LONDON: While Lebanon grapples with economic, healthcare and political crises, brighter days are still on the horizon, the Lebanese American University’s (LAU) incoming President Dr. Michel Mawad said on Friday during a webinar hosted by media partner Arab News.
“You have to believe in this country, stay the course, have faith in the country, have faith in the past, the future, the mission of this country. Being Lebanese isn’t a passport, it’s a state of mind that can withstand these difficulties,” he added.
“We need to survive. There’s no better description for this than survival for those in Lebanon.”
On Aug. 4, a huge blast at the Port of Beirut — largely blamed on government negligence — rocked the capital and left at least 200 dead and thousands injured. More than 300,000 people lost their homes.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented financial crisis has left thousands of Lebanese higher education staff unemployed, and many others opting to leave the country out of sheer desperation,
Mawad said the LAU is doing all it can to retain its best and brightest from what is being described as a second brain drain — the first coming decades earlier during the civil war.
“We accept the fact that we’re going to have some erosion, but at the same time we’re constantly thinking of ways to retain our faculty,” he added.
Mawad also spoke of the LAU’s hybrid online / on-campus teaching model during the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced Lebanon into its second lockdown after a recent spike in cases.
“The main challenge is the healthcare crisis in Lebanon because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a challenge in taking care of our sick people, of securing basic medical care for COVID-19 victims, of protecting our constituents both on and off campus,” he said.
“We’re taking all precautions for the courses that need to be taught on campus, and we’re keeping our curriculum and classes going within a combination of online and in-class learning.”
Amid the financial toll on the LAU, Mawad spoke of rises in tuition fees, but with parallel increases in financial support for many students.
Taking questions from the audience, he was repeatedly asked about the incentive for students and staff to stay in a country reeling from what seems to be blow after blow. “Stay here because we’re here next to you,” he said.
Watch the full conversation here:
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