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WINTER 2020
IRADA Economic Dinner in 2018. IRADA Board Members: Abussamii Al Sharif, Abdallah Shahine, Jamil Mekawi, Malek Chaar ‘95, Reem Beydoun ‘01, Assem Nawam, Muhieddine Doughan, Omar Debs ‘85, Mazen Shbaro, Bassem Bawab ‘93, Amir Kataranji, Hassan Attar
IRADA, the will to rise again
The name fits too well. Irada, the will. The will to survive. The will to rise again. It seemed only natural for IRADA to assist in the fundraising efforts to rebuild the broken city. When Assem Nawam ’87, managing director at Powertech, cofounded the NGO seven years ago, the ‘will’ to rise again did not even cross his mind. Why would it? It was well before an economic crisis gripped the country, a pandemic engulfed the world, and a catastrophic Beirut blast destroyed a large part of the city, killing almost 200 people, injuring thousands, and displacing hundreds. Back then, the idea was to get a group of experienced business people together, form an NGO, and allow them to benefit from each other’s experiences while simultaneously supporting society. They called it IRADA. In English, it translates to the Federation of Businessmen for Support and Development. But it sounds much better in Arabic: the will. This will was first tested earlier this year with the onset of the economic crisis. As the Lebanese pound tumbled and prices and inflation soared, many businesses across the country began shutting down. IRADA rallied. Its members – all 239 of them were determined to face the economic challenge. They got together. Some capitals merged. IRADA businesses continued. At this point, the choice was clear: turn
a blind eye, leave, or help the country survive. Option number one would go against every grain of IRADA’s motto: Happiness comes from giving and not taking. Option number two was unfathomable: Quitting. “I am not leaving this country even if I am the last man in Lebanon,” said Nawam.
Ricardo Hosri, Assem Nawam ’87,
