Author: Ghida Ismail
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The Dual Violence Against Lebanon: A Quiet Invasion and a Loud Aggression
This article originally appeared in AlRawiya on April 14, 2024 https://al-rawiya.com/the-dual-violence-against-lebanon-a-quiet-invasion-and-a-loud-aggression/ The Ailanthus tree, an invasive species, spreads quietly and persistently—colonizing the land, choking out native ecosystems, and disrupting biodiversity. “This is one of the most poisonous and harmful plants,” says Hadi Awada to his friend Raed Zeno in the opening scene of Zeno’s short film Read more
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Memory for resistance: Beirut’s battle against violence and forgetfulness
This article originally appeared in UntoldMag on November 27th, 2024 https://untoldmag.org/memory-for-resistance-beiruts-battle-against-violence-and-forgetfulness/ “Nothing is left for us except the weapon of madness. To be or not to be. To be or to be. Not to be or not to be. Nothing is left except madness. Besiege your siege with madness.” I recently read this passage from Mahmoud Read more
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Rethinking development indicators in the context of Palestine
“I lost the center again. I lost everything again, and I am not sure how many times I can start over. I feel very helpless,” told Alaa Abu Mudallah, a resident of Gaza after she lost her training center, Khotwa, twice. It was first hit in the May 2021 Gaza escalation and again following the… Read more
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Justice Denied: The Perpetual Punishment of Palestinians
“Dark is Gaza’s night except for the glow of missiles, silent except for the sound of bombing, frightening except for the comfort of prayers, black except for the light of the martyrs. Good night, #Gaza,” tweeted the poet Hiba Abu Nada, in Arabic, on October 8th, 12 days before Israel killed her in an airstrike. Read more
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The Forced Disappearance of Street Vendors in Beirut
On a sunny November day last year, a street vendor ran panickily down Beirut’s Corniche, pushing his cart, laden with corn and cotton candy, and crying out in agony. He was being chased by three police officers, who eventually caught and cuffed him. A little more than a year earlier, in June of 2021, a… Read more
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Transport Towards a More Just Lebanon
“There are probably less taxi drivers on the streets, and if the ride fare further increases because of fuel price hikes, I will stop working because I won’t get customers anymore,” said Jamal, who drove a shared taxi car also known as “service,” part of a largely self-organized and unregulated system securing affordable transportation to… Read more
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Lebanon experiences the largest global losses in Human Development amidst its worst-ever financial crisis.
A compounded crisis, consisting of an economic and financial crisis layered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a massive, deadly explosion of the port, has not only assailed Lebanon’s macroeconomy; but has also insidiously trickled down to impede and reverse the country’s progress in Human Development. Lebanon has experienced the greatest global drop in the United… Read more
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Moving in Lebanon is a luxury, only public transport is the solution
On one of the walls in the Gemmayze neighborhood of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, “Retrieving Beirut” is written, and below it is a drawing of a taxi car. The writings on Beirut’s walls call attention to the indispensability of mobility, secured through the network of taxis and buses/vans, in “retrieving” the city back from the grips of an economic and political… Read more
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Public responsibility for public transport in Lebanon
Near the old lighthouse in Beirut stood a barefoot boy, no older than 10 years and in denim pants that were far too short. He was trying to hail a shared taxi, popularly known in Lebanon as a service. When a taxi car finally approached, he ran to it, his feet numb against the ruggedness of… Read more
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Uganda’s street vendors need a working regulatory framework
Irene, a 56-year-old Ugandan, sat on the side of the road in a colourful dress, attempting to sell biscuits and candies to the empty street in Kampala. In efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, people in the Ugandan capital have been confined to their homes since March 2020, rendering streets deserted and street vendors… Read more