OCTOBER 2021
Rupture:
Angela Merkel’s Exit and What It Means for Germany’s Future Photo by Wang Di
Ghosts of Menton
ISSUE NO 2
Beyond the colorful facades of Menton’s old town lies a morbidly fascinating history. Transport yourself back to the 19th century, when the cobblestone streets of Menton were filled with the sound of coughing — perhaps not an unfamiliar scene. However, the hacking and spluttering in the 1860s was not caused by a wave of integrationitis ripping through SciencesPistes. Instead, the cheerful Riviera town we now call home was a fashionable winter resort frequented by aristocrats — many of whom suffered from tuberculosis. If you have ever sworn that Mentonese air is special, you might be onto something. Doctors from the 19th century certainly thought so, most notably James Henry Bennet. We can thank this Briton for putting Menton on the map by recommending it to his tuberculosis-afflicted patients. continued on page 2 Saoirse Aherne
Thou Shall Not Be Indifferent: Nadine Labaki’s Wake-Up Call to the West Berlin. At 6 p.m. Central European Time, the German state television announced the first exit polls following the Federal Election. Jörg Schönenborn, the election night presenter, looked at his cards containing the results, looked up into the cam-
era, took a breath, and said: “I can promise you numbers like we have never seen them before.” After 16 years under Angela Merkel, this would be the first time that the election outcome was actually impossible to predict. As I wrote for Le Zadig last
semester: “The Greens have consistently polled at 20 percent or more, in striking distance of the CDU, while it has comfortably overtaken the SPD (…), possibly ending decades-long domination by the CDU and SPD.” While my prediction was not quite
accurate, now that the results are in, we are certain that the Merkel Photo courtesy of era has ended — and Creative Commons there is no turning For most of us, the French-Italian frontier in Menton is a concept, a back. sort of imaginary line of cheaper groceries and good pizza. continued on page 9 Lionel Chambon
continued on page 33 Krzysztof Kaluzny
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Ghosts of Menton “Cannes is for the living, Monaco for the Playing, and Menton for the dying” Photos by Wang Di
Bennet believed Menton’s temperate winters and warm dry climate could help to cure tuberculosis. He travelled first to Menton in 1859 after contracting the disease, seeking “to die in a quiet place.” Instead, Bennet experienced a miraculous improvement in his health. He subsequently started a medical practice in Menton, though he would return to Britain during the summers to see patients. Bennet published a number of books in the 1860s and 1870s exploring the role of climate in the treatment of pulmonary diseases, heralding Menton for its rejuvenating weather. By 1882, even Queen Victoria herself had
traditional soccer rules sparked the development of “rugby” style play. Ellis has since been recognized as the inventor of rugby. In 1987, the International Rugby Board decided to honor Ellis by engraving his name into the Rugby World Cup. Ellis went on to become a pastor and then a minister in London. At some point towards the end of his life, Ellis moved to Menton, though it is unclear whether this was due to illness. He died on the 24th of January in 1872 and was buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château.
caught Menton fever. In search of a cure for her sickly son Leopold, the monarch spent two months here. Although Leopold did not survive, Menton’s legacy prevailed and by the turn of the century, this little commune was saturated with ailing aristocrats from Britain, Germany, and Russia. Menton came to be known amongst Britons as a town “for the dying”: its beauty and charm drew in famous folks looking for a place to spend their final years, while its reputation for restoring health made it desirable to the sickly. To this day, spirits continue to
roam the streets of Menton, and are especially noticeable at this time of year. So let us embark on an exploration of our most interesting local ghosts, their lives, their deaths, and their legacies...
Next time the ball drifts in an unexpected way during a Mentonese game of rugby, don’t be so quick to blame the wind. It just might be the spirit of William Webb Ellis, trying once again to partake in the sport he created.
Pyotr Petrovich Troubetzkoy William Webb (1822-1892) Ellis (1806This former aide-de-camp to the 1872) Tzar was a Russian diplomat, Perhaps the most famous of Menton’s deceased, William Webb Ellis grew up in the town of Rugby, England. In 1823, during a game of soccer, Ellis picked up the ball in his hands and ran with it. This bold violation of
administrator and general. His first marriage was to Princess Varvara Yourievna Trubetskoy who was also, coincidentally, his cousin. However, in 1865, he went to Florence on a diplomatic mission and met Ada Winans,
OCTOBER 2021
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an American opera singer. He promptly divorced Yourievna and moved to Ghiffa, Italy with Winans. After a financial disaster owing to the Panama Canal crisis, Troubetzkoy was forced to sell his villa in Ghiffa and relocate to Menton. His love for botany drew him to Menton’s temperate climate and diverse flora. He died here in 1892 and is buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château. His resting place is hard to miss; it is an ornate Russian orthodox funeral chapel overlooking the city.
On the 26th of December, 1933, Lunacharsky died, failing to ever officially take up the post of Ambassador to Spain. Once again, the anecdote of British aristocrats rings true, Menton really is “for the dying.”
Some swear that if you venture to the cemetery late at night, you might catch a glimpse of a wispy form, draped in the tattered remains of an Imperial Russian diplomatic uniform. And if you listen very carefully, you might even hear a quiet operatic tune drifting through the tombstones. Though we may never know for certain, perhaps it is the voice of Ada Winans, serenading her husband in death just as she did in life...
Ivan Grigorovich (18531930) Everyone’s favorite Russian naval minister is indeed a former resident of Ment o n ! Serving f r o m 1911 to 1917, Grigorovich established h i m self as a competent
leader during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05, where he served as commander of the besieged Port Arthur. Following this military defeat, Grigorovich set about expanding and reforming Russia’s navy, leading to his appointment as naval minister in 1911. He maintained healthy relations with naval interests in the Duma and remained popular with Tsar Nicholas II. However, the February Revolution brought about naval unrest, and Grigorovich was dismissed from office in 1917. Grigorovich suffered from frequent bouts of pneumonia and requested to seek medical treatment abroad. In 1923, he was granted permission to leave Russia and seek exile in France, where he lived in relative poverty and made a living by selling his oil paintings. When Grigorovich died in 1930, he was buried in le Cimetière du Vieux Château in Menton.
“Menton came to be known amongst Britons as a town “for the dying:” its beauty and charm drew in famous folks looking for a place to spend their final years, while its reputation for restoring health made it desirable to the sickly.”
Anatoly Lunacharsky (1875-1933)
This Marxist revolutionary was the first Soviet people’s commissar for education. He was also a playwright, critic and journalist. Lunacharsky’s brilliant skills as an orator and position as editor of the first Bolshevik newspaper Vpered solidified his position as one of Lenin’s most active collaborators. He played an important role in persuading the industrial workers of Petrograd to support the October revolution. As commissar for education, Lunacharsky was able to preserve many historic buildings and artwork from destruction over the course of the Russian Civil War. He also introduced a system for subsidizing the arts and attempted to reform the Russian education system. Lunacharsky was responsible for the Soviet Government’s campaign against adult illiteracy, and by the time he left office, virtually zero percent of the adult population in Russia was illiterate. In 1930, he represented the Soviet Union at the league of Nations in Geneva. In 1933, he was appointed Soviet ambassador of Spain. En route to Spain, Lunacharsky stopped in Menton, but he never managed to leave...
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Lunacharsky’s name was erased from Soviet history and his memoirs were banned during the Great Purge, however his legacy underwent a revival in the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, Lunacharsky came to be viewed as an educated and tolerant Soviet politician. Today, Lunacharsky has had many institutions and even an Asteroid named in his honor.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) The cherry on top of this morbid milieu: old W.B., one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. Born in Sandymount Ireland, this wonderful wordsmith developed a fascination for Irish legends and the occult as a child. These themes certainly translated to his poems, which were frequently based on Irish folklore and ballads. His later work explored the cycles of life, death, prophecy, and history. In spite of his Anglo-Protestant roots, our man of the hour Mr. Yeats was a fervent Irish nationalist and one of the first senators of the Irish Free State in 1922. One year later, Yeats received a Nobel Prize in literature “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” Yeats retired from the Irish senate in 1928 due to illness, but regained vigor in 1934 following a Steinach operation. He lived out
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his golden years engaging in relationships with much younger women (classic), and in 1936 he travelled to Majorca with Shri Purohit Swami where the two worked to translate the Principal Upanishad from Sanskrit to English. Yeats spent his last two winters in Menton, attempting to escape the cold which aggravated his heart condition. Yeats died at the Hotel Ideal Séjour in Menton on January 28, 1939, and was buried in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. In 1948, his body was dug up and returned to Ireland… or maybe it wasn’t. There is quite a bit of controversy over exactly whose remains were returned to Ireland. You see,
OCTOBER 2021 Yeats’ body was initially buried in a communal grave in Roquebrune, and though a forensic doctor reconstituted a skeleton presenting all of the characteristics of dear YeatsWilliam, it is quite likely that bits and pieces of this beloved poet may still be hanging around the Riviera. Indeed, Bernard Cailloux, the French diplomat tasked with returning Yeats to Ireland stated that it was “impossible to return [his] full and authentic remains.” So if you notice a dark haired bespeckled man wandering along Rue Longue and reciting prose this October 31, it might just be the ghost of Ireland’s pride and joy: William Butler Yeats. Saoirse Aherne, Staff Reporter
Association Recap
This month’s association events, summarized Cinementonagraphe x SPRH “Capernaum” movie screening In a collaboration, Cinementongraphe and SciencesPo Refugee Help hosted a movie screening-turned-fundraiser featuring the Lebanese film “Capernaum” on Wednesday, October 10. Read our guest columnist Krzysztof Kaluzny’s review of the movie on page 33.
Debate Society drunk debates
Marketing Team
In its second annual drunk debate on Saturday, October 9 the Debate Society kicked off its season discussing the topic of hookup culture in Menton. The opposing side (arguing against hookup culture) won, led by 2A Ada Baser and 1A Felipe Boitard. The society’s drunken spectators eventually ended up at Bastion, and those who lasted until the end of the night found themselves at Sablettes.
Section Editors
Philosophical Society discussions
The Menton Times Staff Editor-in-Chief
Celeste Abourjeili Menton Policy Review President
Florian Heydecker Copy Chief
Nouha el Mouzdahir Head of Design
Ada Baser
Lenora Dsouza Viola Luraschi
Bechar Benmoumen Ayse Lara Selçuker
Head of Photographers
Hugo Lagergren Photographers
Wang Di Charlotte Howden Emilia Kohlmeyer Staff Reporters
Saoirse Aherne* Margherita Cordellini Cameron Sterling Hugo Lagergren Luca Utterwulghe Lara Nour Walton Guest Reporters
Angeliki Vytogianni Lionel Chambon Madeline Wyatt Azzedine Lahlou Georgia McKerracher Krzysztof Kałuzny Maria Kouteili
The brand new Mentonese Philosophical Society, led by a team of six, kicked off its first year with two insightful events. On October 3, it organized a discussion on personal ethics at student house Soundproof, and on October 24, an investigation of the alt-right at student house Brothel.
SSA: Homesickness The Student Support Alliance hosted an event on homesickness on Thursday, October 7 filled with cozy vibes and autumn treats. The group talked about what it means to be away from home for them, and about the parts of home that they carry with them.
TASA movie screening The Thracian andAnatolian Student Association screened the mini-documentary “Cografya Kader” (Geography is Destiny) on Saturday, October 9 which features the wife Selahattin Demirtas, a politician in the HDP who is currently incarcerated. Later on, the group discussed the status, treatment, and rights of Kurds.
Amnesty movie screening On Sunday, October 10, Amnesty International held a screening of the movie “l’État du Texas contre Melissa” (the state of Texas vs Melissa). The movie discussed the case of Melissa Lucio, a mother charged with killing her daughter. Melissa was charged with the death penalty and is currently on death row. The movie focuses on the ambiguity of the case and the lack of a concrete story and evidence regarding the crime. The movie was chosen in remembrance of the abolishment of the death penalty in France 40 years ago and focuses on the danger of the death penalty when ones guilt is not fully sure.
Environnementon Spa Night Following midterms for 1As and many 2As on Saturday, October 16, Environnementon hosted a spa night at 1A-run student house Gar Hira. Students were able to unwind with face masks and by making their own healthy and sustainable deodorant.
