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Frances Guy
on 31 Jan 08
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Do blogs have to be up beat? It is difficult this weekend. Friday morning another massive explosion rocked Beirut. Another bomb against a specific target. This time a young member of Internal security. He was key to the on-going investigations about the other bombs and had been targetted before but that doesn't make the impact any the less. Of course if you try to hit one person with more than 50kgs of explosive you cause a lot of damage. 4 dead, more than 40 injured , endless windows blown out in the region. The TV pictures are particularly gruesome with bits of body parts strewn all over. I am disgusted. That is not a creative sentiment, I know but it is difficult to be creative. I realise people in Iraq have been living with this kind of horror for the last 4 years. It doesn't make it easier - all those parts belong to loved ones. Streets are quiet afterwards, as everyone wonders who next? Now targets include politicians, army officers and police. If the security forces can't protect themselves who can??? On to Sunday evening - the riots start. Not entirely clear why, but electricity cuts are biting, prices are rising, frustration is spreading in general and the opposition threatened to start such action from 28 January. A sort of a test against the army. No-one comes out well. At least 8 dead. Not clear who started the shooting. Schools and Universities closed on Monday partly to avoid more trouble. Funerals will be difficult. Decisive leadership is more than ever desperately needed. I fear this will be difficult to control if it goes on too long. We can all help by training the police and army in crowd control techiques but with growing frustration at the lack of political leadership that will have limited long term effect.
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Frances Guy
on 28 Jan 08
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A good news story amongst the general gloom of the failure of Amre Musa to broker a deal amongst the politicians. I visit the container terminal at Beirut Port. Beirut Container Terminal is run on the basis of an agreement between a private consortium led by Merseyside docks and the Lebanese government. Just over 2 years ago there were more than 80 Brits working in the terminal, now there are 2. Since then, more than 3,000 jobs have been created in and around the port. It is win/win all round. Profits are shared. There is a real sense of ownership. I get to see the operations room - oldest of the top executives looks half my age. Everything is computerised. Every container is monitored every step of the way. If you as a customer want to know where your individual container is you can get the information sent to you by SMS. It is efficient, ever expanding - from 300,000 - 900,000 units in three years - and dynamic. Beirut is nearly 24 hours away from direct shipping lanes from the Suez to the rest of the Mediterranean. To gain the traffic the port has to be efficient. Clearly they have achieved that. All the operators are Lebanese. A wonderful demonstration of what Lebanon can achieve when the circumstances are right. And of good British expertise. We sometimes forget what a good maritime nation we really are. We shouldn't.
I get to go to the top of the crane. Luckily I don't suffer from vertigo and the views are fantastic ( you can just about see the snow-capped peaks in the photo). We sit in the driver's cab while he manipulates the container onto the ship. Such precision. Such speed.
And then, I also visit the "mother ship", MSC Roma in dock for 8 hours to be loaded before heading East. A crew of 25 for this massive vessel over 100 m long. We visit the engine room - it is impossible to describe how overwhelming it is.. and how clean. I confess to having dreamt about being a ship's engineer once when still at school and when engineering attracted me as a profession.
As ever in Lebanon the media cover the event. For once I am glad to be able to promote a good news story and remind the politicians what is possible in this country of dynamic entrepreneurs. Nevertheless the real problem now is that if the stalemate continues the economic consequences will get worse.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 23 Jan 08
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I am in Istanbul for two mandatory training courses as part of the Professional Skills in Government programme. The courses are an important Treasury requirement. Actually I think it is healthy that senior management in the FCO still has mandatory training courses. We probably should have more of them. There is always a tendency to put off training because there are other things to do and a tendency to self-importance - that somehow Ambassadors are irreplaceable. Which is of course not strictly true.. Still I am a bit sad to learn that there has been another bomb in Beirut this afternoon and feel out of place. I should at least be on the ground to make sure all my staff are OK.
