A pair of Palestinian items

The blockade against the Gaza strip is making big headlines, especially since the Israeli raid onto an aid ship that killed 9 people. A couple of stories concerning the blockade and the life of the Palestinian people have caught our attention this morning.

First the International Red Cross says that the blockade against the Gaza strip is illegal as a violation against Geneva conventions. From Vision MP, this story gathers together various internet reports on the statement.

According to the Al Jazeera website, An ICRC statement issued Monday termed the blockade a “collective punishment” and a crime under international law.

“The closure imposed on the Gaza Strip is about to enter its fourth year, choking off any real possibility of economic development,” the ICRC said.

“Gazans continue to suffer from unemployment, poverty and warfare, while the quality of Gaza’s health care system has reached an all-time low.”

For Palestinians who live in Lebanon, they still face a tough life due to restrictions to gaining employment. The Lebanese government does not allow Palestinians to obtain work visas for many types of jobs. Further many employers will not hire Palestinian people at all. The despair brought on by this discrimination could fuel even more extreme terrorism.

From the Inter Press Service, writer Mona Alami makes the case that the lot of Palestinians in Lebanon is not that much better than in Israel.

Large camps, such as Ain el-Helweh, Bedawi and Chatila, are guarded by the Lebanese military or police. Youngsters sit idly around the meandering dirty streets, chatting or smoking cigarettes.

At night, militants often run amok, engaging in futile feuds with rivaling political gangs. The often explosive environment means that a seemingly harmless game of football could turn into a violent gun battle.

There are about 300,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, mostly residing in nine camps throughout the country. The discrimination and marginalisation they face in their ghettoised reality are exacerbated by restrictions on their employment.

It is estimated that 60 percent of Palestinians are unemployed. Previously, Palestinians could not work in about 70 job categories; in 2005, however, the labour ministry lifted the ban on around 50 professions.

Khaled, 22-year-old Palestinian, studied electrical engineering in Baghdad before coming back to Lebanon to look for a job. "I have been looking for over a year with no success. I have been rejected because I am Palestinian, in spite of my credentials. In Iraq, Palestinians have more rights," he explains.

Much of the discriminatory treatment Palestinians face in the job market in Lebanon is rooted in the fact that they have been stateless since 1948. According to figures provided by the Human Rights Watch, only 261 Palestinians got work visas in 2009, compared to 36,754 Ethiopians. Lebanese authorities have denied them equal rights with Lebanese and other foreign residents.

"Lebanese labour law treats Palestinian refugees like other non-Lebanese and requires them to have a work permit and social rights, subject to the principle of reciprocity. This means that Lebanon grants the right to work to nationals of other states whose countries grant Lebanese citizens the same right. This law naturally bars Palestinians from many jobs," says Alexander Adam, project manager at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

In addition to fewer employment opportunities legally employed Palestinians cannot benefit from the Lebanese social security pension or insurance plans even though employers are still obligated to pay the government for such programmes, explains Adam.

Professional associations, such as those for lawyers, doctors, and engineers, either apply severe restrictions on non-citizens or exclude them completely, leaving Palestinians with few job choices.

"Most Palestinians work in the real estate sector as painters or builders as well as seasonal employees in the agricultural sector, or as taxi drivers. For professionals, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other NGOs constitute the main source of employment," adds Adam.

28 percent of Lebanese live in poverty

A new report compiled by the United Nations Development Program gives us a lot of statistics on poverty in Lebanon.

The study finds that 28 percent of Lebanese people live in poverty while 8 percent live in extreme poverty. That translates to 300,000 who are unable to meet their basic food needs.

The Daily Star of Lebanon had writer Marion Saab break down the numbers.

The reports revealed that the bulk of poverty is concentrated in four areas across Lebanon: Tripoli, Akkar, Minieh-Dennieh, Jezzine, Saida, and Hermel, Baalbek. These regions account for half of the entire poor population while only contributing to one third of the population.

Geographic distribution of poverty is also an issue of concern, as substantial disparities have been identified as existing between the peripheral and central regions of the country. Poverty rates are comparatively insignificant in the capital, with Beirut below 6 percent, while the North constitutes 53 percent of overall poverty, the Bekaa 29 percent, the South 22 percent and 20 percent poverty rates in Nabatieh and Mouth Lebanon.