Curated by Celeste Abourjeili
OCTOBER 2021
Association Recap Photos by Wang Di
COVID Treatment
The Menton Times
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A promising new COVID treatment New Treatment
UNICEF On Sunday, October 10, UNICEF held a yoga session on Sablettes to kick off Mental Health Week and help students unwind. The session was led by 2As Lilinaz Hakimi and Daniel Santana.
BDE Halloween Fair As one of the many Halloweekend activities, the Bureau des Élèves held a Fall Festival on the SciencesPo Menton campus on Thursday, October 28. Students were able to play games such as bean bag toss, ring toss, pin the hat on the witch, etc. and partake in activities like pumpkin painting after a few stressful weeks of midterms and projects.
Babel Museum The Babel initiative presented the Babel museum: an event to highlight the past trips of the Babel board and researchers on Friday, October 22. The event included the Babel wall, now located in Espace Étudiant, with pictures of these different experiences. Videos showing off the immersive experience of past Babel trips alongside an off-campus MENA bake sale perfectly kicked off the Babel initiative’s cultural events.
La Fabrique Politique: Politiquerie La Fabrique Politique a organisé sa deuxième politiquerie le dimanche 17 octobre. C’était l’occasion fortuite pour échanger idées, réflexions et propositions sur un thème à la couleur chaude, “la cancel culture : une censure bénéfique?” Les participants se sont engagés dans un débat de plus d’une heure, ponctué par deux passionnants et éloquents plaidoyers.
October Rose Run (BDS x FU x RacingClub) In a mega-collaboration, the Bureau Des Sports, Feminist Union, and Racing Club brought awareness to the battle against breast cancer on Sunday, October 3. Read more about the October Rose Run in our columnist Wang Di’s article on page 28.
On September 28, Merck — A German multinational science and technology company — announced that it has created a pill to treat SARS-CoV-2 in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The drug in question is called molnupiravir, and while it was initially created to treat influenza, it has been in development as a broad-spectrum antiviral for about 10 years. Merck CEO Robert Davis stated that the company was “actively working with regulatory agencies around the world to submit applications for emergency use or marketing authorization in the coming months.”
Who will be able to access the pill?
This pill will be used to treat COVID-19-positive patients as soon as they begin showing symptoms. As is the case with most respiratory viruses, it is best to begin COVID-19 treatment early on. An initial lessening of the viral load reduces the risk of developing severe symptoms and lowers the likelihood of transmission. Merck’s phase three clinical trial enrolled unvaccinated, high risk individuals. Initially, molnupiravir may only be available to this demographic, however it will likely become more widely available over time.
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OCTOBER 2021
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
Who will be able to access the pill? Merck intends to have this drug authorized in the US before the end of 2021. This appears to be a feasible objective considering that White House advisor on the health crisis, Anthony Fauci, called the data from the clinical trial “impressive.” Moreover, the U.S. government has preemptively ordered 1.7 million courses of treatment. Merck claims it will be able to produce enough pills for 10 million people by the end of this year.
Efficacy and Appeal According to Merck, this drug reduces the risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19 by 50 percent. In the third phase of molnupiravir’s trial, a group of volunteers suffering early symptoms of COVID-19 were studied.
Half of the volunteers were treated with molnupiravir while the other half received a placebo pill. Of the volunteers that received molnupiravir, only seven percent were hospitalized. In contrast, the group that received placebo pills displayed a hospitalization rate of 14 percent. One limitation of this drug trial was the relatively small sample group that was studied, which included only 775 at-risk patients. Molnupiravir demonstrates lower efficacy than monoclonal antibodies; the intravenous cocktail that is currently used to treat high risk people with COVID-19. These antibodies can reduce hospitalizations and death by up to 85 percent. The appeal of the molnupiravir pill, however, is that it is far easier to administer and can reach a much larger population than the complex intravenous cocktail treatment. More importantly, the infusion treatment requires a hospital visit, thus demanding time and resources from medical profes-
sionals, and costs approximately 1,000 euros per injection. Naomi Cailes, a registered nurse at the Peterborough regional health center, agreed that “the fact that [molnupiravir] is an oral pill is a huge advantage over current antivirals or monoclonal antibody infusions’’ as these treatments are “invasive and depend on lots of resources.” Cailes, who has firsthand experience dealing with COVID patients, described the emotional toll of being a health care worker during the pandemic, citing the fact that there was “no time to grieve” after a patient died as there was always another patient requiring medical attention. As such, she expressed hope at the prospect of a drug which could reduce hospitalizations. However, as much as Cailes recognized the promise of monlupiravir, she was adamant that “vaccination should continue to be our first-line defense against COVID-19.”
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OCTOBER 2021
Side Effects and Concerns Molnupiravir is a mutagenic drug, thus it reduces viral load by forcing the COVID-19 virus to make mistakes while copying RNA. A Clinical Trials Arena article observed that there are “persistent side-effect concerns with mutagenic molnupiravir.” In fact, Merck required male participants of their phase three trial to abstain from sex or use of contraception, and only included female participants who were not breastfeeding or pregnant, also requiring them to use a highly effective contraceptive or be abstinent during the study. Merck virologist Daria Hazuda ensured that “no evidence of the potential for mutagenicity” has been observed in molnupiravir. According to an article published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, molnupiravir showed no serious adverse effects in its first-in-human phase one trial; fewer than half of the test subjects reported any effects, and of those that were reported, 93.3 percent were mild. It must also be noted that Molnupiravir is intended to be administered on a short term basis, which greatly reduces its risk of causing adverse effects.
Other Possible Treatments
The appeal of a simple, ingestible COVID-19 treatment is widely recognized in the pharmaceutical industry with both American Pfizer and Swiss Roche set to reveal the results of clinical trials for their own pills in the coming months.
Conclusion Molnupiravir has the potential to greatly reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, potentially preventing the need for hospitalization in many cases and thus opening up hospital beds for those who need them. From first hand sources, it is clear that high hospitalization rates are emotionally draining for patients and healthcare workers alike. This pill marks an important development in virus control and is likely also useful against influenza and ebola. It seems probable that this pill will soon be widely available, however it should not be treated as a replacement for vaccination, which remains the optimal defense against the spread of COVID-19. Saoirse Aherne, Staff Reporter
Sources Covid-19: Merck laboratory requests authorisation for Molnupiravir Merck’s Covid Treatment Pill: What to Know About Molnupiravir Covid : Merck demande à la FDA une autorisation de mise sur le marché du molnupiravir
Early safety concerns accompanied Merck’s molnupiravir, the first potential oral COVID-19 therapy Molnupiravir: A New Hope For Prevention And Treatment Of Covid-19 And Other Dangerous Viruses Pfizer begins study of oral drug for prevention of COVID-19
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New Student Initiatives Announced
After a week of heavy campaigning, results for the student initiatives have been released! The administration has named Alwanat, Initiative Sciences Po Pour Le Sahara Marocain, Le Zadig, Les Républicains, Med Liban, MentonLoves, Pose, Racing Club de Menton, Sciences 360o, Solidaritee, Student Support Alliance, and UNICEF Sciences Po Menton as “recognized” student initiatives for this semester.
For those who are not aware, student initatives are “selected student projects of a limited duration carried by one or several students in the fields of culture, knowledge, sport, environment, solidarity, health, the fight against discrimination, and civic engagement.” Status as a “recognized” student initiative is an important resource for a student association or project. Student initiatives are eligible for grants amounting to a maximum of 500 euros, which “aim to facilitate communication for events held at SciencesPo; to encourage the emergence of events and activities organised jointly by associations from different campuses; to enable associations organizing events that require a first-aid station to meet their obligations in terms of the security of persons and property; to enable associations to meet their insurance obligations and to enable associations scheduling films, audiovisual or theatrical events, to pay licence fees to the copyright-holders.” Student initiatives can also apply funding
for special projects intermittently.
The process of becoming a “recognized” student organization entails multiple steps. Students are given the opportunity to vote for three different student organizations. If 5% of the student population on a given campus votes for a project, the results will be communicated to the Council for student training, which ultimately evaluates if the organizations comply with existing regulations. On the subject of choosing which initiatives to vote for, 1A Gayle Krest said: “I voted for the initiatives that I am a part of or the ones that I thought needed money. I felt that some initiatives were more like clubs, but others were more important because they were charities that were trying to do events.” 1A Lucie Charbonneau, Board Member at MentonLoves, agreed with Krest on the subject of campaigns, claiming that she did not feel the need to campaign for the organization to become a student initiative because that “we [MentonLoves] have a pretty big membership on campus, and I was sure that everybody in the group would be voting.” New student initiatives have a wide range of objectives. On the subject of UNICEF’s goals, 2A Zoé Kunegel asserts that “[UNICEF] hope[s] to utilize SciencePo’s resources for carative (sic) events but also to raise
awareness in the most efficient way, through conferences and creative initiatives.” Kunegel’s aspirations are in line with Krest’s comments: many organizations see their status as student initiatives as a means to enable philanthropic work.
ganizations, featuring efforts for on-campus activism, student events, mutual aid, cultural exploration, political advocacy, and education. Together, they represent the range of intellectual and recreational interests that students on this campus possess.
Other organizations, such as MentonLoves, plan to facilitate campus events and take an active role in student life. The president of the organization, when asked about their plans for the year, stated that “MentonLoves wants to invest in merch, like stickers and tote bags, and sell them in order to invite speakers on site; plan free events like the drag queen/king show in a venue and some other parties while still covering costs for the legal aspects such as association insurance and treasury.”
Source: Sciences Po’s “Regulations on Student Life” handbook, 2021
This semester’s student initiatives are a diverse group of or-
Cameron Sterling, Staff Reporter
OCTOBER 2021
Rupture:
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Angela Merkel’s Exit and What It Means for Germany’s Future A Conservative Nightmare Let us deconstruct these results step by step, starting with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) which has been leading the country for 52 years since 1949. Scoring 24.7 percent, the party received a catastrophic result in comparison to its yields of 41.5 percent in 2013 and 32.9 percent in 2017. I have previously written that this decrease was partly due to Merkel’s lack of a clear, conservative profile. Her expansion of the welfare state and her management during the events of 2015 moved the CDU to the left, arguably creating a vacuum on the right. Nonetheless, this does not explain why the CDU slumped to 24 percent from over 30 percent in polls a few months back. This shocking result was entirely rooted in a disorganized campaign that exposed the party’s internal feuds. For starters, it took the party way too long to actually decide on a candidate for chancellor. The fight was between its chairman, Armin Laschet, and the governor of Bavaria, Markus Söder. Throughout the campaign, Söder made his disdain for his rival no secret, repeatedly challenging Laschet in public. The latter eventually asserted himself after
weeks of uncertainty. Protocols surfaced of secret, backdoor meetings between party officials, angry phone calls from local politicians, illustrating a party in disarray. While others were concerned for the country, the CDU was concerned with itself. Things soon got worse when a severe flood struck parts of Western Germany. Laschet was caught laughing in the background while German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a eulogy for the lives lost during the storms, a number which went into three-digit numbers. The photo of him smirking on such a dire occasion was a mishap from which he could not recover. His biggest obstacle, however, was the incessant calls from his opponents within the party notifying him that he was doing a bad job, exposing internal rivalries when he needed a unified base. Out of all the parties, The CDU was the last to present a program, and nobody really knew what a post-Merkel CDU stood for. Laschet did not either: asked on the road and on camera about his three favorite ideas from his own program, he could not provide an answer. His plan was to count on voters that had always voted CDU out of tradition, “as usual.” However, his judgement was ill-fated.
