Sunday, October 16, 2005

Partial Hall of Shame

In the spirit of changes we see taking place in Lebanon today, I thought it timely to publish information that was itself published by the "venerable" Daily Star on Saturday July 14, 2001. I had cut out that article and saved it for posterity in my little collection of "eternally interesting articles."

Most of you will remember the time Electricite du Liban (Lebanon's national electricity company) and its labor union clashed to such an extent that the union took an initiative that I believe remains without parrallel in Lebanese politics even today: they released a "Partial 'Hall of Shame'" which listed a number of high profile Lebanese individuals and institutions which owed EDL a commulative sum of around LL 1 Billion ($1 = LL 1,500 (Lebanese Lira)).

As usual, once EDL and its union patched things up, everything was swept under the carpet and no one ever heard anything about the allegations made by the union, which claimed that even higher officials have not paid bills, but were simply untouchable - hence the word "partial" in the title of their list.

The Partial Hall of Fame (note: this was published in 2001, it is an exact copy of the list published by the Daily Star)

BLUE highlights the top five debtors
OLIVE GREEN highlights members of the Khazen family

1) Beirut MP Mohammed Qabbani.....................LL15,643,300
2) Baabda MP Salah Harake................................LL7,650,000
3) Western Bekaa MP Sami Khatib....................LL58,506,950
4) Baalbek-Hermel MP Ghazi Zeaiter................LL10,953,780
5) Former MP Tala Merehbi................................LL7,723,478
6) Nabatieh MP Yassin Jaber..............................LL20,000,000
7) Nabatieh MP Abdel-Latif Zein........................LL21,000,000
8) Zahle MP Mohsen Dalloul................................LL7,871,000
9) Former Jounieh Mayor Haikal Khazen..........LL21,059,000
10) Home in Aintoura........................................LL30,266,540
11) Haikal Khazen and Butros Shehwan.............LL11,802,130
12) Haikal Khazen and frmr. MP Rusheid Khazen..LL7,485,900
13) Rusheid Khazen..........................................LL5,749,680
14) Rafik Khazen...............................................LL95,858,090

15) Beirut MP Nasser Qandil...............................LL7,011,190
16) Melhem Barakat.........................................LL27,518,516
17) Frmr. Army Comander Ibrahim Tannous...LL6,950,260
18) Notre Dame Du Liban Hospital......................LL227,861,250
19) Hospital owner Fawzi Odaimi........................LL53,919,950
20) Frmr MP Mounir Abu Fadel..........................LL15,180,666
21) Frmr MP Michel Sassine (home)...................LL54,928,600
22) Frmr MP Michel Sassine (office)...................LL720,200
23) Frmr PM Adel Osseiran.................................LL44,791,910
24) Frmr Civil Servant Lucien Dahdah..............LL22,942,640
25) Nohad Soueid Hospital....................................LL77,557,100
26) Frmr MP Abdallah Rassi.................................LL4,633,260
27) Businessman, George Milad Ghazal-Mouawad..LL14,887,250
28) SSNP official, Inaam Raad...............................LL7,523,394

The following individuals challenged the claims made by EDL's Union and, in some cases, took their complaints to the courts:

Beirut MP Qabbani
Baabda MP Harakeh
Nabatieh MP Jaber
Zahle MP Dalloul
Beirut MP Qandil
Frmr. MP Sassine
Businessman Mouawad

-- END --

Three reasons I published this post:

1. Although LL1 Billion adds up to around $667 thousand, which is relatively minor compared to the overall EDL debt, that sum of money allegedly owed to EDL in 2001 is a tremendous amount in absolute terms - especially when superimposed on the fact that a little over twenty people people owe that money.

2. The nubmers listed above (again, if true) should also help to debunk the myth that the reason EDL is in such shambles is because the desperately poor Shi'a of Southern Beirut do not pay their utility bills. The habit of not respecting state institutions and accepting citizen obligations permeates all segments of society - especially the elite.

3. I want closure. Developments in Lebanon have a habbit of leaving spectators hanging! As I said in the beginning of this entry, I hope the apparently new spirit of reform we are seeing today will tackle some of the toughest issues that haunt us, such as the one highlighted above.

7 comments:

Lazarus said...

Raja -

Thank you for this post. Somethings should not be ignored. Such a shame.

Anonymous said...

1. Although LL1 Billion adds up to around $667 million, which...

you mean thousands

Hassan said...

Raja,

Thanks for this.
Is Haykal Khazen the father of Farid? I know he is Farid Haykal Khazen but is it the same Haykal?

And Melhem Barakat!!!???

Raja said...

Hassan, I was surprized with the Melhem barakat thing. but with the khazens, I was wondering whether Farid was related to any of the individuals listed. Maybe Haykal is his father.

Anon, thanks for the pointer. I've made the correction.

Raja said...

Vox,

my intent was to highlight that a significant segment of the "elite" was apparently not paying their bills (whatever their sect). The reason I highlighted the Khazen family is because there were four or five of them - I even considered consolidating them into one. If there were five hariris or joumblatts, I would have done the same exact thing.

You are right to claim that the Shi'a community in Ouza'i doesn't pay its bills. Studies and anecdotal evidence prove that the majority of houses in Ouzai' don't even have meters. But don't forget that the situation is more complex than it appears. The legal status of Ouza'i's residents, for example, is definitely in question. Wouldn't installing meters in their home imply defacto recognition of their legality by the state?

Furthermore, considering that the Ouzai' residents are some of the poorest individuals in Lebanon, do you not think that a solution ought to be much more comprehensive than simply billing them, or kicking them out of their homes? Maybe comprehensive social programs for all of Lebanon's poor (including poor Shi'a) would not only solve some of these problems, but also increase the state's legitmacy and decrease the power of parties like Hizballah and individuals like Jumblatt.

Back to my main point: Lebanon's problem is one that permeates all levels of society (horizontal and vertical). The list of debtors to EDL that I posted in this entry was simply intended to highlight that point. Scapegoating the Shi'a community in Ouzai will only allow big shots to get away with their criminal behavior. This is not a sectarian issue, it is one of elite incompetency and malintent towards state institutions.

Ahmad said...

You should have been more accurate. As you had already mentioned, MP Salah Harake filed a claim against the person who leaked this false information. Fearing prosecution, this person visited MP Harake at his office with a group of representatives from the Employee's Union and apologized. Only then did MP Salah Harake retrieve his claim against the person who gave this false information (I have his name but don't want to publish it for his personal reputation)

MP HARAKE DIDN'T HAVE ANY UNPAID DUES AT THAT TIME. THIS IS WHY I ASK THE PUBLISHER OF THIS BLOG TO RETRIEVE THE NAME OF MP SALAH HARAKE FROM THIS LIST.

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