Saving Beirut's Historic And Cultural Heritage

 

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Hello Everyone:

Blogger is back after a two-week convention hiatus.  Blogger Candidate Forum will be back after the Labor Weekend, when the presidential campaigns go into overdrive for the final lap.  In the meantime, The Candidate Forum would like to remind all of you obsessive poll watchers to just ignore what the surveys say about who is ahead.  Four years ago, the surveys said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a sure bet to win going into the final lap and we know what happened.  Onward

Today we are back to our regular programming of architecture, historic preservation, urban planning and design.  The subject up for discussion is historic preservation in post-bombing Beirut, Lebanon.

On August 4, 2020, the port city of Beirut, Lebanon was hit with a massive explosive that killed at 190 people, injured another 6,500, leaving another 300,000 homeless and caused about $10-$15 billion (USD) in property damage.  The cause of the blast destroyed a large swath of the capital city was a large amount off ammonium nitrate--a common fertilizer--stored in a warehouse.  The explosion is still being investigated to determine why 2,750 tons--the approximate equivalent of 1.1 kilotons of TNT--was improperly stored for six years, prior to the explosion.

The Port of Beirut before and after 
Beirut, Lebanon
bbc.com

The blast also tore through 8,000 houses in nearby neighborhoods, particularly in the predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Gemmayzeh, Mar Mihaael, and Achrafieh (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020).  Gemmayzeh is worth noting because it stands out as a "jewel-like example of the late Ottoman and French Mandate houses of fin-de-siecle Lebanon, with its facade of three arches and wide balconies" (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020).  Restoring architectural jewel-like examples, such as the ones in Gemmayzeh, is an extremely daunting and costly endeavor.  Nabih Bulos reports, "Even before the blast, Lebanon was essentially a failed state: Banks had stopped giving money to account holders; the national currency was plummeting against the dollar; prices were skyrocketing; 22-hour power cuts were standard" (latimes.com; Aug. 13, 2020).  With so many property owners in dire financial circumstances, Lebanese preservationists are now concerned that developers will swoop in and pick off historic building for a fraction of their worth and turn them into anonymous apartment blocks.

It would not be the first time, historically and culturally significant buildings have been under threat from developers.  Mr. Bulos writes, "During the civil war, the capital's downtown became an artillery zone for rival militias.  The area, a sort of Las-Vegas-on-the-Med with a collection of historic buildings, markets and boulevards, became a wasteland denuded of people and commercial activity" (Ibid).  In order to prevent such terrible fate, international efforts are underway to identify, recover, and restore Beirut's historic and cultural treasures in hopes of saving them from a date with the wrecking ball.

House damaged in the blast
Beirut, Lebanon
apnews.com

The United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, announced that it was leading an international campaign for the recovery and reconstruction of Beirut's historic and cultural heritage (washingtonpost.com; Aug. 13, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020).  Local officials believe that "around 60 historic building in the Lebanese capital were at risk of collapse..." (Ibid).  The blast not only inflicted severe damage to most of the city's historic neighborhoods, it also cause major damage to its cultural institutions (museums and galleries) and religious sites at time when the country was already reeling from the twin financial and COVID-19 pandemic crises (whc.unesco.org; Aug. 3, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020).  UNESCO and its regional partners are working to stabilize the buildings, assess the damage, and create an action plan to recover and rebuild.  

UNESCO, in response to calls for support from the Lebanese Directorate-General of Antiquities, will lead the international reconstruction campaign based on the Directorate-General's technical needs assessment and an International Action Plan for Culture in the capital city, which UNESCO is currently developing with its partners in Lebanon and abroad (Ibid).

Debris clean up
theconversation.com

Dr. Sarkis Khoury, the Director-General of Antiquities at the Ministry of Cultural, shared his initial assessment of damage to historic cultural sites in the city.  Dr. Khoury noted 

that at least 8,000 buildings, many concentrated in the old districts of Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael, were affected.  Among them are some 640 historic buildings, approximately 60 of which are risk of collapse... (Ibid)

The most immediate need is structural consolidate and waterproofing intervention to reduce the risk of further damage from the approaching autumn rains.  Further emergency measures to safeguard Beirut's cultural life includes the mobilization of local artists, cultural professionals, artisans and keepers of traditional knowledge.  Further, UNESCO is coordinating with key partners including: the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Area, the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, Blue Shield, the International Center for the Study and Preservation of Restoration of Cultural Property, and the International Council of Museums and Sites (Ibid).  Will international efforts come in time to prevent developers from razing the historic buildings and cultural sites?