with experience in the highest positions of government. His efforts for a global minimum corporate tax, proposed by the G7, resonated well with the German public. In three televised debates between the three candidates When I first wrote about this for chancellor, surveys indicatelection last semester, things ed Scholz to have won them all. were not looking good for the However, the results also suggest Social Democratic Party (SPD) that Scholz was heavily perceived and their as simply candi... “this election was less about the better d a t e , alternative O l a f policies and ideas and more to an unsoScholz. phisticatPo l l i n g about which candidate was ed Armin at bareLaschet ly 15 deemed fittest to run and a dispercent, organized 2021 was the country.” CDU. set to be a disaster for him. The party The SPD gained almost two milwas barely attracting attention in lion (!) votes from those who the media, and its successful left- supported the CDU in 2017, wing policies implemented un- which is a highly unusual turnder Merkel were not rewarded in over rate. The SPD was also the the polls. Yet, the SPD managed first to formally present a proto win the election with a score gram. This all suggests that this of 25.7 percent, even gaining 5.2 election was less about policies percent from 2017. and ideas and more about which candidate was deemed fittest to This remarkable turnaround run the country. After all, the came down to Olaf Scholz alone. SPD’s program proposed many When the CDU was busy argu- ideas it could have enacted during out its private battles, Scholz ing its 12 years in government. had been declared candidate Yet, unlike his opponents, Scholz months in advance. Scholz re- never let his guard down and mained calm, composed, and showcased statesmanship the campaigned successfully with- other candidates lacked, reassurout any unfortunate incidents or ing many voters uneased by the mishaps. He had been Merkel’s challenging times Germany is vice chancellor and minister of experiencing. finance, and the only candidate
A Social Democratic Miracle
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The Green’s Missed Opportunity and the Youthful Free Democrats For the first time ever, there were not two, but three candidates for chancellor. Usually, this privilege was reserved for the CDU and SPD, which used to be the only realistic contenders to win an election. However, as Germany’s party landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented, the Greens sought to seize their opportunity. They had nominated Annalena Baerbock to head the campaign, and during the summer, the idea of finishing above 20 percent suddenly seemed within reach, maybe even finishing on top. Election night yielded a very strong, yet still disappointing finish of 14.8 percent. Hopes of leaving the SPD behind were not satisfied and most Greens certainly hoped for better. Mainly, this result was caused by Baerbock stumbling unnecessarily over amateur errors: her team made mistakes in her official CV, she forgot to declare bonus salaries from party bank accounts, and her autobiography, which was supposed to launch the candidate into the German public, was filled with plagiarism. The Greens faced fierce criticism over their trustworthiness, and possibly lost many potential voters to the much more experienced Scholz, who capitalized on Baerbock’s beginner mistakes. However, the Greens campaigned as a force for change, and this was ultimately rewarded at the ballot box. The centrist Free Democratic Party (FDP) managed to, for the first time in its history, score above 10 percent in two consec-
Convergence to the middle: the historical dominance of CDU and SPD seems to have been broken for good. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
utive federal elections, with a strong finish of 11.5 percent, its second-best result ever. Together with the Greens, the FDP even scored first among first-time voters; its youthful appeal largely inspired by its chairman, Christian Lindner. Its advocacy for social mobility, including market solutions to climate change, equitable economic opportunity, and digitalization of the German bureaucracy resonated well. The Liberals’ strong finish among young voters suggests that they have managed to widen their electoral base considerably in the last eight years.
What’s Next If you by any chance read my previous piece on German politics, you will find that the increased fracturing of the German electorate is rather new. Arduous coalition bargaining could be a consequence: in 2017, it took almost six months to form a new government. In 2021, however, it is likely that politicians have learnt their lesson. At the time of publishing, SPD, Greens and FDP have officially entered negotiations for a “traf-
fic light” coalition. This seemed an unlikely scenario before the
be a top priority, as will be the ecological transformation of the
this coalition could bring Germany into a greener, prosperous, and more equitable future... the opportunity is there, and I hope Germany seizes it. election — after all, the FDP has very different opinions on state finances, taxation, and government expenditure than its red and green counterparts. However, the dismal state of the CDU forced the FDP and Greens to think carefully. They have tentatively agreed to form a government by the end of November, and Olaf Scholz is set to be voted in as new chancellor during the first week of December. It is likely that the FDP will be more assertive on economic and fiscal policy, whereas SPD and Greens will be able to execute their programs on issues related to climate change and social policy. It seems, however, that common ground unites them all: the need for change after 16 years of conservative government. The modernization of the state will
country into the age of green industry. Party leaders Scholz, Baerbock, and Lindner have emphasized the need for urgent and longterm climate action. Emission trading schemes, infrastructure investment and increased research and development are on the agenda. Personally, I believe this coalition could bring Germany into a greener, prosperous, and more equitable future, and it is genuinely exciting to see what will follow. Of course, official negotiations have barely yet begun, and many details remain to be worked out. However, the opportunity is there, and I hope Germany seizes it. Lionel Chambon, Guest Reporter
OCTOBER 2021
Afghanistan Recap
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What does the ascendancy of the Taliban mean for the future of Afghanistan and its people? the government,” as reported by a Vox article. Overall, it can be said that the government is fundamentally homogeneous and hard-line.
Taliban Geographic Control
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
Brief recap of what happened The United States’ military forces withdrew from Afghanistan in late August 2021, putting an end to two decades of presence in the country, an occupation which 69% of Americans found to be a failure. Thousands of Afghans crowded the Kabul airport in hopes of leaving the country to avoid the imminent Taliban takeover. Following the U.S. troop pullout, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken articulated America’s new policy of diplomacy, noting that “the military mission is over.” Several polling results have indicated that Americans generally supported U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan prior
to the decision by President Joe Biden. However, according to an NBC poll, only 25% of Americans “approve of the way Biden is handling the Afghanistan situation.” Several American politicians have criticized Biden’s withdrawal, stating that the removal of troops should have been more intentional in “prevent[ing] instability and violence,” while others have argued that the timing of the administration’s decision was off. Republican pollster Frank Lutz suggested in an article in Time that the development of Americans’ opinions depends largely on how the Taliban will operate moving forward, particularly concerning its impact on terrorism targeted at American nationals and its treatment of women. Days after U.S. troops withdrew, the Taliban took several major Afghan cities, including the
capital, Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country “to prevent bloodshed.”
As of September 3, the Taliban took total control of Afghanistan when it defeated a rebel stronghold in the Panjshir valley (Reuters). A Brookings article explained how the Islamic State Khorasan (ISK), one of the Taliban’s main enemies, “could become an envelope for future defections” within the Taliban due to political or ideological divides or other infighting. At the moment, though, internal opposition to Taliban rule looks relatively feeble.
What does the Human Rights Taliban govThe Taliban stated that women ernment look would be allowed to enroll in universities, but would be separated like? from their male counterparts, The new Taliban government is composed entirely of men, many of whom are “veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s” as well as former combatants in the fight against the U.S. Around 90 percent of the cabinet comes from one particular ethnic group in Afghanistan. It is clear that the Taliban has not changed in its ambitions since its inception and it is logical that “leaders of the insurgency are going to find themselves with top positions in
indicating a reversal of the incremental gender equity gains made in previous years. Reports from the ground suggest a completely alternate reality: “Women have already been turned away from schools and universities, ordered not to leave their homes without a male guardian, and flogged for breaching Taliban-imposed rules” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace).
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Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan woman who has played a part in peace talks, noted that “people are killed without accountability” and that there are “extrajudicial killings, trials without courts.” While some commitments made by the Taliban seem to have been moderated, enforcing compliance with these ideas across all towns is not feasible. Decisions on respect of human rights seem to be made largely by leaders of localities. Interviews conducted across Afghanistan have indicated minimal school attendance levels for girls. Moreover, women were harassed and abused for protesting for greater women’s representation in the government.
Will the Taliban make concessions on these issues or will it continue to rule in a way reminiscent of its domination in the 1990s? and because the country’s opium industry, among others, cannot ensure economic stability in the long-run. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 90% of the Afghan population lives under the poverty line. The CRS further explained how foreign “engagement” in
ghan people,” the West ought to mandate the minimization of extreme human rights violations. The international response to the developments in Afghanistan will depend largely on how the situation continues to unfold, particularly regarding the Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
The Economy and International Relations The Taliban regime will likely lose billions in international aid from the IMF, World Bank, EU, and United States due to its international illegitimacy and persistent abuse of human rights,
the economy will likely decline following U.S. military pullout. Economic prospects in Afghanistan do not look promising. The rise of the Taliban has influenced the geopolitical dynamics of the region, as Pakistan sees the Taliban as “a relatively friendly and reliably anti-India element.” Brookings argued that instead of imposing economic penalties on Afghanistan, which would “worsen the suffering of the Af-
protection or regression in the domain of human rights. Will the Taliban make concessions on these issues or will it continue to rule in a way reminiscent of its domination in the 1990s? Luca Utterwulghe, Staff Reporter
OCTOBER 2021
2021 Italian Local Elections:
A bipolar system, the delicate game for the President and its implications for Europe The complex vote of the 2021 local elections has given us a different Italy, once again bipolar, but at the same time inclined to a common sentiment — political, of course — in which proportional thrusts also return. In short, everything and the opposite of everything. Coalitions were designed, but heterogeneous ones. Movements in the center, but still too immature. Leaders in search of an author and a team. Different visions of the future. And in between, in the next few months, there is the game for the Quirinal (the Residence of the Italian President of the Republic), which could bring a further shake-up to the political forces.
stention that struck — in every sense. The leader of the Lega Nord (populist right-wing), Salvini, has focused on this with a mea culpa that he has put on the table before anyone else. There was a record of abstention, with a voter turnout at just 54.7 percent of eligible voters. This is a sign of an electoral campaign that is not very captivating or involving little-known candidates. It is possibly a saturation of political messages, or, more simply, of disaffection to be overcome. The reflection between the parties is already open.
The vote in the cities, the results, and the high abstention rate
Everyone agrees on what now appears to be a new form of bipolarism in place. This is a rehearsal of a system that dominated Italian politics in the last 30 years and was briefly interrupted by the rise of the big-tent Five Star Movement. On the one hand the center-right, on the other the center-left: how they will be organized between now and the next elections is to be determined. The center-right is torn between a governmental and pro-European wing supporting Mario Draghi that goes from Forza Italia to the moderate wing of the League, and
On October 13 and 14, more than 12 million Italians (24 percent of the voting population) were called to the polls to renew the Regional Council and the President of Calabria as well as the mayors of over 1,300 cities. While the center-right candidate, Occhiuto, prevailed in Calabria, the PD (center-left) won the first round in Milan, Naples, and Bologna, with the center-right running in Rome and Turin. But it was the ab-
New bipolarism with the possibility of a proportional system
an anti-EU opposition based on Giorgia Meloni (Brothers of Italy), and an ambiguous Salvini, who moved from opposing the health pass to accommodating every decision of Mario Draghi. On the other side, the Letta-Conte axis has yet to translate into a solid alliance between the Democratic Party and Five Star Movement (big-tent, left-leaning). In between, however, there is great desire for a proportional system.
The center-right: seeking leaders and redemption Matteo Salvini, known for his strong anti-immigration and populist propaganda that boosted him to 34.3 percent at the 2019 European elections, is now tailed and often overtaken by Fratelli d’Italia. Giorgia Meloni has climbed the ranks of center-right parties in the polls thanks to her strong, nationalist and very conservative language, now standing around 20 percent next to Salvini’s League. Meloni refused to talk about defeat and raised the possibility of an early vote with Draghi at the Quirinal. On the other hand, Forza Italia (Silvio Berlsuconi’s liberal-conservative and pro-European party) is satisfied due to the victory of its party member Occhiuto
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The result of the municipal Italian elections, with victory in the first round of the center-left in Milan, Naples, and Bologna, and in the second round in Rome and Turin against the center-right, opens up new scenarios in the coalitions, especially in view of the national vote and, before that, the game of the Quirinal.
in Calabria, which is the only important result of the centerright coalition. Nevertheless, the party enjoys its indispensability in a coalition that needs a glue, which today appears to be still and only Silvio Berlusconi. The center-right is seeking a leader in either Salvini or Meloni, both controversial hardliners, and the liberal component is the key for the coalition to be successful at a local and national level. These are the factors that emerged from the vote. The political elections are a long way off, but time is running out. The gazes of Salvini, Meloni, and Berlusconi are all turned to the national vote. But first there is the Quirinal.
The center-left: new coalition wanted On the flip side, there is the success of the Democratic Party and the expected but not-very-encouraging result of the Five Star Movement. The PD was the first-place party in almost every city and won the cities of Milan, Naples, and Bologna in the first round, and Rome and Turin in the runoff. On the other hand, the results of the administrative elections were also negative for the Five Stars Movement, which did not make any important gains, and its defeat has even been tempered
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Palazzo del Quirinale Photo by Florian Heydecker
Democratic Party and hounded his own centrist party Italia Viva, but now scores less than two percent in the polls. Yet former minister of Renzi government Carlo Calenda is now climbing the ranks. His party Azione is at around six percent in the polls but has experienced substantial growth at a national level and received a very strong result in big cities like Rome (19 percent). Many other parliamentarians are moving in that direction and a possible shift towards the full proportional system could give more voice to this field.
the EU Recovery Plan, meaning that there is no time to waste. The government must turn its attention to concrete issues and undergo a calm navigation towards the economic revival of the country. The rest will be addressed afterwards.
