Dear Almaza, no, do not mess with the flag.

No Almaza is not the first to play with the flag (here). But obviously it did not learn the lesson from either Aishti or Annahar. Because, yes, if you look closely on this add announcing that Almaza is now at the duty free, you'll discover that, instead of the original Cedrus libani in the middle of the original drawing of the Lebanese flag, Almaza put their own logo. Sorry people, this is inadmissible. If you do not believe me, look at the image below:

So honestly, enough is enough. You want to include the flag? Do something as respectful as Exotica did:

Otherwise, honestly just stop messing with it,

Pockets of liberalism: the exceptions that proved the rule.

Still from the Chāy-e Narges 70s Iranian ad

Yesterday I was made aware of the 70s ad in Iran for Chāy-e Narges (here), in it, a model sporting a tank top and a mini skirt with long uncovered hair does what every model does since time immemorial. Behind her, sitting, seems what are relatives much more conservatively dressed with an elderly woman having a scarf tied on her head (not the classic "veil" but a head-cover none-the-less).

Of course, this, according to the internet is hailed as being as to how Iran was permissive, progressive, and liberal it was before the Islamic revolution. Well, of course, everything is reductive, stereotypical and generalized. Let me give another example, on January 1rst 1978 Elias Rahbani (and his orchestra) released Liza Liza - the quasi immortal disco anthem. The cover had - literally - a bare-chested woman on it. Below is a censored version to avoid offending anyone.

The point is, neither Chāy-e Narges nor the Liza Liza vinyl cover say anything about Iranian or Lebanese society at the time nor about the cultural, ethical and social norms that governed both societies then. If anything, those were the exceptions that proved the rule.

When I tell foreigners Lebanon is conservative, the immediate culprit is the Muslim part of the Lebanese population. The Marie France incident (here) is a good example how conservatism runs rampant in all factions of the population - Christians and Muslims alike. And this has nothing to do with the levels of "education" some people boast about (here). Being a "technocrat" does not divorce your from beliefs that run rampant with less-educated people.

Images of Beirut in the 70s, which, yes, also include tank tops and mini skirts are "always" indicative as to how the country got radicalized to what it is today. Yet, the country that was shown, was one in urban dwellings where morals and habits are much loser than in rural dwellings, and even by city-standards, conservatism is still there in many shapes and forms - anything from rituals (fasting, attending religious edifices) to less noted signs and signifiers - such as wearing long sleeves for women, or curfews (mostly applied to daughters rather than sons), etc...

The image below by Rudolf Dietrich, can be a very good indicator of how economic and social disparity can be a much better indicator of social norms.

To quote again, what I wrote earlier (here): Under the Al Shams building, one of the most celebrated jewels of modernist architecture (by architect Joseph Philippe Karam) and in the pathways that made way to the sea, lived people in extreme Poverty, in makeshift houses. Literally at a stone throw from one of the most luxurious buildings of Beirut at the time.

So to reiterate the point, liberal bubbles were mostly the exceptions that proved the rule, rather than anything else.

Did Medco decode Lebanon better than anyone?

Medco might be your petrol station, but in the words of the inimitable Garrison Keillor it seems it has inhabited "driveway philosophers" because Medco suddenly seems inspired enough to decode Lebanon, and even better, decode it more thoughtfully than anyone else. Long time ago, a student of mine wanted to rebrand Lebanon, and after brainstorming we came up with the line "the essential is invisible to the eye" (yes, I know, taken from The Little Prince by St. Exupery). But there it is again, Lebanon - according to Medco - is not a country that is "understood" but is "to be lived". Sunday with the family, where is the party tonight (kids are at my mother's), Come spend the weekend, We're off to the village, Grandma has done kebbe, Are we going up the mountain or down to the sea?, the smell of the grilled meat on Sunday, The smell of the sea. The problem? They all make sense and are true and correct. Suddenly, everyone comes into the picture regardless of political differences and socio-economic disparities. And that too is tried and tested. So indeed, you can't explain that, but you totally can live it.

About that statistic about the % of PhD holders in Lebanon

Remember that article, way back, about Lebanon being the 4th most prosperous nations in the world (here)? Well, that was a figure I could easily dismantle. And I did. Since a couple of days, I have seen statistics about the top ten % of people holding a PhD in the Arab world. Lebanon is on top. 