Historic Beirut
nakhal.com

 Historic and cultural heritage in Beirut have taken on a particular relevance in the decades following the end of the civil war during the early 1990s, when the reconstruction of the city center included razing a large portion of the Ottoman-French Mandate and modernist architectural heritage (globalheritage.nl; Aug. 17, 2020; date accessed Aug. 31, 2020).  Lebanese activists, architects, and preservationist opposed the plans, arguing "that in addition to these plans being elitist, selective, and exclusive, they hardly reflect Beirut's cultures and multiplicity of its histories (Ibid).  Since the reconstruction of the city center, and like many of the cities in the region, Beirut has incrementally losing its architectural heritage.  An absence of comprehensive historic preservation policies and practices means that historic buildings are routinely demolished, replaced by more dense and profitable developments.

Contemporary Beirut
beirutreport.com

In the few weeks since the blast, the subject of heritage conservation remains serious and germane.  Be that as it may, "its primary relevance lies in it being symptomatic of fundamental governance and structural malpractices" (Ibid).  The blast, which left approximately 300,000 individuals without shelter was the latest in series of events that brought the ineptitude and inefficiency of the current system of governance.  "Over the past 10 months, thousands of citizens have been protesting in the streets of Lebanon against severe economic and environmental crisis, which they held the existing political class and the deep-rooted corruption accountable for" (Ibid).  Four days after the blast, thousands of young people stage a protest, marching from the destroyed Electricity of Lebanon building through the streets of Gemmayzeh to the city center to give voice to their anger at the failing conditions and indifferent institution that allowed such a tragedy to happen (Ibid).

With thousands of housing units rendered uninhabitable by the blast, community organizations have made it their priority to provide the affect residents with some form of shelter.  All well and fine, but heritage conservation can be quite impatient.  "Many residents of the affected neighborhoods have already received compensation offers by opportunistic developers to leave their houses following the blast" (Ibid).  Architects and planners are worried that without state protection, these historically and culturally rich neighborhoods might give way to gentrification.  At the same time, the residents are aware that strictly technical strategy to the blast-related destruction most likely be insufficient.  The technical approach will not fully be able to provide a more sustainable solution--something that responds to the needs of the affected communities (Ibid).  Further, it could undermines efforts by segments of Lebanese society calling for complete political and structural reform that adequately meets their demands for more inclusive citizenship (Ibid).  Perhaps the best approach to saving Beirut's historic and cultural legacy is a grass roots effort that can  fully realize the desire for a more inclusive citizenship.

 

 

Blogger Candidate Forum: RNC Convention Night Four

 

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Hello Everyone:

After taking a day to digest all that was said and done during the Republican National Convention, The Candidate Forum is back for the summary and convention wrap up.  A quick programming note, Blogger will be back on Monday with a fresh post but before we go any further, are you a registered voter?

If you are, good for you.  Are you planning to mail in your secure ballot?  Please make sure you have it postmarked by midnight, October 15, 2020.  Can you safely vote in person.  If so, pack your provisions, get in line, and stay in line even after the polls officially close.  You cannot be denied a ballot if you are in line after closing time.  If you are not a registered voter, stop reading, go to usa.gov, register to vote, then come back to read the post.  Whatever you do, make a plan.  Text VOTE to 30330.  Thank you.  Onward

The president making his acceptance speech
The White House
nytimes.com

 The final night of the quadrennial Republican National Convention and the two week political infomercial fest drew to a close on Thursday night.  Closing night festivities featured remarks by leading conservatives and the party's congressional leaders, the President's eldest daughter, and the president Mr. Donald Trump.  The evening also marked the beginning of the home stretch of the election cycle and previewed several major themes likely to play a significant part in the fortunes of candidates on the ballots this November 3rd.  Here are a few takeaways from the closing night.

Protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin 
citynews1130.com

The president intends to campaign as the candidate that will restore law and order.  A campaign theme that will allow him to play the tough guy "but unignorable in reference to the ongoing racial injustice unrest" (abcnews.go.com; Aug. 28, 2020; date accessed Aug. 29, 2020).  Going into the 2020 election cycle, the Republicans can proudly point its work on behalf of African Americans:

 

...the creation of economic opportunity zones, expanding funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and criminal justice reform (an issue not limited to the African Americans, but one the administration regularly ties to the Black community).  It gave prime speaking slots to Black leaders like Sen. Tim Scot, R-S.C., and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. (Ibid)

Yet the party could not bring itself to say his name, Jacob Blake.  Only Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson offered his sympathy to the Blake family.  Rather, the RNC offered a four day steady stream of criticism of the protesters.  Each of the speakers took turns spotlighting the violence, rioting, looting, and destruction without elaborating on their opposition to any specific reforms demanded by the peaceful protesters.  Lawmakers are under no obligation to agree with some or any of the ideas proposed by the activists, but the RNC appeared unwilling to event entertain any discussion on the matter.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
people.com

Thus, somewhere in all the declarations of bringing the rioters and looters to justice--while acknowledging George Floyd's death as unforgivable (Ibid) as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani put it--the reason why protesters are on the streets got lost in the mix.