The reflection between the parties is already open.
by Giuseppe Conte’s personal entrance into Italian politics. Enrico Letta, PD secretary and former Professor at Sciences Po, has remarked his commitment to enlarging the center-left coalition that comprises several parties, including the Five Stars Movement. Giuseppe Conte, former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the party since this August, has initiated a shift of the Five Star Movement towards the left, departing from the initial populist, anti-establishment and anti-European propaganda. Both leaders want to consolidate the center-left coalition, which as of now scores 41 percent in the polls. This might be a solid starting point to prepare for the 2023 Italian general elections that will take place in just over a year and provide good leverage
for electing the president of the Republic.
Movements at the Center between Calenda, Renzi, and others The political center in Italy has been weak since the 1990s, yet
PM Draghi and the race for the Quirinal In addition to this, Mario Draghi is implementing the agenda unquestionably towards reforms, projects, and the National Recovery Plan. After simplification, recovery governance, public administration, criminal and civil justice, the prime min-
The government must turn its attention to concrete issues and undergo a calm navigation towards the economic revival of the country. The rest will be addressed afterwards. something is changing. On the one hand, former Italian PM Matteo Renzi has left the
ister is now addressing fiscal reform. All of these are necessary to obtain the 209 billion euro of
Yet the cherry on top is ultimately the Quirinal, and this might have consequences at a national and European level. Since taking office, Draghi has been appreciated for his calmness and spirit of mediation, which have made him the perfect mediator in Italy’s difficult politics and beyond. With Germany’s departure from 16 years of Angela Merkel and France tormented by a possible ultra-conservative turn, the former President of the European Central Bank is considered a guarantee for the European Union’s stability in the years to come. These attributes have ranked him on the top list of candidates for the Italian Presidency. “Parliament will decide…” the Prime Minister replied several times to those who asked him about his possible move from Chigi Palace to the Quirinal. Many see that as a message of availability, but there are many variables. Draghi himself has explained that the country needs stability and continuity. How Italy will combine this need with the election of a new president is yet to be seen. Florian Heydecker, MPR President
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OCTOBER 2021
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Pro-life Bill Attempts to Kill Roe
When Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB8) took effect on September 1, known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act” under section one of the law, most people expected it to reach the Supreme Court for violating Roe v. Wade’s precedent under which women are entitled to privacy when receiving abortions. It was the Democrats’ worst fears come true: Trump’s heirs on the Supreme Court could finally make good on his campaign promise to overturn the nation’s landmark ruling. A few days before the law was set to go into effect, it went to the Supreme Court in an emergency request to block the law until its constitutionality could be determined, but in a surprisingly convoluted and pedantic motion relying extensively upon the law’s more dubious provisions, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declined to block its passage. Still, the Court did not rule on the law’s constitutionality — something John Roberts’s dissenting opinion made abundantly clear. The most odious provisions in SB8 were crafted with surgical precision meant to circumvent judicial review, which proved particularly ideal for judges who take an especially textualist approach to ignore the blatant unconstitutionality of SB8— this explains why a court imbued with Scalia apostles allowed the
Texas law to proceed into effect.
Photo by Wang Di
The majority opinion held that while the federal court is not endowed with the ability to block a law in question, it is allowed to block the enforcement of the law. SB8 is not technically enforced by state or local officials, rather it is enforced by deputizing all private citizens; in other words, private citizens are responsible for reporting and suing any persons who are thought to have had, given, or aided in abortions— meaning that patients, doctors, nurses, receptionists, and even Uber drivers can be sued under this law if an ordinary citizen believes an abortion took place. If the courts rule in favor of the private reporting citizen, the citizen is entitled to $10,000 by the state, creating a dystopian bounty-hunting system that insulates the Texas government from being held responsible for its law that it created like a game of legislative hot potato. The majority opinion, being the good and noble textualists they are, argued that because it is instead private citizens who
Texas from enforcing the law as it would not technically be Texas enforcing it. Such an argument is absurd, however: if the government shares the will of the people— a necessary reflection of its society— then the laws that are created by the government would be representative of the people, meaning the Supreme Court’s choice to enjoin a law by restricting
...somehow, nearly 200 years later, the lone star’s liberation is still the woman’s condemnation, leaving us wondering if we ever knew the meaning of progress in the first place. are responsible for enforcing the law, the bill could not prohibit
government enforcement would also mean that it restricts its people; so, it does not matter who enforces the law, it’s only a matter that such an onerous law should exist— especially when the net result should be the same. After the Supreme Court declined to enjoin the law, Biden’s Department of Justice sued the State of Texas challenging the constitutionality of the law, arguing in two parts that it both violated Roe v. Wade’s legal precedent and required proper judicial review of its dubious enforcement mechanisms. On
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October 6, Western Texas’s District Court enjoined the law as the judge ruled both that the law itself was unconstitutional and the enforcement mechanism was blatantly unconstitutional as it sought to avoid judicial review. No more than two days later, Texas’s appeal to the 5th Circuit Court was successful, reinstating SB8. The DOJ has not yet appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but is expected to do so within a few weeks. The Supreme Court could choose to decline to hear the constitutionality of the case, but it would be incredibly unlikely as it challenges Roe v Wade as well as the lack of precedent for the enforcement mechanism. SB8 may be the bill to finally kill Roe v. Wade, but its future is far from final. TX SB8 flies under the guise of modern progress for the rights and liberation of the unborn— a frontier of the American left’s immoral and profane agenda. But for the women who will most feel the impacts of this bill, it’s a matter of temporal whiplash as the rugged individualism that the lone star state has promoted since 1836 failed to disclose that only men were given the courtesy of wearing the lone star moniker. Because somehow, nearly 200 years later, the lone star’s liberation is still the woman’s condemnation, leaving us wondering if we ever knew the meaning of progress in the first place. Madeline Wyatt, Guest Reporter
Orientalism on Campus:
OCTOBER 2021
Controversial election for new mascot and hymn and North Africa — by those in the West). Among the student body, there seems to be a general consensus on these symbols: Loulou the camel is supported as a mascot, but the Mentonnaise hymn is widely considered orientalist and politically incorrect. An anonymous student called the Mentonnaise a “readaptation of the Marseillaise but with just about every cliché about Arabs you can possibly imagine.” The student explained that the lyrics include the following lines: “don’t forget your burka;” “application of the sharia law;” “ramadan new national holiday;” and calls for Jihad.
An old campus ad for “Gender Equality and Sexuality Week” features Loulou the mascot as the main feature. Photo courtesy of Facebook @Loulou Menton When the Menton campus was originally founded 15 years ago in 2005, the Mentonese ummah consisted of a mere 34 students, most of whom were of Middle Eastern or Arab descent. Today, the campus measures a total of 426 students, most of whom are non-MENA white or of European descent. It was in this context that the administration recently emailed its student body calling for submissions of mascot designs and hymn ideas; they named the “evolving” nature of the student body as a reason to reconsider our campus symbols. What the email failed to mention is that we already have
a campus mascot and hymn: Loulou the camel and the Mentonnaise — a readaptation of France’s national anthem, the Marseillaise, with a satirical twist centered on Islamic stereotypes. Both of these campus symbols have been recently called into question amid talks about orientalism and cultural appropriation — thus prompting the director’s call to replace the mascot — however, the topic remains controversial among students. (For those who have not yet studied the works of scholar Edward Said, orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world — especially the Middle East
“Some people say it’s offensive and, even though it’s supposed to be ironic and exaggerated on purpose, I agree [with the former belief] because… so many of the people that come to Menton are in no position to make such jokes,” said the student. “It is not white people’s place to reclaim these clichés just because we study the Middle East for two years.” On the other hand, some students are calling these aspects of our campus, the mascot in particular, “traditional,” and associating discussions such as these with the campus becoming white-washed and less Middle-Eastern. It is true that the camel has a lot of support as our mascot; of the 24 uploads in the administration’s folder for mascot ideas, 22
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are photos of camels, including depictions of Loulou and his Facebook page. But does this mean that a re-evaluation of our campus symbols should be considered “white-washing?” An anonymous student argued that the campus is not becoming less Middle Eastern, but less orientalist, and the people pushing for these discussions about rethinking our traditions are not white people “white-washing” the campus, but individuals engaged in anti-racism. “In my opinion, [these symbols] are just a lot of orientalism,” the student said. This brings about another series of questions: are symbols like the camel and the Mentonnaise true celebrations of Middle Eastern culture, or are they merely orientalist ideas that some students are willing to defend? To what extent is the camel really representative of the Middle East? I do not know if these are questions that even have objectively correct answers. Personally, as someone who is completely Lebanese and Arab but was raised for the most part in the United States, I do not take issue with the camel as our mascot, although I acknowledge its orientalist history. Even though I am okay with the camel as our mascot, I am a big believer that we should constantly re-evaluate the symbols that we choose to use on campus as a representation of our Middle Eastern appreciation.We must be sensitive to the fact that the majority of people on this campus are white and European, and above all, we must value the opinions of Arab and MENA students. To that end, I sent an anonymous survey to gauge the student opinion and heard back from 23 Arab/MENA students. The results were incredibly mixed: while the majority of students felt represented by
(43.5%) or indifferent (39.1%) to the camel, there were a handful of students (17.4%) who found the camel to be an orientalist representation of their culture.
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are symbols like the camel and the Mentonnaise true celebrations of Middle Eastern culture, or are they merely orientalist ideas that some students are willing to defend?
In an anonymous survey, 23 Arab/MENA students reveal their perception of the camel as a symbol of the Arab/MENA region. Photo by Celeste Abourjeili
Students answer a followup question regarding the new mascot election. Photo by Celeste Abourjeili
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In a question about how the students felt about the election for a new mascot, the results were still mixed, but a little less so. Most students were opposed to the election of a new mascot (57.1%), some were indifferent (28.6%), and a minority supported the election (14.3%). These results can be interpreted to mean that, even as the status of the camel as a representative of Arab/MENA culture is unclear, support for the camel as our mascot remains relatively strong. Yet some of the respondents were actively annoyed about the proposal to change the mascot. “In my opinion, we must stop considering everything as orientalist: the mascot is above all an object of fun, a way of representing the campus with an animal with wacky characteristics and which inspires sympathy…. I do not feel at all offended in my Arabness when I see that it is used to represent the campus,” said the student. They went on to discuss the pride they felt towards the camel, saying, “it is a noble animal with characteristics that make us Arabs proud… let’s stop creating problems from the slightest subjects, and long live Loulou the camel!” Other students took a more tolerant stance and addressed the diversity of opinions, even among the Arab/MENA community. “Although I would like to keep the camel as a mascot, if some students from the MENA region feel offended by this symbol, I would not be shocked to have it changed,” said one student. Another student did not seem to mind changing the mascot at all, saying that we should change the mascot “if we find something better than the camel.”
OCTOBER 2021
However, there was one opinion that stood out to me, and it is that opinion on which I would like to focus the remainder of this article: we are never going to agree on a mascot that works for all of us. “I don’t see how all of the MENA can be represented by one camel, or one new mascot,” said a student, reflecting this belief. Another student said, “I don’t think that the mascot of the school has to represent the entire identity of the student body, that would be an impossible expectation, but as the MENA campus, I also think there’s nothing wrong with our campus mascot being an animal that is prominent in the region due to its climate and geographical location.”
narrative being censored by students who value “tradition” over a reflection of our representations, and without being overrun by non-MENA or non-Arab students who think their opinions matter more. At the end of the day, we are all here to learn and appreciate Middle Eastern and North African culture — respect is non-negotiable. Celeste Abourjeili, Editor-in-Chief
What the email failed to mention is that we already have a campus mascot and hymn...