I know what you are going to say - Tarek, you do not have a PhD, go get one and start arguing later. Sorry people, the reason I did not push for a PhD that my thesis - the one I wanted to do - was unclassifiable in the archaic system of the Lebanese universities. Basically, it could not be put under history, or sociology or politics. Add to this how universities in Lebanon are regressing by following something called "Ta7did masar" (path fixing) - meaning someone like me who did agriculture engineering and environmental economics is barred from doing a PhD in a different domain unless I take about 32 credits at a time when academia is being amorphous and open throughout the world.

Now, to go back to the original topic - most universities and yes, I stand by my words - have little or no understanding of what a PhD is, they have nothing to do with the accepted nomenclature of what is called a thesis, and are certainly divorced from the facts of what research methodology is. So the level of academia is regressing sharply in Lebanon, yet increasing threateningly in terms of numbers. I have had the pleasure of lecturing throughout the world - without a PhD - to know what research is and what it can bring to the life.

Do note, I know incredible people in Lebanon who are worth their weight in terms of research and thinking, and it is always a pleasure to play intellectual ping pong with them. But, make no mistake, for many - too many sadly - in Lebanon to be called Dr so and so trumps the real meaning of actually having something to discuss or teach or knowledge to impart and share.

Which is why I find the number above very alarming. As it does not reflect anything on the ground and is divorced from real and true academia. In my AUB diploma the words written are that I am to enjoy "the duties and privileges" that come with it. Make no mistake duties come before privileges, so drop your title and think what it means above all.

Politics in Lebanon: Let's hear it from Ricardo Karam, Makram Rabah and Alexadre Paulikevitch

Make love not war - Artwork by Tarek Chemaly date 2018

Politics in Lebanon. You are always torn between a rock and a hard place. I know people who wanted to liberate Lebanon from Syrian influence but also loved Saudi Arabia which basically was the de facto power which gave the Syrians a free hand in Lebanon. I know others who hate Israel viscerally and also hate the hizb with the same zeal, even if technically if it is the hizb that chased the neighboring power away. Of course, the current negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are not going anything to end the beef between the two factions. Accusations of being defeatists to traitors, are slung from both sides.

So everyone is right and everyone is wrong. As Alexandre Dumas eloquently said in The Count of Monte-Christo, "The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates". Yet, take it from someone who no longer votes - because, no, voting with a blank vote means you believe in the process but not the candidates, when all the process makes no sense to me at this point - yes, everyone's point of view does make sense. Even if each side has no idea what to do with the other.

Recently, Ricardo Karam, who is a respected media figure, basically stated - and I am giving you the gist of it - that he considers Hezbollah a Lebanese political party that is represented in Parliament, arguing that this is a "factual reality" rather than a political declaration. Makram Rabah, assistant professor at the American University of Beirut was having none of it, in a recent publication (here), he went all out against Karam, emphasizing the many literal martyrs AUB has offered to Lebanon, and - considering Karam was part of the board of trustees of the university, and in light of the recent threats to the university to have it bombed - it being at the forefront of the American values in Lebanon (supposedly, and it is my Alma Mater too as a full disclosure) - to Rabah that a major no-no.

Which brings Alexandre Paulikevitch to the melee. Pauliketvitch, a Lebanese artist, is nothing but the major antithesis of everyone ultra conservative. Like him or not, he expresses himself on stage in ways that might ruffle too many feathers. Lately, in an interview, Paulikevitch dressed in what seemed like a Y2K floral feminine top, said that he hinds himself confused. He had always had a major hate-hate relationship with the Hizb. But he also finds that they are truly the only power capable of chasing Israel away. And now he finds himself defending them as a "resistance" all while understanding that he represents all the liberal ideals they hate.

Paulikevitch makes sense. The problem? So does Karam and Rabah. "I see both sides like Chanel" said Frank Ocean. And I can, I swear. Oh scratch that, I can see all sides, not just both. 

Recently, I was hoping to do the major weed clearing behind my property and perhaps putting some cement to cut the weeds from returning, my Dutch friend said that "the government of the Netherlands is encouraging people to keep such spaces, so that insects can grow" to which I replied "can the government of the Netherlands please come and do the weed pulling then? I pay 5 USD per hour".

You see, away from the major threatening problems engulfing Lebanon, for some of us like Voltaire ended Candide, "but we must cultivate our garden".

Can anyone make Alfa stop, please?

