Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Shedding Light on Stateless People in Baalbeck- Hermel region


The Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training - LOST drafted recently a legal study about statelessness in Baalbeck- Hermel region.

Funded by the World Bank, this study includes an overview about the numbers of stateless people in the region. 950 cases were counted in less than one month through several meetings held with the region’s mokhtars and field visits in the different cities and villages of Baalbeck- Hermel.
This thorough study gives away the reasons of having unregistered births in Lebanon starting with poverty and nescience and ending with bureaucracy.

Moreover, the study deals with the serious and critical social effects of this problem since stateless people are deprived of their civil rights (Education, Medical care…), personal and political rights (marriage, travel, election…).

“So, Stateless people don’t have clear present nor clear future. They don’t legally exist” as Salah Zaiter said, the director of training at LOST.

This legal study determines in details all the legal mechanisms and procedures to follow in order to argue this problem out. Actions should be done to make this group of people registered and giving them social, economic, political and civil rights through clear legal steps and in the necessary competent courts.

More than vocational education! Job opportunities

The Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training inaugurated the Electronics and Commercial Arts Center “ECC” in an opening ceremony in Baalbeck in the presence of a large audience of political, academic and social figures.

“More than vocational education! Job opportunities” said Dr. Ramy Lakkis, the founder of LOST. This is the essential feature that distinguishes “ECC” from other vocational institutions. “ECC” provides career guidance and job opportunities to its students in collaboration with Forsa, a local NGO.

“ECC” provides the following technical degrees “BP-BT-TS”, and it offers a wide range of majors such as IT management, nursing, Business administration, management information system, Construction and public works.

Furthermore, “ECC” offers a variety of courses and certificates in Languages (English& French), hairdressing & make-up, first aids, flowers’ arrangement, engineering & architectural drawing, photography, executive secretary, head accountant, computer and general accountant.