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Frances Guy
on 16 Jan 08
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9 January
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Frances Guy
on 10 Jan 08
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7 January
A courtesy visit to the Beirut Bar Association to congratulate the newly elected President. Left inspired. I had forgotten (honestly) about the key role an independent lawyers association can play. Justice is one of the pillers of an open society. The President of the Bar Association quotes Mr Churchill as having asked if British justice is safe during the 2nd World War - the implication being if Justice is safe so are the fundamental values of a democratic society. Autocratic societies fear independent bar associations. With reason perhaps. In Sudan, some of the bravest people I met were members of the Bar Association who had played a telling role in overthrowing General Jaafar Nimeiri in the 1980s. They were made to suffer terribly after the coup in 1989. In Lebanon the Beirut and Tripoli Bar Associations are calling for guarantees for the independence of the judiciary and asking politicians to respect not ridicule the constitution. The Embassy has worked with the Beirut Bar Association in the past on human rights training and supporting some interchange with the International Bar Association. I hope we can continue to do more of the same in future.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 10 Jan 08
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One of the comments on the Foreign Secretary's blog is that blogs are better with pictures. I need to undertake to do better on that score too. But for the moment as we enter a new year in Lebanon, and more shooting is heard every night, it is difficult to find optimistic thoughts to share about 2008. The impasse seems as great as ever. The solution in part lies outside Lebanon but not totally. There is still more Lebanese politicians could do to retake the initiative. But when you mention this, people point to the assassinations. How brave do I expect leaders to be? I can't answer that because many of them are already brave. But when I went to the Pakistani Embassy today to sign the condolence book for Benazir Bhutto, I know that her courage was part of the tribute that I paid to her. I went from there to the Yemeni Embassy to pay condolences for the death of Sheikh Abdullah al Ahmer ( I was Ambassador to Yemen before and met him many times. He was the epitomy of a dignified tribal sheikh and always treated me with the utmost courtesy) And because of Benazir we (me and the assorted men with connections to Yemen who were there) had a discussion about the potential role of women in democratic elections in Muslim countries. May her soul rest in peace.
PS I am not suggesting self-sacrifice is necessary but rather some humility in front of those who have really made a difference.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 04 Jan 08
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The planes are full of returning Lebanese expatriates. Like the Scots, most Lebanese live outside the country. In the nineteenth century the comparison was stronger with Alfred Toynbee noting that in both cases it was economic poverty that drove people to seek pastures elsewhere. He noted too that in both cases entrepreneurial skills created success stories all around the world. More recently the Lebanese have been driven out by civil war, and even more recently by the on-going political uncertainty since the July 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah. At lunch on 23 December we meet some of these millions of expats who have returned for Christmas. One of them reckons of his school class of 45 none (YES NONE) of them is living in Lebanon. They come together in Lebanon at Christmas and in the summer and it is the only place they all get together. They spend a bit of money and then leave. More than 25% of Lebanese GDP is accounted for by remittances. It is one of the explanations of the Lebanese economic miracle - they earn their money elsewhere and send it home. For Europeans it is easy to ignore that nearly 7 million people in Sao Paolo, Brazil claim Lebanese descendance. Other significant populations are scattered throughout Latin America, West Africa, and, of course, the rest of the Middle East. Christmas in Beirut is therefore a fun, family affair, full of people wondering if perhaps they should dare come back home for good. But not just now, not in this political tension. So they will pack up again in a few days, fill the aeroplanes with Lebanese wine and sweets.. planning their next visit.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 27 Dec 07
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Dr Howells visits
It is always a highlight for an Embassy for a Minister to visit. A highlight politically, but also administratively. Endless worries about car-plans, timing etc. I have a great team who always manage that kind of detail very professionally but as the Minister says it is the job of an Ambassador to worry!
This visit is classic for Lebanon. Last minute changes in flights and timing. Lebanese politicians wonderfully flexible and accommodating. Can you imagine the opposite being true? We see everyone we asked to, just about. We have some good political discussions. Hopes are not too high for a solution before the next parliamentary vote on Saturday but there is a slim chance.. I will keep encouraging after the Minister has left.
And then he went to Nahr el Bared, the destroyed Palestinian refugee camp in the north of Lebanon. Dr Howells will do his own comment - on his blog ! But the pictures show the devastation. The misery of the people is evident. There is so much to do to put these lives back together but also ensure some security in the future. The Minister is visibly moved.
The Embassy has some priorities for action in the future. The Lebanese government know that we are interested. And maybe, just maybe we gave a few Palestinians a little bit of hope that they will be listened to. A good visit indeed.
Transcript
I am in the Nahr el Bared camp now and the ruins of what was once a thriving community. It's completely ruined. It looks worse than the ruins of the earthquake I saw very recently in Peru. And this is what's happened when a bunch of extremists have got into a community and decided to use it for their own ends. They've challenged the Government of Lebanon and the Government responded and it's quite clear that they fought building by building like in the battle of Stalingrad and everywhere here are young children and you just wonder what on earth the children are going to think about this in the future, you know because it's such a brutal environment now and everything is in such total ruin. And the people want to know when they can just get their little bits of paper and certificates and evidence of land ownership and where they come from. That's what they want to know and it's impossible to tell them because I don't know how long this is going to take to clear away. Months probably, maybe years even and there's got to be some way of giving these people some hope and that's got to come through the United Nations relief workers here and the other NGOs who are working and it's going to come when we tell the rest of the world exactly what this place looks like and what effect it's had on the poor people who live here.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 21 Dec 07
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posted
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Frances Guy
on 18 Dec 07
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One of the more traumatic duties of an Ambassador is to be Her Majesty's representative at funerals. No matter how formal, they are always a mixture of the personal and the official; a strained balance between the pain of a family and the needs of a state. In the Arab world in general there is an important tradition of paying condolences on the death of a relative. This can be a tricky aspect of being a female diplomat because for many Muslims condolences from men and women are dealt with separately. But in Lebanon the number of recent political assassinations means that there have been a corresponding number of political funerals. On Friday 14 December, Brigadier General Francois al Haj was put to rest following his brutal assassination two days before. Once again it is the family who behave with the most dignity, asking that their father be remembered for the soul of the south from where he came, and for the unity of Lebanon for which he fought. The heavens open. The church leaks. Opposition representatives share the front pew with representatives of the governing coalition. Why does it have to take a funeral to bring politicians together?