Alfa has a new ad (here). And it's not even independence day. The sob, the drama, the - heaven help us that word again - resilience. I mean they got the mandolins to the power n, and the pinch-me-till-I-cry drama cranked to the level 11. Oh and as a close friend said, "now is not the time to dig a tunnel under the cedar" which, along with all other pseudo-creative ideas the ad is brimming with, it is indeed not. 

Does the ad solve anything? As usual not. And no, tilling the soil and dancing dabke while waving the flag as children are on the swing will certainly not fix the country. But then leave it to Alfa to have a much ado about nothing.

Anemoia - Nostalgia for a Lebanon that never existed

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly - part of the collective memory as a bridge to national identity series

I am sorry to burst the bubble, especially when everyone is hyping things up. When everyone seems to be suffering from "anemoia" - literally, a nostalgia for something that did not exist. First the fallacy: Lebanon was the Switzerland of the Middle East, or Beirut was the Paris of the Middle East. Was it correct? Yes, but barely. We got unlucky as opposed to lucky.

Beirut began as a "ville-escale" - meaning the city where planes land for 48 hours before jetting back. Not as it is known today where the whole landing-take off happens in less than an hour. To our bad luck, we had the Phoenicia, the Palm Beach hotel, the Kit Kat nightclub, the Caves du Roy, the Venus high end cabaret and the rest of the paraphernalia of entertainment. That our weather allowed to "ski and swim in the same day" only made it worse.

To be clear, the "age d'or" (golden age) of Lebanon only lasted a very short while. That we had a very stylish president and first lady (namely Kamil and Zalfa Chamoun) did not arrange anything, but I digress. So, where' my gripe?

My problem is that we are reminiscent of a Lebanon that never existed. One that no even our parents benefited from. Why? Because what is known as the golden age only benefited a very small buffer elite which was able to enjoy the benefits, leaving a middle class which was being formed, and in the words of a former Communist party commander interviewed for a documentary "I did not want to participate in the whole thing, all I wanted was a cab fair to just look at it from a distance." This alone should tell you how many people were literally marginalized and forgotten.

Also, the Shiites in Lebanon are known as "المحرومين" (the deprived) because the state never looked their way, and their own politicians/lords did not even try to help their own. In a famous (and sad anecdote) it seems people gathered their elders and went to Ahmed Al-Assaad (father of former head of the parliament Kamel Al-Assaad) to ask him for schools in the region for their regions, and he answered with "Kamel is learning on your behalf".

I am saying this today, because the fallacy we face too deep, the nostalgia for something that never existed is too strong, and the idealized version of a fairy tale is simply not true, and never was.

Of Lebanon, Easter, Ramadan, and war.

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

So it all happens this year, again. Our joy of common fasting (the Christian lent and the Ramadan fast are happening concurently) was short lived. Shiite families are now packed on the corniche and in downtown Beirut and whatever school yards available, war is escalating, and all this on the backdrop of people disoriented, numb and extremely tired from all the traumas that have been accumulating since 2019 back to back with no respite.

The above artwork is actually a real slogan from a war poster originally signed by the members of the Christian resistance - namely the Phalangists (Kataeb), the National Liberal Party (Ahrar), the Guardians of the Cedars (Horas el Arz), and Al Tanzim (a coalition of Christian Lebanese politicians). The slogan for all those non-Francophones goes: Do a realistic pilgrimage - this Easter visit Lebanon. The poster I have is undated but it might be late 70s judging by the logos - because the Safra massacre which saw the Phalanges fight the Ahrar as of yet for the hegemony of Christian dominance had not occurred yet..

If you ask any Lebanese, and yes Shiites included, no one wanted to be uprooted in the middle of their Ramadan fast, to go live on the Beirut corniche or in the middle of Martyrs' square or in some classroom in a closed school. And still, Easter is coming, Eid which marks the end of Ramadan is coming too, and war is here already waiting for both, and us as well. 

All of this on the backdrop of economic hardship, or a faltering economy, of 50% of people already below the poverty line and no one able to access their bank accounts since 2019. And to quote Al Moutanabi "Eid, and in what a deplorable way you came back oh Eid".