I couldn’t agree more — I do not expect every Arab student to feel the same way that I do about these symbols, nor do I expect us to find a symbol that everyone will feel represented by. It is undeniably true that the camel is an animal that historically has a strong presence in the MENA region, and countries like Saudi Arabia and Tunisia even use it as their national symbols — it is a point of pride for some. But to speak for myself, I do not view the camel as a celebration of Middle Eastern culture at all because, to me, it doesn’t represent anything — there are no camels in Lebanon. In sum, not everyone from the MENA region will feel the same way about controversial symbols like the camel: some may strongly associate it with their Middle Eastern-ness, and yet others may find it to be an offensive symbol assigned to us by the West. All that I can say for sure is that we should be able to have conversations like this one on our campus without the
Loulou the mascot’s Facebook page, @Loulou Menton, is a common upload from students to the administration’s new mascot suggestion folder. Photo courtesy of Facebook @Loulou Menton
Editorial
OCTOBER 2021
The Never-Ending Haitian Migrant Crisis
In the second half of September, thousands of people were living in a temporary and improvised camp situated under a bridge that connects Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Now, the encampment has been completely cleared. Out of 15,000 of the displaced, the majority were Haitian migrants. This disproportionate number is not an accident: the surge of Haitians in the United States was derived from intertwining historical, political and morphological factors. According to the 2020 Human Development Index (HDI), Haiti ranks 170 out of 189 countries, making it Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
the poorest country of the Latin America/Caribbean region. The main historical cause is traced back to the country’s colonial past. From 1492 until the beginning of the 19th century, Haiti was a French colony whose soil has been intensively exploited to cultivate coffee and sugar. As a result, today, large parts of the soil are completely infertile. Moreover, the island’s independence, declared in 1804, entailed significantly high monetary costs, which corresponded to the amount of money requested by France to grant the diplomat-
ic status of a newborn independent country. Since then, the state has been characterized by permanent political instability and, consequently, military foreign intervention. The last major intervention occurred from 2004 to 2017 and was a United Nations peacekeeping mission, called the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The consequence of the 13 years long occupation was devastating: a cholera epidemic caused by the poisoning of the Artibonite river ascribed to an American base killed almost 10,000 inhabitants.
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The country’s morphological conformation also contributed to worsening living standards. For instance, Haiti was subject to two ruinous earthquakes in January 2010 and in August 2021, and to Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Lastly, the July 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse plunged the country into political turmoil. Political instability fosters its social equivalent, which, already characterized by the widespread presence of criminal gangs, is now dominated by a dichotomy of popular opinions concerning political succession.
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grants detained indefinitely in the famous prison. In the last month, images of the US Border Patrol on horseback, using the reins as whips while chasing migrants in Del Rio, shocked the global West. However, the main reason was often not compassion, but genuine surprise: the popular expectations towards the Biden administration concerning immigration policies were different. For instance, the president’s promise of discontinuity with the Trumpian past seems to be jeopardized by the incorrect and unfair procedures of repatriation, and by the lack of altruism towards a heavily burdened country that is not able to welcome 15,000 migrants. Natural disasters, political uncertainty and a population mostly under the national poverty line of USD 2.41 per day are the main factors that piled up to generate huge migration waves. Furthermore, the United States’ influence on the country has been ubiquitous in the last century, such that Haiti is often defined as an American protectorate. Therefore, the migratory phenomenon is not ascribed to the events of 2021 alone: according to the US Census of 2019, Florida was inhabited by 356,358 Haitians, 1.66 percent of its population. Hence, Haitian migrants are not a novelty for the US government, which in May 2021 had, in fact, announced a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for 150,000 Haitians living temporarily in the United States. Nonetheless, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated at the end of September that this pronouncement has been misinterpreted. For instance, its immediate consequence was a massive wave of Haitians spilling over into the United States, confident that the Biden administration would
have welcomed them. This was not the case. In September, nearly 30,000 migrants undertook a perilous and strenuous journey, starting from disparate departure points. More than half of them shared a common ground: being Haitian nationals. However, a meaningful number had been living in various Latin American countries, such as Panama, Chile, and Brazil, and some of them were not even familiar with their motherland. They all eventually amassed in Del Rio, building a temporary encampment under a bridge. After some days of hesitation, US authorities took the drastic decision to clear the encampment, by first apprehending and then repatriating its inhabitants. On the 19th of September, the first three flights landed in Portau Prince, the Haitian capital, and the rhythm of repatriates have progressively intensified. Unlike what was promised, these operations did not run smoothly. For instance, once deported to the island, Haitian migrants denounced, along with the excessive use of violence, the
indecent and inadequate conditions of the detainee centers, and, above all, the widespread abuse of deception. Various directly involved witnesses reported having been told that they would have been relocated in less crowded detention camps in Florida. Instead, the next thing they saw was Port-au Prince’s airport. Moreover, none of the returnees underwent interviews or formal identifications. As a result, Nicodeme Vyles, a 45-year-old man who had been living in Panama since 2003 found himself in Haiti, a country in which he had no home, no bank account, and no family. The events of this September must be placed into a broader framework. Thanks to empirical data, it has emerged that every presidential administration since the 1970s has treated Haitians differently than other migrant groups, holding them longer in detention and rejecting their asylum claims. A not negligible precedent is the Guantanamo case of the 1990s, which saw 12,000 Haitian mi-
Margherita Cordellini, Staff Reporter
Sources: https://bit.ly/2XNG6jN https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/ why-are-haitian-migrants-gathering-us-border https://wapo.st/3CsDhTK https://nyti.ms/3zxdpnU https://nyti.ms/2ZiOMPz https://bit.ly/39qgP1i https://www.worldbank.org/en/ country/haiti/overview#1
Editorial
OCTOBER 2021
Religion and Politics: Always at War
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absolute worst subject to include in policy drafting, as it has made the people, the land, and the army suffer in every case it was involved. However, this view is rather ignorant for countries that have religion at the heart of their organization and their identity. Until the era of imperialism, most parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia organized themselves into groups according to religion. Religion was the most significant part of their identity and culture. To this day, it plays a much bigger role than the West understands. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
The topic of religion is always a hot one, fueling debates and conversations both in politics and in individuals’ behavior. For many with European and North American influences, the answer is easy: religion should be 100 percent separate, never involved in domestic politics or international relations. Secularism is a valid outlook and a reality for many 21st century states; however, we often fail to consider the fact that states in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia can have a different perspective on this separation, with different traditions and political systems. This creates the question of what is and what should be the role of religion in the world of politics. Religious extremism and
fanaticism around the world have sparked many tragedies throughout the centuries. From the Crusades in the 11th to 13th century, to European wars on religion in the 16th to 18th centuries, to the Indo-Pakistani wars, to the Israeli-Pakistani conflict, to the Sudanese conflict, to Bush’s “war on terror,” religion is a common denominator in al-
to which terrorist organizations like the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda will go in order to fulfill their religious/political aims. We have seen the number of countries divided not because of nationalities, but because of religion, or religious branches, denominations, movements. We’ve seen the damage done by religion-related hostilities. So why are we not abolishing religion completely? Why not ban its involvement in foreign and domestic politics? Separate the Church from the State, should we not?
We’ve seen the damage done by religion-related hostilities. So why are we not abolishing religion completely? Why not ban its involvement in foreign and domestic politics? most every conflict, the dividing factor, an urge to extremism and the development of paramilitary groups. We have seen the extent
For a historian studying these events, religion seems like the
After the Second World War, the decolonization period brought several changes to most former colonies and/or occupied territories of the Great Powers. To avoid and contain uprisings or conflicts that developed, artificial borders and states were created. A prime example of the West’s treachery and imperialism, the areas were divided according to such preferences rather than the will of the people. Especially because of the Cold War and conflict occurring primarily through proxy, areas of great geopolitical importance such as the Middle East, Africa and Asia (Yemen, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Myanmar in particular) became the tennis courts for a match that never truly mattered to them. In most cases, the borders do not even come close to the pre-existing divisions between ethnic, cultural, and religious distinctions in the area. The political and humanitarian crises, civil wars, and uprisings the world faces today are results of
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OCTOBER 2021
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
those deep-run divisions. Many conflicts have arisen due to religion-fueled hatred that spiked when distinct groups were forced to co-exist within specific borders. Those who drew the lines between the artificially created states failed to consider the pre-existing conditions in the region and placed power interests above the locals’ right to self-determination. Many groups place religion at the core of their identity and culture, so it is inevitable that it should play a role in politics and international relations. We cannot ban or prohibit something so fundamentally important for these people, nor should we really try to. There is a way to meet in the middle and respect the traditions in every part of the world. It is the only way to hold effective negotiations and resolve the apparent issues. The first papal visit in Iraq, back in March, gives a hint of hope, pushing tolerance, understanding, and inclusion of different cultures. A historic moment for the Christian and Muslim communities, Pope Francis’ visit to the former Islamic State occupied territories should not be a symbol of Christian saviors healing the land and the people, but rather an act of co-operation, a step towards mending the
conflict. 2021 also brought the re-establishment of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. An oppressive, authoritarian regime that uses its own interpretation of religious beliefs to persecute women, erase their accomplishments, and forbid their existence. How does the world deal with these violations of rights and freedoms in the name of religion? And how does one find the balance between preventing this oppression of the people but also practicing religious tolerance? Since offensive and aggressive behavior occurs both in the name of religion and in the name of secularization, it is imperative that we work on such issues collectively, and not solely through a Western point view. Only by listening to the people and the countries involved can we reach a point where politics, religion, and different forms of self-determination can peacefully coexist. Angeliki Vytogianni, Guest Reporter
Sciences Po Students to Protest COP 26 The UN Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26) is a summit intended to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and it is set to convene in Glasgow from October 31 through November 12. There, a mix of world leaders, government representatives, negotiators, businesses, civil society organizations, and private citizens will meet to set plans to limit global warming to 1.5oC (United Nations). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year is the first in two that a conference of this nature will take place. Stakes are especially high due to the current onslaught of climate-related disasters such as flooding in Europe and Southeast Asia, drought in East Africa, and wildfires in the United States, Turkey, and Australia.
track to meet this goal. The EU is behind on its effort to meet it and has only cut emissions by 55 percent of 1990 levels, with estimates that at its current pace, it will miss the mark by nearly 21 years (Euronews).
While the issue feels temporally relevant, there is a matter of urgency as well. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states, if nations exceed 1.5oC or more, there will be dramatic increases in heatwaves, intense storms, flooding, and losses of agricultural lands. To avoid this, nations will need to cut emissions by 7.6% every year until 2030 (UNFCC). There are few nations currently on
Though COP has ambitious goals, many remain skeptical about its efficacy to truly reduce emissions and seek climate justice. 1A student Bianca Carrera says that she plans to attend this year’s COP, but has low expectations for its resolutions. On the subject of the prior Madrid COP, Carrera recounts that when she entered the Green Zone, or the area open to the public, “there was not any real action there.
To remediate this issue, COP26 hopes to provide the infrastructure for nations to come to agreements on emission cuts. This year is the first of which will involve the ‘ratchet’ mechanism, through which countries are supposed to readjust their climate goals, or Nationally Determined Contributions, according to the most recent advances in climate science. The conference also hopes to mobilise $100 billion in climate finance to aid developing nations, finalize the Paris Agreement Rulebook, and increase collaboration with businesses and civil society.
Editorial
OCTOBER 2021
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Photo from COP 25 Photo courtesy of Bianca Carrera Espriu
the long term, Grabert seeks to plan a large protest by March 24, the next global climate strike. Cameron Sterling, Staff Reporter Sources:
Not any participative initiative; they asked the youth to make ourselves heard, but it was kind of upsetting. Besides, the companies that were there were gas companies, so it was kind of greenwashing.” Carrera also intends to participate in public demonstrations organized by the Extinction Rebellion, an activist organization in Glasgow. The organization does not believe that the process of COP26 will make any substantial change, and plans to accuse leaders of crimes against humanity for what they call “legalized corruption and systemic failure.” On the importance of these demonstrations, Carerra says that she wants to make the youth voice heard. Though there have been an increasing number of young people and activists invited into the Blue Zone, where negotiations take place, “the suggestions that the activists have proposed have not really been taken into account. Even if we don’t have the power to make decisions, we have the power to influence how the COP is perceived...we know that they
are not going to listen to us, so we take the initiative to disrupt their event.” Other SciencesPo Students, such as 2A Johanna Grabert, emphasized the importance of protest in Menton. Grabert identifies two reasons for protest on our campus. She first put forth that “we cannot remain silent as a political campus and a campus with political privileges...we must address local institutions and force them to acknowledge their responsibilities and capacities to address the issue.” Grabert also asserted that Menton students have the ability to take part in a regional movement. “Acting in Menton is crucial because the causes and expressions of the crisis are generated locally. It’s also important to create and strengthen alliances. We want to use the COP26 as momentum to invigorate climate protest in the region which lacks any form of it,” she said. Grabert, along with other members of Environnementon and student environmentalists, hopes to organize a demon-
stration in the coming month in response to COP26, and she is collaborating with regional groups including Extinction Rebellion Alpes-Maritimes, Youth for Climate Nice, and Fridays for Future groups in Italy. Hopefully, this demonstration will stimulate a debate on campus and contribute to a larger regional movement. In
Ukcop26.Org, 2021, https:// ukcop26.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/07/COP26-Explained.pdf. Unfccc.Int, 2021, https://unfccc. int/news/cut-global-emissionsby-76-percent-every-year-fornext-decade-to-meet-15degcparis-target-un-report. “Extinction Rebellion UK Position On COP26 - Extinction Rebellion UK”. Extinction Rebellion UK, 2021, https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2021/09/27/ extinction-rebellion-uk-position-on-cop26/. “With One Month To Go Until COP26, Are We Heading For Disappointment?”. Euronews, 2021, https://www.euronews. com/green/2021/09/30/cop26why-a-bad-outcome-is-the-bestwe-can-hope-for.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
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Sahara Marocain
Feature
OCTOBER 2021
Comme vous avez certainement pu le constater à travers une campagne dynamique et passionnée, l’Association Sciences Po pour le Sahara Marocain a vu le jour sur le campus de Menton.