posted
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Frances Guy
on 18 Dec 07
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What I enjoy about being an Ambassador: the variety and the contact with a wide range of people. On Friday, I accepted an invitation from a local sheikh to visit a library project attached to a Mosque in one of the poorest parts of North Lebanon. I hesitated. It was far away and Friday was supposed to be a day of elections for the President. Was it really a good use of my time? But the host was insistent and the elections were postponed (again). So I went. And discovered a room full of more than 60 men, with possibly a couple of women, some local mayors and a few religious leaders. And so we started a question and answer session, about politics, about Iraq, about what the British government can and can't do to help the local municipalities in this part of Lebanon etc. In Arabic. Sometimes it was hard going but most of the time with some good humour. I suspect they are a bit softer on women out of respect but otherwise some of the usual stuff - the Brits are responsible for all of the woes of the region (Israel) so why don't we do more to solve the problem.. etc.. But the best moment perhaps was when a chap from one of the toughest areas in Lebanon asked me to come and visit his local high school - because the girls need to see a woman like you (!) - they need to understand what opportunities might be open to them - to open their horizons. So next time when someone asks what are the benefits of being a woman ambassador in the Arab world - I will say reaching out to parts of the population a man can never reach!
And then on Monday, a lecture at the Isam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut. In English this time, but an academic environment is always very challenging. What is the UK getting out of being a back seat driver to the US? I like the symbolism. Back seat drivers don't often control the vehicle although they do usually make their voice heard ! Isam Fares are doing a good job focussing on some very clear policy debates, like climate change and its effect in the Arab world. I hope my volunteering to speak can help us develop a useful exchange and maybe look at ways of bringing in British academics.
NB still no President. Yet another parliamentary session scheduled for tomorrow. Time to get out of this void.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 11 Dec 07
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There is a serious side to all of this though. One of the UK's strong points is of course the democratic tradition, and the strength of the reputation of the Palace of Westminster. But most people associate British democracy with the first past the post system. In Lebanon, as elsewhere, there are supporters of this system for its clarity but many opponents of its relevance in a country that is built on the notion of "consensual" democracy. But, I point out, we now have many different electoral systems working simultaneously in the UK with resulting coalition politics and now a minority government in Scotland. In Northern Ireland too we have an example of a system which gives guarantees to minorities. Lebanon may be more complicated confessionally but the British ability to adapt and use different electoral systems to meet different political demands is worth publicising more. The Westminster Foundation held a debate on a comparison between Northern Ireland and Lebanon in the American University of Beirut on 29 November, led by LSE academic Michael Kerr. This is the sort of thing we should be doing more of. I hope once a new government is settled in Lebanon the politicians will go back to a serious discussion about reforming the electoral law and the UK can have a positive input.
posted
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Frances Guy
on 04 Dec 07
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That is how the papers and politicians are describing it: an organised vacuum. President Lahoud left office and his Presidential palace at midnight on 23 November. The failure of the Lebanese parliament to elect a successor means that since then Lebanon has not had a Head of State.
How many countries in the world do not have a functioning Head of State? There may be some whose legitimacy is in question because of the manner in which they took power. But how many do not actually have a head of state? Burma perhaps, where a military committee has ruled for nearly 20 years. Somalia perhaps where there is no central government. But even there there are competing claims for Head of State rather than none at all.
One of the Lebanese politicians reminds me that other countries have had interim arrangements. It’s true. When I was in Sudan in 1988 they used to have a committee of 5 who were President together. It worked for a while. I don’t think you can blame that arrangement for the military coup that happened next.
And of course in Lebanon, the constitution foresaw this situation. There is provision for the powers of the President to pass to the government. Hence the term "organised" vacuum. But it is uncomfortable. And the population are worried about what all of this means. And diplomats are trying (again) to encourage politicians to speak to each other and organise themselves out of this void. Perhaps they can do it. There are voices today that suggest it is possible. Let’s work for that. This country needs a bit of calm
posted
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Frances Guy
on 29 Nov 07
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posted
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Frances Guy
on 23 Nov 07
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