاملا‬ ‫ح ّير الفالسفة ُ‬ ‫والكتّاب وسائر‬ ‫الناس ومات كثيرون وهم ما‬ ‫زالوا يبحثون‪ ،‬وما زلنا والكوني‬ ‫نبحث مع الباحثني‪.‬‬

‫أ وتلو ك‬

‫مظهر جديد يأتيكم قريبا ً‪...‬‬

‫اجلامعة األميركية في بيروت‬

‫املنشورة الطالبية املستقلة منذ عام ‪|١٩٤٩‬‬

‫الثالثاء ‪ 8‬اذار ‪2011‬‬

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‫جزء ‪ ٬٤٣‬عدد ‪19‬‬

‫‪15‬‬

‫‪14‬‬

‫الكاتب إبراهيم الكوني‬

‫الدكتورة فرح جنا‬

‫الشاعر علي محمد بدران يو ّقع ديوانه الثاني‬ ‫«قتلت حبيبتي وأنتظر»‬ ‫ُ‬

‫عامر الص ّريع‬ ‫كاتب صحفي‬

‫جتمع ط ّالب‬ ‫بالتعاون مع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ك ّلية الهندسة ومكتب‬ ‫اإلعالم والتسويق قي اجلامعة‬ ‫األميركية‪ ،‬وبعد النجاح الذي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫حققه طالب الهندسة املدنية‬ ‫الشاعر علي محمد بدران‪،‬‬ ‫العضو األصغر املنضم الحتاد‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫الكتّاب اللبنانيني‪ ،‬في ديوانه‬ ‫األ ّول «أرسمك بالورد»‪ ،‬أقام‬ ‫بدران حفل توقيع ديوانه الثاني‬ ‫مساء األربعاء املاضي في قاعة‬ ‫عصام فارس‪ ،‬بحضور حشد من‬ ‫الوسط الثقافي والسياسي‬ ‫والط ّالبي‪ .‬وقد عاد ريع احلفل‬ ‫كامالً ملركز سرطان األطفال‪،‬‬ ‫في ذكرى لروح أخيه قاسم‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ولكل من حارب ذلك املرض‪.‬‬ ‫افتُتح احلفل بكلمة السيد‬ ‫حسن بيطار الذي ألقى كلم ًة‬ ‫أشاد فيها أهمية ودور األمير‬ ‫الشاعر طارق ناصر الدين‪ ،‬الذي‬ ‫كان صدي ًقا ومع ّل ًما لبدران‪.‬‬ ‫فناصر الدين كما أوضح بيطار‪،‬‬ ‫هو شاعر الوطنية والعروبة‬

‫واملقاومة‪ .‬وله صورة أخرى‬ ‫مغايرة‪ ،‬صورة العاشق اخلالد‪،‬‬ ‫حب‬ ‫صورة النائم مع قصيدة ّ‬ ‫بالفصحى‪ ،‬وبالعامية احملكية‪،‬‬ ‫والنثر‪ .‬أما كتاباته فبلغة سرية‬ ‫احلب‪.‬‬ ‫ال يفهمها إال الراسخ في ّ‬ ‫وبعدها كانت كلمة ناصر‬ ‫الدين الذي ابتدأها بسؤاله‪،‬‬ ‫هل فعالً قتل حبيبته وينتظر؟‬ ‫باستطاعة علي أن يقتل‬ ‫مئة من أعداء بالده‪ ،‬لكنه ال‬ ‫يستطيع قرص يد حبيبته كي‬ ‫ال يسمع الـ «آه»‪ .‬وأضاف ناصر‬ ‫الدين مخاط ًبا بدران‪« :‬لقد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ذكرتني بشبابي وكيف كان‬ ‫الشباب يهجمون على عالم‬ ‫النساء‪ ،‬إما قاتل أو مقتول‪ ،‬كان‬ ‫الشاعر دائما ً مقتوال ً بعينني‬ ‫ومكر جميلني»‪.‬‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫وقال ناصر الدين إ ّن علي شاب‬ ‫من جيل اإلنترنت و»الفيس‬ ‫بوك» يستطيع وصل حبيبته‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بأقل وحدات قياس الزمن‪ ،‬أما‬ ‫ناصر الدين فهو الشاب اآلتي‬ ‫من جيل الهواتف املعطلة‪،‬‬ ‫والشبابيك املغلقة‪ ،‬واحلبيبات‬ ‫اخملتبئات‪ .‬ورغم ذلك االختالف‪،‬‬ ‫واحلب‪.‬‬ ‫فال زالت املرأة والشعر‬ ‫ّ‬

‫احلب والشعر كعالقة‬ ‫فعالقة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الكلمة ومعناها‪ ،‬أو الكنار‬ ‫وصوته‪ ،‬أو الياسمينة وعطرها‪.‬‬ ‫حب حقيقي أجدى من‬ ‫فساعة ّ‬ ‫عمر صالة وصوم بدون محبة‪.‬‬ ‫وكان ختام كلمة ناصر الدين‬ ‫النصح فأضاف‪ :‬إبحث عن‬ ‫ثم‬ ‫لغتك أوال ً في قلبك‪ ،‬ومن ّ‬ ‫في القواميس‪ .‬فاللغة هي‬ ‫النهر الذي تشرب منه األمة‪،‬‬ ‫لكنه يتك ّون من الينابيع التي‬ ‫تتفجر من قلوب الشعراء‪ .‬أما‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫دوره كحبيب متقاعد‪ ،‬قال ناصر‬ ‫الدين‪ ،‬فهو التواصل بني زهرة‬ ‫بدأت بالذبول لتعطي نسغها‬ ‫للزهور املتفتّحة‪.‬‬ ‫ثم استأنف بدران احلفل‬ ‫ومن ّ‬ ‫بكلم ٍة أوجز فيها معنى عنوان‬ ‫الكتاب قائالً بأنّه لم يقتل‬ ‫أح ًدا‪ ،‬بل كان القتل مجازًا‪.‬‬ ‫احلب مجاز‪ ،‬هذا ما‬ ‫ولكن هل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫أما احلبيب‬ ‫لم يعتقده بدران‪ّ .‬‬ ‫األول واألخير فهو الوطن الذي‬ ‫ال يو ّد اإلستشهاد إال على أرض‬ ‫ثم قام بدران بقراءة‬ ‫جنوبه‪ّ .‬‬ ‫بضع قصائد‪ ،‬امتازت بأسلوبها‬ ‫السهل املمتنع‪ ،‬يرافقها السيد‬ ‫روجيه ّ‬ ‫حلام عاز ًفا على البيانو‪.‬‬