Who is the "Lebanese coalition for peace" #askingforafriend

If anyone knows who or what is the "Lebanese coalition for peace" or التجمع اللبناني للسلام please tell me. The reason I ask is because they signed a series of ads which I saved from the net as I was browsing my daily newspaper round (found those on The Guardian if you want to know). The ads are two in Arabic, two in English and try to strike 12 birds in 4 stones because they go on different angles. First the Arabic "Peace is not talk, peace is our interest... Enough wars" then "He who counts baton (hitting) is not like the one administering them. Lay off the south (of Lebanon)... Enough wars" (this is a local idiom by the way about someone watching a disaster vs someone living it). 

Then the English "It's not treason to dream of living in peace... Enough wars" and "We want to succeed here like we succeed abroad... Enough wars". Sure invoking treason is enough to cut the corner of any "dissenting" voice, now about succeeding let us ad incredibly slow internet, red tape, bureaucracy, bribes, incredibly high office space rent, just for starters. As I said, the ads play both the rational and emotional card at once, the patriotic and the anti-internal fragment at the same time, try to speak to the youth (or on their behalf), families, and elderly people wishing to remain in situ. 

Now, again booking ads and producing them requires money, so who on earth is "Lebanese coalition for peace"... Trying to ask for a friend obviously.

On that country that makes no sense but still does.

Ah life in Lebanon! Never a dull moment. Anything can - and literally will - happen. Since 2019 we have been going from a crisis engulfed in a catastrophe hidden inside a disaster, and we go on from one to the other without the first having finished (as we try to get our money from banks since 2019, we have navigated covid, the lack of a president, being pounded on the daily by Israel, while still dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis, and that's just before having breakfast). 

Still, I caught a video online while absent-mindedly scrolling. A couple of Japanese tourists have chosen Saydet-el-bahr in Batroun for their marriage photos. So far so exotic as is. But there you go, a bunch of Lebanese well-wishers enter the picture (literally!) with their improvised poetry (that starts with ewiha and ends with the zalghouta). And for good measure, a traditional song follows "3arisina cheikh el chabab" (our groom is the eldest of the youngsters) as the same people encircle the bride to give her the proper greetings.

All this in a country still reeling under as many problems as there are decimals in "π" but - again - what other population would celebrate within the calamity, either in a bakery or on debris of their house?

Political mercantilism, again, in Lebanon

 So here it is, I have no idea who published this (not signed) for what occasion (also not specific), but as mercantilism goes in politics in Lebanon, this is a "passepartout" - it could work for any occasion, any political party. For a second I thought it was about the latest municipal elections (the sign says "thousand thousand thank yous") as posted by whomever won said elections. But as I said, could be anything and anyone, in the quagmire of Lebanese politics, it always works. Interestingly, this was a one off - meaning only saw it once. So who knows?

Keo beer goes golden. Yellow too.

I have previously spoken about the Keo beer (here) so it is refreshing (har har) that they are back with a new campaign. OK, they are axing it around yellow/golden (the problem with either color? Google "Golden shower" at your own risk and peril)... Still - I might be reading too much into a color. The campaign is sort of everywhere with many variants about the color and all that (real beer is golden for example). Of course there is the usual let-us-cut-from-the-Almaza-market "time for a change, go yellow" (mind you Beirut Beer is a professional in this - here).

McDonald's Lebanon is well, Lebanese, as in really

So McDonald's is really, REALLY, trying to really assert its Lebanese identity - obviously following the boycott after the Gaza debacle. See the film here. There is oud, dabke, Lebanese joie de vie, a Lebano-Arabico soundtrack and all the elements that should make it work. But somehow it leaves us wanting. I mean, the film makes it very clear where its ingredients come from - Lebanese producers and companies etc. Fine, and everyone joins in a - literal song and dance - and the final copy McDonald's our hand with the hand of Lebanon gives it you in case you did not get it, yet. See the film here. The characters are nice, but somehow, it reminds me of all those musicals where everyone breaks out in a choreographed number at once, out of nowhere, and does not make much sense. Reminds me of Americana, which following also a case of boycott, went with the slogan "100% Arab".

Lebanese Forces are still full of hope

"Our Lebanon is coming". Well, seems the Lebanese Forces are full of hope. No one can blame them as things seem to be going politically their way as of late. Now how come the ad? Who knows, it could be the upcoming municipalities/mayoral elections, it could be to just pump hope into their followers, it could be for the 50 years to mark the beginning of the war (13 April 1975). The reasons multiple or non-existent because honestly, in Lebanon, you can't tell for sure.