Mayor Giuliani blasted criminal justice initiatives, like the early release of non-violent offenders (Ibid), and the work of progressive district attorneys (Ibid)--some of changes and demonstration leaders are demanding when they go out into the streets.  As the summer drags on, it has become quite obvious that the president is re-running his 2016 campaign playbook.  Protesters have replaced immigrants as the "others."  Warnings about the "radical left" have replaced warning about "radical Islam."

When the president speaks of "preserving the safety of suburban housewives from the threat of low-income housing (low-income housing one might find in a city, where most of the protesting is taking place)" (Ibid), he employs language similar to that from 2016,  stopping short of building a wall around the country's more affluent communities.

The result, 

...the same Black Americans that Republicans spent so much of the past four days courting--going so far, in the case of Georgia State Re. Vernon Jones, of accusing Democrats of wanting to keep them on their mental plantations (Ibid)-- were likely left question why the party appeared unwilling to have a serious conversation on the root causes of the very demonstrations they so desperately want to stop (Ibid)

Why, indeed.

news.yahoo.com

National Economic Council Director Lawrence "Larry" Kudlow shocked many of the administration's critics on Wednesday during remarks praising the president's initial economic success before turning to COVID-19.  He said,

Then came a once in 100-year pandemic...It was awful (Ibid)

Yes, the pandemic IS awful but not as awful as Mr. Kudlow's use of the past tense in speaking of the pandemic.  It would have been largely forgotten had the president droned on Thursday about the "ongoing effort to produce a vaccine and 'crush' the virus," (Ibid) and as for the audience on White House South Lawn, they sat maskless underscoring Mr. Kudlow's use of the past tense in talking about the pandemic.

Through the four Trump-fest, supporters roundly praised the president's decision earlier this year to ban travel from China, exclaiming that it "may have saved thousands of lives" (Ibid).  Full clarification: it was a partial ban that still allowed Chinese nationals to enter the country.  They applauded his drive for faster approval of new treatments and fast tracking a vaccine.  However, the question is how do voters reconcile the image of a president valiantly doing everything he can to keep Americans safe while beaming at maskless sea of potential spreaders?

This contradiction played itself out in the remarks given by speakers, who scolded those who disagreed with the administration while question the expertise of its advisers.  One example is South Dakota Kristi Noem who told the viewers on Wednesday,

Government's power at all levels is limited to the confines of our Constitution, which protects our god-give liberties and civil rights,.... We are not and will not be the subjects of elite class of so-called experts (Ibid)

Thus, the RNC spent the week presenting Mr. Trump the ultimate virus experts who made all the correct decisions, despite the number of confirmed cases spiraling upward toward six million and the number of dead topping 180,000.  Over the next two months, voters must ask themselves whether evidence is more persuasive than rhetoric (Ibid). 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
kmph.com

 Where were the congressional Republicans?  With the exception of a several rising stars, they were elsewhere.  Rising stars like Senator Scott, Representatives Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) were given the opportunity to introduce themselves to a national audience but there was a noticeable lack of candidates facing tough races.

Senator Scott is not up for re-election; neither is Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), all popular on Fox News.  You would think a party that currently holds a razor thin 3-seat majority in The Senate would want to feature people like Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-ME), Cory Gardner (R-CO), right?  Even House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) passed on mentioning down ballot races.  It seems that MIA congressional Republicans have developed Trump-phobia in an attempt to save their candidacies.  That left Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to represent the party's legislative efforts, albeit invoking a favorite scapegoat,

I'm immensely proud of the work the Republican Senate has done,... We are the firewall against Nancy Pelosi's agenda (Ibid)

Whether or not the president win re-election, if the Republicans lose control of The Senate, they may regret relegating the legislative branch to the back bench during the convention.  A second Trump administration with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would not be able to confirm prized conservative judges.  A unified Democrat government--Biden White House, Democrat House and Senate--would undo many of the achievements touted by the convention speakers and implement an agenda derided as "Socialist" and "extreme" (Ibid)

We are done with political conventions for now, leaving voters two months to decide what sort of United States of America do they want?  We are all in it together versus Everyone for themselves.  Weighing heavily in this decision are protests and pandemic and how each of the candidates--up and down the ballot--plan to deal with them.  Sitting out this election because your favorite candidate is not on the ballot or the candidate on the ballot does not tick off all the right boxes for is not an option.  All elections have consequences, and this, perhaps more so than the previous one, will decide whether the United States joins the rest of the world in the 21st century or not.