Et, comme vous l’avez peut-être déjà lu ou entendu, nous nous donnons pour priorité et pour engagement la mise en lumière de la marocanité du Sahara, par l’argumentation et l’échange. Car, en refusant d’agiter des slogans ou des récitations, nous sommes persuadés qu’une cause juste ne souffre d’aucuns débats et que la discussion est le meilleur moyen pour faire éclater la vérité. Car, comme l’expliquait très justement Albert Camus : “L’engagement n’exclut nullement le goût de la vérité”. En effet, le dossier du Sahara est très peu traité, malgré le fait qu’il soit déterminant pour la stabilité et la pérennité du Maghreb, du Sahel et de l’Afrique. Les récents événements de l’actualité nous prouvent qu’il est grand temps d’éclairer la marocanité du Sahara et notamment d’en expliquer les tenants et aboutissants ainsi que les dimensions économiques, politiques, diplomatiques et avant tout historiques. Mais ce n’est pas notre unique objectif ! Terre aux multiples cultures, imprégnée d’une Histoire millénaire qui commence en 789, le Royaume du Maroc est une nation plurielle, qui tire
Photo courtesy of Azzedine Lahlou
sa richesse de sa diversité. Nourri et enrichi par les tamazighs, tachelhits, tarifits, arabes, maures, sahraouis, juifs marocains et bien d’autres, le patrimoine culturel marocain est irrigué par ses aspects divers, qui forment tous, au final, l’unité du Royaume, derrière le drapeau et le Roi. Feu Sa Majesté le Roi Hassan II disait que : “Le Maroc est un arbre dont les racines sont ancrées en Afrique mais qui respire par ses feuilles en Europe “, et c’est à travers cette image que nous vous proposons de découvrir cette culture et cette Histoire si riches et si fascinantes. Cette initiative est née d’un constat simple : le dossier du Sahara Marocain est très méconnu en Europe, tandis que pour les marocains, il s’agit réellement d’une cause nationale, qui soude le peuple tout entier, toutes classes sociales et divergences politiques confondues.
Et donc, vous l’avez sans doute constaté, nous sommes très motivés et très engagés. Mais sachez que de cet engagement sincère découle un enthousiasme sans limites ! Nous avons tant d’idées reçues à déconstruire, de mirages à désillusionner et d’approximations à préciser ! Et cette passion du débat et de l’échange constructif nous pousse à vous proposer des évènements dans les délais les plus brefs ! Mais avant cela, nous tenions à vous remercier. Oui, vous, les Sciences Pistes de Menton, vous tous, pour votre aide. Car, voyez-vous, nous sommes une récente association, qui n’existait pas, officiellement comme officieusement, il y a encore un mois, et qui, par votre soutien, se retrouve en moins de trois semaines initiative étudiante du réseau Sciences Po Paris, en même temps que d’autres associations qui avaient des
années d’existence sur le campus ! Au-delà de ce résultat factuel, nous étions ravis de constater durant notre mobilisation, et pendant nos nombreux échanges, que la plupart d’entre vous étaient curieux, et désiraient en savoir plus concernant le Sahara Marocain. Nous avons également été très heureux de voir que les amis du Maroc et de sa cause nationale sont très nombreux, et que la fraternité entre les peuples n’est pas un concept abstrait. Certains même se sont joints à notre association à la suite de nos débats ! Et nous ne pouvons que nous réjouir d’une dynamique aussi forte en symbole. D’ailleurs, si certains sont toujours intéressés, n’hésitez pas à contacter notre président, Azzedine Lahlou, au plus vite ! La date limite est pour bientôt... Nous profitons enfin de cette tribune pour vous remercier à nouveau pour la confiance et la sympathie que vous nous avez manifestées. Maintenant, c’est à notre tour de vous rendre la pareille en organisant très prochainement des événements qui vous intéresseront, nous l’espérons. Azzedine Lahlou, Journalist Invité
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Feature
OCTOBER 2021
Ressa and Muratov:
the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of Whom the World is in Dire Need We have all heard of the Nobel Peace Prize, whether through an influential historical actor whose name and achievements have popped up in a class, or as a term thrown around to poke fun at a friend. However, while we all know the Peace Prize itself has a long history, this year’s recipients are especially remarkable. We are in an era where freedom of expression is experiencing continuous global challenges, with a divergence between nations where individuals are thought to have too much access to free speech to preach hatred unaccountably, and others in which authoritarian leaders are incrementally increasing their overarching power to repress civil society. Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov are the leaders we need to celebrate to understand the fundamental place of free speech in any and all human societies. First awarded in 1901 and 137 times since, the Nobel Peace Prize is one of five pieces established by Swedish entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, bestowed upon individuals who have committed the most to “fraternity between nations… [and] the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Nobel himself never left provision in his will for the specific peace prize, but as a chemical engineer, the prize areas of physics and chemistry were understandable choices. A committee of five members designated by the Norwegian parliament annually selects the recipient (or in this case, recipients), though it remains decidedly unclear why he designated a Norwegian committee to bestow the award
in his name. There have been to date 28 organizations and 975 Nobel Prize laureates who have been awarded a prize, the youngest of whom was Malala Yousafzai in 2014 at the age of 17. Only two laureates have declined the prize, including Jean-Paul Sartre in allegiance with his history of revoking all honors, and Le Duc Tho for his role in negotiating the Vietnam Peace Accord with Kissinger. However, only 58 recipients have been awarded to females. In 2021, the prize was jointly awarded to Ressa and Muratov for “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression… a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist who co-founded the online political journalism company Rappler in 2012 alongside three other female journalists. She had spent almost 20 preceding years as a lead Southeast-Asia investigative correspondent for CNN. Born in 1963, Ressa was raised by a single mother due to her father’s passing when she was only one. Her mother subsequently emigrated to the United States, leaving the juvenile Ressa under the care of her father’s family. Ressa then moved to the US herself at the age of 10, to New Jersey. She attended Princeton and graduated with a degree in molecular biology, topped off with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and dance. She is also the first ever Nobel Prize recipient from the Philippines. Ressa was announced as Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ in 2018; one of multiple journalists featured for her work combating misinformation
and fake news globally. Ressa’s career, however, has not been without hardships. After being arrested in February 2019 by Filipino authorities, Ressa was found guilty in June 2020 for cyberlibel in People of the Philippines v Santos, Ressa and Rappler under contentious Anti-Cybercrime legislation criticized incessantly by human rights defense groups as undermining freedom of the press, a “shameless act of persecution by a bully government.” The judicial decision was both domestically and internationally criticized as a biased and political one due to Ressa’s incessant denouncement of Philippine President Duterte. Former US Secretary of State openly denounced the conviction as something to be “condemned by all democratic nations.” Muratov has by no means taken an easier path within his career. For decades, he has worked ceaselessly to defend freedom of speech within an increasingly restrained Russia. Born in 1961, Muratov studied Philology at Samara State University for several years, to which he attributes his love of journalism. Since as far back as 1993, Muratov has acted as a director of the independent socio-political newspaper Novaya Gazeta, acting as editor-in-chief for an incredible 24 years. Interestingly, the establishment of the organization was aided through the Nobel Prize money received by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990. The Moscow-published tri-weekly newspaper is known in Russia for its critical investigative coverage of politics. Since 2000, seven journalists have been murdered in connection with human rights and political investigations on behalf of the newspaper. Undoubtedly, the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s statement that Ressa and Muratov have battled a “courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines
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and Russia” is by no means an understatement. The Committee further stated that the two icons represent on a wider scale “all journalists who stand up” for democratic ideals, under global conditions in which “democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.” Congratulations have poured in for the recipients, including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urging a continuation of the international struggle to defend the freedom of the press and of expression and recognizing the “fundamental role” of the media in preserving democratic interests. During this global pandemic, numerous self-interested leaders have been offered an opportunity on a silver-platter to implement controls to further their own access to executive powers. Since 2016, the United Nations has published warnings of the serious threats media freedom has been facing, but there has since been a further notable increase in attacks on journalistic integrity, and even personal safety, during the pandemic. According to Freedom House, 2019 marked the 15th year of consecutive decline in global freedom. Military or police in 18 nations have physically abused outspoken journalists. At least 83 governments globally have used the pandemic as direct justification for the violation of the right to free speech, some of which have detained, attacked, prosecuted, or even killed opponents. Hence, it is clear that in the current climate, the decisions of the Nobel Committee have been more relevant than ever. Despite early criticisms of politically-motivated choices, the decision to honor Muratov and Ressa with the award has appropriately come at a time when the world requires journalistic leadership against oppressive governance more than ever. Georgia McKerracher, Guest Reporter
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Sports
A Skip Ahead
OCTOBER 2021
Photo by Hugo Lagergren
Stone Skipping Society: A New Player in Menton Athletics No one can dispute that the key value of the Menton campus is athletic excellence. Students burn the midnight fuel in the volleyball courts or drag themselves out of bed to head to the fields. Yet, the rocky beaches and the crystal clear water remained untouched in a competitive environment. Until now.
well before its time, the Stone Skipping Society of SciencesPo Menton engrains the sport into our community forever.
Three 2A entrepreneurs and masterminds responded to the deep void created by the absence of organized stone skipping on campus. An association that is
Established in 2021 by co-founders Nikola Avramovic, Stanisław Naklicki, and Benjamin Vitenson, the Society is a
to Naklicki. The athletes in the society can be found on the Sablettes and Bastion beaches in their training positions, although the organized events themselves are characterized as “spontaneous” and “impromptu” by Naklicki. The open and integrative team offers ample competition for
Vitenson, appalled at the lack of stone skipping at such a well-rounded, inter-campus competition, calls for action on the student and administrative level to fix the wrongdoing. response to those with a great interest in and desire to institutionalize the sport, according
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OCTOBER 2021
those to perfect their sport, while simultaneously instilling
Furthermore, how would established organizations like
“Stone skipping is a sport at least to the same extent as tennis is a sport. It involves a motion and movement giving a round object projectile motion. They both involve handsome gentlemen and ladies partaking in the activity.” the inspiration to learn in many by assisting and encouraging perfection and accuracy. As the name suggests, the goal of stone skipping is twofold: for the rock to skip the most number of times while simultaneously achieving the farthest distance. Sound simple? Not at all. The precision of the sport comes down to the choice of the right flat rock, core strength and balance, and muscular endurance to throw with aim and dexterity. All of these skills are targeted during the society’s trainings. Video evidence and inspiration can be found on the society’s Instagram page, @ stone_skipping_society. Unfortunately, no tell-all article on the issue of stone skipping can be complete without the discussion of its status as a sport. The controversy is at best baseless and harmful to the many people that dedicate their time, energy, and hopes into the sport. Naklicki defends his position with a simple statement: “Stone skipping is a sport at least to the same extent as tennis is a sport. It involves a motion and movement giving a round object projectile motion. They both involve handsome gentlemen and ladies partaking in the activity.”