Now about that flag-defacing sensational ad

Many moons ago for Independence Day Aishti came up with the ad above. It caused a stirr and some legal repercussions.... And today? It seems Annahar was behind (along with their ad agency one presumes!) the stunt of raising the Lebanese flag with the cedar striken-through diagonally. Apparently, with the approach of International Women's Day it seems it was the most fitting way to - what exactly, I know not! Yet, the furore was so big, even the presidential palace told them to shove it because you cannot deface the flag (kind note: who in his or her right mind did not know you could not deface the flag). Now, the stunt has been dismounted thankfully. But seriously, how idiotic is that?

Kafa - using tactics which make little sense

Well, that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

First, before anyone telling me I am being biased. There is a big difference between Labneh w Jebneh  (for reference check here) and between the ad above. The other was funny, it made you look, was very tongue-in-cheek, the Kafa ad uses tactics used by the nation bordering us on the south used to scare people prior to bombing. So using such post-colonial pseudo-terrorist ads basically fostered by - what technically is still - our enemy, is not exactly a smart move Kafa no matter the intentions (which I am sure are originally good). Sometimes, one really, really needs to read the room before issuing ads.

Small update on Facebook, the ad was eliminated and a long, long notice was put instead - which instead of simply apologizing it goes on a diatribe of justification. You know Kafa, sometimes admitting a mistake goes far enough...

Joe Fish gets the president's election (if you work in communication)

And this comes from our friends at Joe Fish! If you work in communication, you'll get it, if not - sadly it is a "meh". But here's the gist: Clients, sadly, tend to tinker with the assignments they give creatives ad infinitum so it is not unusual for a file to be labelled "final" "finalfinal" "finalfinalfinal"..... So yes, now we have a president... "finalfinalfinalllFINALLLLLLYYYYYY". 

Politics - Mix and mismatch

I admit it has been long since I shot ads throughout town in vivo. But here you go - Politics is everywhere. There are signs from the time of the war in 2024, there is a sign for electing a president (apparently 2 days from now on the 9th of January), there are signs with neutrality signed by Paulette Yagopian aka Paula Yacoubian (see here), and one by Lebanese Forces (or is this Kataeb?) with "Lebanon first" as a message (which is not too far off from the Yagopian/Yacoubian one) and all of this begs the question - who is paying for this and with what money. Because many message stand there, with hashtags and all, yet there is no party/politician/entity signing with a logo. Obviously my arms are not long enough to pursue the financial paper trail, but even that - it could be a company owned by a company owned by another to hide the actual source. I still find this very interesting truth be told, how messages are plastered, both innocently enough and meaningfully enough yet no one tells us who plastered though and for what purpose.

Did Pandora misread the Lebanese market?

Pandora has a Christmas ad. So far nothing unusual. Women (and even men) flock to buy bracelets with charms from the brand during the holidays. But let us be very honest here, and I am speaking as a liberal for whom a lot of things are "OK, whatever", the models in the ad are dark-skinned. And in Lebanon, you are only dark-skinned if you are the househelp. Once more, I am trying to be both open-minded, but also very pragmatic. Almost every summer there is an issue at resorts - can the maid be admitted as well, and if she does can she use the pool like anyone else? I know I am not inventing these issues, these are part of the Lebanese society want it or not. And sadly, one cannot be too avant-garde while trying to sell. Someone just told me "I love Pandora, but now if I wear it I would be the same as our househelp as per the ad." I truly do think Pandora did a misstep here. Nothing that two light-skinned models cannot fix. And again, take it from a liberal, sometimes the market is the market.

Taqaddom makes itself known.

And then out of nowhere I saw this as I was browsing online. The "this" in question can be found here. Taqaddom dubs itself a "Taqaddom is a democratic progressive secular party working for social justice & sustainable development." Apparently the even have a member in the parliament (Mark Daou). All right, I admit, I am a bit disconnected politically so this has passed me by. Their ad centers around the issue of one... "One people. One army. and 1700 and one" (except in Arabi it rhymes). The 1701 in question is and am quoting from Google "Resolution 1701 (reaffirming the earlier Resolution 1559 from 2005) called for the disarmament and disbanding of militias and called for an embargo on the sale or supply of arms and related material to Lebanon, except as authorized by its government." So voila, yes, was not expecting this but maybe other people were? Who knows in the fragmented political landscape in Lebanon.