According to the study, poverty impacts some vocations more than others. The poor are concentrated among the unemployed and skilled workers, in sectors such as agriculture and construction. Findings suggest that youth with a university degree are also struggling to break the poverty cycle, as the unemployment rate for non-poor university graduates holding a secondary degree is half of the rate for extremely poor university graduates.

The report highlights the inequal distribution of expenditure among the population, with the poorer 20 percent of the population accounting for only 7 percent of all consumption in Lebanon while the richest 20 percent accounting for 43 percent. Expenditure levels in the northern districts are alarmingly far below the poverty line. Studies showed that households in the north with a similar set of characteristics to households in Beirut are four times more likely to be poor. The northern regions have experienced the most significant decline in expenditure over the last 10 years, while Beirut, the South and Bekaa regions recorded improvements in their expenditure.

The report found that it would cost $12 per Lebanese person per annum to lift all poor individuals out of extreme poverty. Economist Hamadan stated that while the government does have the means to deliver, bad targets and misinformation prevent any such expenditure from effectively relieving suffering in problem areas.

28.5 percent of Lebanese live in poverty - study

from The Daily Star

Report notes regional disparities

BEIRUT: An international study estimates that the poverty ratio in Lebanon is around 28.5 of the population, accounting for almost a million Lebanese, with 8 percent of the population, or almost 300,000 individuals, living under conditions of extreme poverty. These figures were disclosed by the International Poverty Center (IPC), an institute jointly supported by the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Bureau for Development Policy at the United Nations Development Program.

"This means that the ratio of the nonpoor in Lebanon is at 71.5 percent. This level compares well to that prevailing around 10 years ago in 1997, as national accounts statistics suggest that the growth in real per-capita private consumption was at a notable average of 2.75 percent annually, since 1997," said the study, which was published by Bank Audi's Lebanon Weekly Monitor on Tuesday.

But the IPC stressed that the distribution of this growth in consumption across different regions within Lebanon was again uneven.

"It was the highest in Beirut, at around 5 percent annually, which is not surprising, considering the widespread investment and job creation that took place in the capital after 1997. Also, a higher-than-average growth rate was observed in the South and Bekaa, as it reached 4 percent annually. On the other hand, Mount Lebanon and the North saw trivial growth in consumption, which translated into a relative decline in their mean per-capita expenditure compared to the overall average," the IPC said.

In parallel, the report sheds light on key elements to form a poverty-reduction strategy in Lebanon. It suggests the country is fully capable of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. It can also make considerable progress in reducing inter-regional disparities.

According to the latest available figures, the study suggests that average per-capita annual nominal consumption reached LL3,975,000 in 2004-2005.

"However, when taking regional price differentials into consideration, this annual per-capita real consumption is found to be 1 percent lower," the report said.

The study noted significant disparities in consumption in different areas of the country. In fact, it concludes that most of the inequality in Lebanon arises from regional inequalities.

"While Beirut has the highest mean per-capita consumption, which is more than 1.5 times the national average, the North has the lowest of around three-quarters the national average," the report said.

The report also highlighted discrepancies in the distribution of expenditure within different income groups.

"The poorest 20 percent account for only 7 percent of overall consumption in the country, while the richest 20 percent account for 43 percent. Still, this inequality is similar to that in other middle-income countries," the study said.

The study said that the poor are heavily concentrated among unemployed and unskilled workers, who in turn, are concentrated in the construction and agriculture sectors.

"Those two sectors were found to employ around 38 percent of all the poor. Thus, there should be an implementation of an economic agenda that promotes sustained growth, and thereby increased employment, in such sectors," the report recommended.

It added that the second pillar, which involves expanding educational opportunities, targets the unskilled workers.

"Improving the educational level of the poor enables them to have better access to social and economic opportunities. Moreover, it raises their productivity, which induces higher economic growth for Lebanon," the report said.

The study said that the third element of the poverty reduction strategy should be promoting a more balanced regional development.

The report clearly indicates that some regions, such as the North, lag behind in development and therefore more efforts should be exerted to create job opportunities and to promote further education in such regions.