the North American Stone Skipping Association respond to unfounded accusations towards their legitimacy? Or legends in the game, like Kurt Steiner, Christina Bowen-Bravery or Peter Szep? Christina Bowen-Bravery further nuances the discussion of stone skipping with a sad fact: the sport is very male-dominated. Especially for a campus with a female majority population, shattering gender stereotypes should be at the core of all associations. Vitenson commented on the sad reality of gender imbalance in the game: “I think if we had more women role models in the sport we would see a surge in participation, but we are looking to tear down that gender wall of stone skipping and have everyone participate.” As the sport becomes accepted and embraced on campus, the real question becomes, why does the serious sport of stone skipping get continually excluded from the mini-crit competition? Vitenson, appalled at the lack of stone skipping at such a well-rounded, inter-campus competition, calls for action on the student and administrative level to fix the wrongdoing. Whether it be your first time
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looking at a rock, or your final practice before the next World Stone Skimming Championship, the new society has “expanded into everyday life of students,” according to Vitenson, and is dedicated to continuing this legacy and cultural tradition. Who will stand in the way of such a “noble activity” and the interest therein among the student population? The official incorporation of this sport into campus life is changing how the campus views athletics and actively pushes for change in the professional sport. The time has come to end unproductive debates regarding the activity and instead focus the energy of the campus on embracing an integral aspect of culture: stone skipping. Ada Baser, Head of Design
The Stone Skipping Society’s first meeting, advertised on Instagram. Photo courtesy of Instagram @ @stone_skipping_society
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October Feature:
Sports
OCTOBER 2021
Let’s Run for a Cause
One event worth featuring this month was the “Octobre Rose,” or Pink October event, jointly organized by our very own Feminist Union (FU) and the Bureau des Sports (BDS) of the SciencesPo Menton campus. On October 3rd, a fundraising sale and run took place in Menton, with the support of the Institut du Cancer de Montpellier, for the student population to raise awareness on breast cancer prevention and diagnosis, as well as donating to the cause. The event consisted of merchandise and food sales that began
at Bastion around late morning, culminating in a four-kilometer run/walk to the Italian border post and back to Bastion. Even as it began to pour at the beginning of the run, the organizers and participants were undeterred and remained determined to complete the four-kilometer route. Despite the odds, the runners completed the run and were able to support a good cause. The mood back at Bastion after the run was ecstatic. Below is an interview with Cloé Azria (Co-President of the FU) and Samanéa Rousseau
(President of the BDS) on their motivations and experiences in organizing the Octobre Rose event. The interview has been condensed for the purpose of this feature. What is your objective of organizing the October Rose event? What is the beneficiary organization, and which other student associations did the FU partner with to achieve this aim? Cloé: Organizing Octobre Rose has been one of my most beautiful projects as breast cancer is a cause that I really care about. Breast cancer is
and must remain a matter of common concern. It is not just about women and girls suffering from a disease which can potentially be treated, but it is a cause that can affect our friends, our sisters, our mothers or any other woman on this earth. It is thus important to remember that breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the second most common in the world after prostate cancer. After spending my summer as a volunteer at a cancer patient support center, I really understood the terrible stakes of this disease. This is why I wanted to unify the students of Menton around such a beautiful and touching subject. In addition, as I used to participate in the Pink October races in Montpellier, the idea of doing a similar event in Menton could not be more evident. My aim: organizing a “not serious” race for a serious cause (What I mean by these words is a fun run which supports a very serious cause.) As I couldn’t organize Octobre Rose last year because of Covid 19 and the sanitary situation, I was more than eager to concretize my project. As one of the Co-Presidents of the Feminist Union and Vice-President of the BDS, it became obvious that the run would be a collaboration between the two associations, especially with Samanéa, the President of the BDS, who has been a great help in both organization and realization of the event! Samanéa: I think we can all agree that breast cancer overall is a very important cause which must be fought for. It repre-
Sports
OCTOBER 2021
sents a very special cause to me because I got to see the effects it can hold both mentally and physically on one individual. My mom got breast cancer when I was ten and, although she is the strongest human I possibly know, I got to see how much it destroyed her. We tend to think that the diagnosis and the treatment are the hardest to go through yet the step after you are finished is even harder – especially as a woman – to accept her body after breast cancer. Once the treatments are done, once you have been accommodated with chemo, radiotherapy, the tons of operations and ins and outs at the hospitals, getting back into the real world; to your job, to social gatherings... To run basically any task once you go through something that so drastically and unexpectedly changed you is the hardest. You can never really heal from cancer. It takes acceptance and faith to take back your life where you “left” it and I admire my mom- and all these women- that are going through or have gone through a breast cancer suspicion or diagnosis. Pink October is the occasion for celebrating the little but giant fighters that these women are -because let me tell you that- to face an illness which makes you stand on a thin, thin line between life and death is one hell of a changing experience. Pink October is the occasion to raise funds for the foundations supporting these women during their treatments, the hospitals, the NGOs, the research institutes helping the treatments improve. Pink October is also the occasion to raise awareness amongst men and women. I am one of many who has seen a loved one go through a cancer diagnosis so please share the information. Ladies check up on yourselves, men make sure your surroundings know about this cause and how important check-ups are. It is never a fun topic but truly, the earlier you notice it, the better.
That is what Pink October is about. That is what the pink ribbon means. When Cloé came to me with the plan of organizing an event containing a race for Pink October, the matter was set, and I was thrilled to put my BDS board and myself to collaborate with the Feminist Union on this cause. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in organizing this event? Cloé: Even though the organization was a bit complex as I had to face challenges regarding logistics, the city, the stands, the day... It was an amazing experience which taught me a lot as I had to learn how to deal with the Mairie, the various problems, the hospital, etc… Samanéa: Cloé did such a good job with handling the administrative burden of getting authorization- THE struggle and got such great ideas to make this event enjoyable for a serious cause. What is the amount of funds that you managed to raise during the event? Cloé: Along with the sale of goodies and the run, we have
launched a prize fund to collect all the donations to fight Breast Cancer. For now, we have collected about 800 euros which is amazing! The prize fund is open until the end of October and we hope with all our hearts that people will still give something to support the fight against breast cancer, as all the donations will be given to the Cancer League. What is your greatest takeaway in organizing this event? Cloé: Organizing this event took many weeks but I had an incredible team by my side, first Samanéa and then both the FU board and the BDS board. We even decided to go to Ventimiglia to buy all the food and drinks we needed and it was really fun to do! The fact that our event was also sponsored by the Institut du Cancer de Montpellier was amazing: they sent us goodies (USB keys, pens, shirts, bracelets...) and gave the race more impact. I sincerely want to thank all the people who helped me in this touching event, it couldn’t have gone better. I also want to thank the Institut du Cancer de Montpellier for supporting us.
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Samanéa: Seeing the project take form by Cloé’s side was very warming. Seeing the associations of our campus supporting our project and encouraging their boards to participate encouraged us. Seeing our students engage was touching. Seeing all of us get together for this cause was beautiful. Organizing the event with our great team made it easy and enjoyable. We thank you for bringing your smiles to your event and for making it count with your donations. Special thanks to my board for being incredible, let’s keep it up. Given Cloé’s and Samanéa’s recount of events, it would have been an understatement to call the Octobre Rose a success, for it fully demonstrated the solidarity of the campus to unite around a singular cause that continues to affect the lives of millions around the world. For all inquiries regarding breast cancer or how to donate to the prize fund, please feel free to reach out to either Cloé or Samanéa directly in person or through social media. Wang Di, Photographer
Photos by Wang Di
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European Super Greed
Sports
OCTOBER 2021
The Rapid Rise and Spectacular Fall of the European Super League
“Football clubs aren’t just businesses; they define communities across the country.”
Photo by Hugo Lagergren
Football plays a unique role in Europe, and specifically in the UK. It breaks down the class barriers that often come between the working class and the middle class, and it unites them behind a common cause. The UK Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, described this phenomenon in a speech to the House of Commons in which he criticized the Super League: “Football clubs aren’t just businesses; they define communities across the country.” For 56 hours, however, these communities united beyond even the geographical divides that usually act as barriers, and united against the financial giants that
were at the helm of this project. This David v. Goliath moment is the brief story of how these communities managed to topple the commercial master plan of a handful of greedy European bureaucrats. Reports began to break of a rumored “breakaway” European Super League during a match between Arsenal and Fulham on Sunday the 18 of April. Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal Football Club, was asked about the rumors after the game. His lack of knowledge or involvement was apparent from his double take after the project was mentioned. This interaction is a
perfect example of the disconnect that was in place prior to the project between the owners of these clubs, and the footballing communities that they preside over. The suggested project involved 12 clubs breaking away from their respective national and international competitions and forming a new, exclusive championship. It is precisely this idea of exclusivity that was a central reason for the project’s unpopularity. Domestic championships are a tier-based system. They reward clubs for merit and punish them
for inadequacy through promotion and relegation between championships. Despite the financial disparity that exists between clubs, this gives them all the opportunity to challenge “the Big Six” (Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham & Arsenal); these teams being the six wealthiest in the UK (prior to the recent takeover of Newcastle United by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia). An example of this type of success story is when Leicester City F.C. went from playing in the Championship, the second division of English football, to
Sports
OCTOBER 2021
winning the Premier League in the space of three years. While this type of event occurs less and less due to the increasing wealth gap between clubs, the important thing is that it remains a possibility, despite its unlikeliness. This possibility of challenging the bigger teams and winning incentivizes fans of smaller clubs to get back behind their teams in a more active manner. This includes attending football games and buying club merchandise, which provide the club with active moral and financial support. An exclusive championship without the possibility of failure through regulation would also motivate players less as they would be guaranteed the same quality of football games each year. This demotivation would become even more pronounced as a breakaway league would remove the financial bonuses that are often included within each players’ contracts which reward exceptional individual performance, in the context of high team performance. The argument of those driving the project, notably Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid C.F., is that the Super League will “save football” through the millions of euros it would receive in television and sponsorship revenue. In addition to this, the project would include the 12 most successful teams in Europe in order to create a league with a high level of skill, thus making it an attractive concept for football fans worldwide. However, both arguments were unsatisfactory and, more importantly, unconvincing in the eyes of supporters across the globe, and particularly in Britain. Firstly, the poor planning on behalf of the business titans behind the project manifested the
disconnect that exists between owners and fans. The prioritization of money over supporters in an attempt to reinvigorate the football economy reflects a complete misreading of the footballing community, as the leaders of the project rapidly came to understand following many fan-led protests across the country. While the argument of creating a league that plays more attractive football may appear to hold more weight, fans argued instead that such a project would, in actual fact, render football more boring and less
joyable activity. When continued amounts of dopamine are injected into one’s system, it causes the person to become resistant to the effects of dopamine, and thus receive less pleasure from the same amount of dopamine. This is what many football fans think could happen as a result of the creation of a Super League. As well as the heavy opposition from the army of English supporters, there was also significant political pressure from leading European politicians, including Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, which led to the project’s suspension.
As a European football official said, “not all politicians are football fans, but every politician is aware that every fan is a voter.” attractive for fans. They argued that the existing international competition, the UEFA Champions League, was special because it is infrequent. The fact that matches from this competition were rare during the football season and often brought similarly successful European teams in contact created a certain aura and hype around the competition, which fans argued would disappear with the creation of the Super League, as it would sensitize them to elite-tier football. It is interesting to consider such an argument from a scientific perspective as well, to better comprehend this idea of sensitization, as it holds some scientific weight. The hypothalamus, a section of the brain responsible for maintaining constant certain aspects of the body, such as heart rate, blood pressure and hormone levels, releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine to amplify a person’s feeling of pleasure during any kind of en-
The project’s clear unpopularity provided governments with the opportunity to side with fans and gain favor among voters and none made more use of this opportunity than Boris Johnson, who, as Prime Minister of a stagnating economy and fragile, post-Brexit union, needed a story to divert attention from Britain’s domestic issues. As a European football official said, “not all politicians are football fans, but every politician is aware that every fan is a voter.” The pressure created by the possibility of political intervention was pivotal. However, this was only made possible by the strength of the popular revolt against the project. This debacle has highlighted the problems of greed and elitism that currently plague the football industry and has raised important questions as to how club ownership should be structured. Many have referenced the German 50+1 structure which
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prevents any one body being the majority stakeholder in a club by placing 51 percent of the club’s ownership in the hands of fans. Chief reporter Tobi Altschaeffi of the German sports newspaper SportBild stated that it is precisely this ownership structure that creates such a strong community surrounding the club, as it involves fans in a more active manner. Boris Johnson went as far as to announce a “root-and-branch investigation into the governance of football and the role of fans in that governance.” Oliver Dowden went on to mention the governance structure that German clubs employ as a possible influence, if there were to be a restructuring of Premier League club ownership. One would hope that government intervention is not necessary. However, as has been the case time and time again, owners have consistently shown a lack of empathy with their club’s players and supporters and the wider footballing community, and have chosen instead to put their own monetary gain first. While this does create a cause for concern, the speed at which the project was reversed due to public outcry and political pressure should also give football fans confidence that there is a strong enough community to keep these billionaire owners and business titans in check. While many might still view the opposition to the Super League as being excessive, it is important to understand that these communities only seek to maintain the integrity of what is fundamentally a game that unites and empowers people, no matter their class, race, religion, sexuality, disability or any other factor which divides us. Hugo Lagergren, Staff Reporter
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Arts and Entertainment
From Hobby Lobby to Iraq
OCTOBER 2021
How the repatriation of 17,000 ancient objects can restore collective memory in a war-torn country the company is yet again under national scrutiny as it atones for its art-collecting sins in a major repatriation campaign.