‫(صورة‪ :‬أحمد عيتاني ‪ -‬مكتب اإلعالم في اجلامعة األميركية في بيروت)‬

‫«عندما رحلت» كانت قصيدة‬ ‫بدران األولى‪ ،‬والتي كان أ ّلفها‬ ‫عن اللحظة التي أٌخبر فيها‬ ‫بأن أخاه العزيز قد رحل‪ ،‬وبعدها‬ ‫قصيدة «آخر نساء الشرق»‪ ،‬ومن‬

‫آخر أيام القذافي ‪ ..‬إما النصر وإما املوت‬

‫مصطفى فضل اهلل‬ ‫كاتب صحفي‬

‫وأخيرا ً ص ّرح مندوب ليبيا لدى‬ ‫األمم املتّحدة بصراحة عن اجمللس‬ ‫الوطني الذي أنشأه الثوار في‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫كمنظمة حاضنة‬ ‫بنغازي‬ ‫لتيارات املعارضة الليب ّية‪ ،‬في ما‬ ‫ك ّرس هذا اإلعتراف وزير العدل‬ ‫الليبي املستقيل مصطفى‬ ‫عبد اجلليل كمم ّثل لشعبه‪.‬‬ ‫املتحدث العام‬ ‫أما‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫باسم اجمللس الوطني الليبي‬ ‫وهو عبد اهلل املهدي أوضح‬ ‫يحضرون إلجتياح‬ ‫أن الث ّوار‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫طرابلس فور إعالن منطقة‬ ‫حظر جوي فوق البالد‪.‬‬ ‫ويضيق اخلناق على‬ ‫ ‬ ‫معمر‬ ‫عنق املتعجرف «الزعيم» ّ‬ ‫القذافي حيث أ ّن قوى املعارضة‬ ‫صدت هجو ًما لق ّوات القذافي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السيطرة على‬ ‫إستهدف‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫منطقة البريقة شرق البالد‪.‬‬

‫وهناك معارك مستم ّرة بني‬ ‫الث ّوار وقوات املرتزقة في منطقة‬ ‫الزاوية التي شهدت سقوط ‪30‬‬ ‫شهي ًدا‪ .‬وفي رأس النوف ذكر‬ ‫شهود عيان أن هناك معارك‬ ‫جتري باألسلحة ال ّثقيلة حيث‬ ‫يسيطر الثوار تدريج ًيا على‬ ‫املنطقة‪ .‬وفي املنطقة عينها‬ ‫حتدثت مصادر لقناة اجلزيرة عن‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫إنقسامات في كتائب القذافي‬ ‫في تلك املنطقة اخملصصة‬ ‫أما في تاجوراء‬ ‫لتصدير النفط‪ّ .‬‬ ‫فقد جرت مواجهات بعد صالة‬ ‫اجلمعة بني املتظاهرين وقوات‬ ‫األمن‪ .‬وفي مدينة البريقة أعلن‬ ‫الثوار حالة من التأهب القصوى‬ ‫أي هجمات متو ّقعة من‬ ‫لرد ّ‬ ‫جانب كتائب القذافي‪ .‬وفي‬ ‫أجدابيا جدد الثوار متركزهم بعد‬ ‫القصف اجلوي الذي تع ّرضت‬

‫له املنطقة ‪ .‬وحتى أن املشاكل‬ ‫لم تقتصر على األسلحة فقط‬ ‫بل حتى حدثت إشتباكات‬ ‫باأليدي في الساحة اخلضراء‬ ‫في طرابلس‪ .‬وفي محاوالت‬ ‫للتعتيم اإلعالمي منعت‬ ‫قوات السلطة الليبية بعض‬ ‫اإلعالميني اجملتمعني في جنوب‬ ‫طرابلس بفندق من اخلروج منه‪،‬‬ ‫وهم يقيمون فيه لتغطية‬ ‫مظاهرات ما بعد صالة اجلمعة‪.‬‬ ‫وأطلق مصطفى عبد اجلليل‬ ‫كلمات تقول أن أمام الثوار‬ ‫خياران إما املوت وإما النصر‬ ‫وأضاف عبد اجلليل أن الثوار‬ ‫يقاتلون وال يستسلمون حتى‬ ‫املوت مشيرًا إلى أن وقت النفاق‬ ‫قد و ّلى‪.‬‬ ‫التتمة ص ‪15‬‬

‫(صورة‪)http://productnews.link.net :‬‬

‫ثم قصيدة «قبلة الشهادة»‬ ‫املهداة إلى ّ‬ ‫كل شهيد دافع عن‬ ‫حياض الوطن‪.‬‬