You may think that the connection between the craft store chain, Hobby Lobby, and the ancient Mesopotamian Gilgamesh Tablet could be tenuous at best. But you would be mistaken. In 2017, the Evangelical Christian owner of Hobby Lobby, Steve Green, opened the Museum of the Bible, a project that seeks to document the history of the Holy Book. Up until recently, many of the institution’s collections featured ancient Near Eastern art with questionable provenance. In 2010, Hobby Lobby combatted smuggling allegations after sneaking clay cuneiform slabs and seals (falsely labeled as Turkish tiles) into the United States. Green was warned prior to the purchase of these artifacts that they were most likely unlawfully looted from Iraqi historical sites. However, this warning went unheeded and Hobby Lobby became subject to a civil complaint. In 2019, one of the museum’s highest profile acquisitions, a fragment of the Dead Sea Scroll, was found to be a forgery. And now,
Amid power vacuums during both the Gulf War and American invasion, Iraqi museums, unexcavated caves, and monuments were looted. These thefts fueled the antiquities black market and resulted in the displacement of thousands of ancient objects. To return these objects to their motherland is, according to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, a triumph “over those who mutilate heritage and then traffic it to finance violence and terrorism.” But, the return of these ancient artifacts means so much more. It represents the restoration of Iraqi history and the rehabilitation of our collective memories. Since August of this year, some 17,000 looted artifacts hailing from both Museum of the Bible and Cornell University collections have been returned to Iraq. Among the restituted objects is the storied Gilgamesh Tablet whose tumultuous journey back to Iraqi soil is emblematic of the unpredictable nature of antiquities trafficking. The clay fragment that recounts an ancient Sumerian tale of a bull-slaying demigod was stolen from the Iraqi museum during the 1991 Gulf War. UNESCO reported that it was then allegedly bought
by a Jordanian antiques dealer, who passed it onto a coin dealer in London. Later, it served as the centerpiece of a Museum of the Bible exhibit in Washington, D.C. before being seized by homeland security agents. Today it resides in the Baghdad Museum. For many, the return of these ancient objects is not merely about “rightful” ownership. Rather, it signifies a reunion between Iraqis, whose heritage has been subject to immense erasure over the last three decades, and their cultural pasts. U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Fareed Yasseen, described the repatriation as “a culmination of years of effort to heal Iraq’s cultural heritage wounds.” But many of these wounds cannot be mended. Several archaeologists discourage research into potentially looted objects because it deprives countries of origin from the opportunity to study the pieces themselves. However, the
artifacts returned by Cornell University have been thoroughly studied without the consultation of Iraq. “We missed this great opportunity to study our tablets, our heritage,” lamented Hassan Nadhem, the Iraqi minister of culture, tourism and antiquities. “This is a kind of bitterness in our mouth.” Other wounds that emerged as a result of political instability and American neo-imperialism are manifested in the robust terrorist organizations that operate within Iraq. The destruction of Nineveh, the shameless rampaging of the Mosul Museum, and the dynamiting of centuries old Muslim and Christian shrines in recent years by the Islamic State are the most tragic cases of all. The art that was destroyed at the hands of extremists is irretrievable. Not even the repatriation of 17,000 Iraqi artifacts Photos courtesy of can restore Creative Commons the history that has been lost as a result of iconoclasm.
OCTOBER 2021
The Gilgamesh tablet was returned on September 23, 2021. The repatriation was dubbed “a major victory” by UNESCO. But Hobby Lobby and Cornell’s return of these artifacts should not be viewed as a favor to Iraq or as some unforeseen joyous homecoming – it was simply a matter of national responsibility. The United States played an instrumental role in the destruction and pillaging of Iraq. During the 2003 invasion, U.S. soldiers were documented looting museums alongside disillusioned Iraqis. The de-baathification policies and America’s systematic dissolution of the Iraqi military directly led to the formation of the terrorist organizations that continue to chip away at Iraq’s already-dwindling cultural heritage. However, when news of repatriation campaigns hit media outlets, or when black clad men defacing lamassus appear on American television screens, it seems so far, as if the U.S. had nothing to do with the displacement of Iraqi objects or the subsequent defacement of ancient artifacts. But this is to be expected. Scholar Hamid Dabashi once said: “imperial cultures thrive on their intentional amnesia.” His words ring true as the U.S. feigns blamelessness, incredulity, or even sympathy when acknowledging the conflict in Iraq — a conflict that rages on as an immediate result of American disregard for the histories of other nations. Thus, it is art, the fight for its repatriation and its mere existence, that helps create the framework for collective memory. It is art that is the ultimate antidote to an empire’s amnesia. Lara-Nour Walton, Staff Reporter
Thou shall not be indifferent Arts and Entertainment
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Nadine Labaki’s Wake-Up Call to the West
Photos courtesy of SPRH and Cinementongraph
For most of us, the French-Italian frontier in Menton is a concept, a sort of imaginary line of cheaper groceries and good pizza. One could possibly remain oblivious to this privilege as long as they never venture towards the Ventimiglia train station, where some are desperately trying to cross a very real border in the hopes of a safer life. To try to alleviate their struggles, SciencesPo Refugee Help and Cinementongraph decided to team up and organize a screening of Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s film, “Capernaum.” All the proceeds funded
food distribution for refugees and immigrants in Ventimiglia. The film’s title refers to the biblical city of Capernaum, a place damned and abandoned by God. The protagonists of the film are also forgotten, not necessarily by any form of divine power, but by the Western world and the international public. We follow the life of a 12-year old Zain, whom we meet in court as he tries to sue his own parents, through retrospections of his childhood on the streets of Beirut. Labaki’s decision to cast herself as Zain’s lawyer was purely symbolic. After all, just
like her character, the director is giving a voice to the voiceless by providing them with a floor to share their stories. The main character is played by a Syrian refugee who himself grew up in Beirut’s slums, Zain Al Rafeea. The name used in the film was no coincidence: Labaki had changed it after casting the boy, highlighting that the protagonist’s experience in the film reflects the reality of children living in Lebanon. Neither of the Zains had received any schooling. Al Rafeea had to learn his lines by having them read to him as he was illiterate at the time of the shooting. It is impossible to tell that Al Rafeea is not a professional actor throughout the film. He lived that life, he did not have to act. It is perhaps the profound sadness in his eyes that shows the hardships he has been through despite his young age. After having run away from his parents, we witness Zain trying to survive in a hostile urban jungle. Long, stunning shots resemble a fairytale-like child’s odyssey, however, the story is far from The Little Prince’s narrative. The boy interacts with a lot of strangers who all have their problems and shattered dreams of a better life. One of them is a young girl, a refugee from Syria. She tells Zain she received food and is going to move to Sweden. Zain asks her how he could
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Arts and Entertainment
receive the same benefits, and she answers point-blank: you are not a Syrian refugee. This one sentence struck me, especially looking at the girl’s t-shirt which reads “I am Lebanese.” That’s precisely how selective the West is when it comes to providing help. When Zain is referred by the girl to a human trafficker,
cy,much less to deliver an infant in a hospital. The film’s somber atmosphere was amplified by a haunting score by Khaled Mouznar, Labaki’s husband who collaborated closely with her in the production of the film, making it, as Labaki called it in her acceptance speech of the Jury Prize at the
OCTOBER 2021
being.’ What we consider to be a rather inconvenient chore every few years was a life-changing moment for him. The real Al Rafeea also moved forward; his family has been granted asylum in Norway. When Labaki called Al Rafeea to share the news that the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign
could do was help an individual. The rest, as for judges in a courtroom, is for the audience to reflect on and decide. Krzysztof Kaluzny, Guest Reporter
Photos courtesy of Creative Commons
he receives another blow -- he lacks any documents, or as the trafficker describes it, ‘a proof you’re a human being.’ The issue of undocumented people is a recurring theme over the course of the film. Those in power expect a birth certificate from people who can’t afford medical aid in a life-threatening emergen-
Cannes Film Festival, a “family film created at home.” Given how heart-breaking the story was, it would be simply cruel if the film ended without some positivity or a glimpse of hope. We saw how Zain posed for a camera to have a picture taken for his ID card. Finally, Zain was recognized as a ‘human
Film, Al Rafeea was in school with teachers and new friends. Labaki might not have won the Academy Award, but I believe the opportunity to make a difference in Al Rafeea’s life was the biggest prize she could gain for this film. As her own character in the story, she was not able to change the system. The best she
MENA
OCTOBER 2021
A beacon of light for a country in the dark
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Lebanon’s untiring resilience
October 14, 4:38 pm. My phone does not cease to ring: photo flash, gunfire, smoke, chaos. The photos on my device are the same ones you would find in a history textbook about the civil war; the same militias that terrorized my mother and my aunts, are now terrorizing my friends and my cousins. Today’s attack is just another example of a crumbling nation; what was supposed to be a demonstration in Beirut calling for the removal of a judge who led a probe into the deadly August 2020 port blast quickly became a bloodbath. Thursday’s attack falls within a context of national crisis on all scales: Lebanese citizens have been in the dark since 2019 and are gradually being stripped of all human dignity. The needs of the Lebanese people have been ignored, brushed off and frankly stepped on. I remember going to the pharmacy with my grandfather, a diabetic with heart failure, I remember him having to beg the pharmacist (who was a close friend) for his prescription. My grandmother, who lives in Central Beirut, wakes
up in the dark every morning. Lebanon is in the dark. These are not isolated examples, every single Lebanese citizen has seen his or her way of living crumble. To quote the World Bank, this is “one of the worst financial crises in centuries.” Beirut, known as the “Paris of the Middle East” in the 1950s, and arguably the region’s financial hub, is slowly relapsing into its war-torn state. After hearing of yesterday’s events, I felt as if someone had stabbed me in the heart — the country’s collapse has never seemed so clear and obvious. However, it also made me think of how special the country is. Lebanon is undeniably a crossroad of civilizations; to quote an Oxford article on the matter “Modern-day Lebanon is like a mosaic, characterized by a diversity of cultures, traditions, and religions. Because of its location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa, Lebanon has been shaped by many civilizations throughout its long history.” The streets of downtown Beirut tell the story of Lebanon’s history themselves: you will pass domed mosques
A team of students helps Med Liban to deliver much-needed medication and equipment to Lebanon. Photo by Med Liban
and steeply churches on your right, French cafes and Arab “Souks” on your left. Lebanon is also the home of arak, an alcoholic beverage made from raisins and aniseed and many other delicacies enjoyed worldwide. This example of cultural heritage is particularly interesting as it first appeared in the 12th century from the Arab invention of alembic distillation and later spread to the Balkans and eventually Indonesia and Malaysia. Similar to Lebanon, arak is a cultural mosaic and an emblem of Arab-Islamic history. And just like arak, Lebanon has a heritage almost as old and as diverse as Arab civilizations and an incontestable influence on a global scale. Generally speaking, the country’s geographical location at a crossroad between Arab and Asian civilizations has made it a
cosmopolitan power. As most Lebanese proudly state:
“Lebanon is small in size but huge in its influence.” Finally, let this article be a celebration of Lebanese culture rather than another cry of despair: let us remember the joys of Lebanese mezze, kahwa, and Fairuz! Maria Kouteili, Guest Reporter
x Med Liban