Opinion analysis by Rhea Haddad, Staff Writer

From getting ready for a new day on campus and attending university lectures, to scheduling meetings with professors and coffee breaks with friends, the lockdown has completely changed students’ traditional routine. “I’m waking up 5 minutes before my class and attending my 8 am class straight from my bed” says Alain, a senior student of Economics at the Saint-Joseph University (USJ). With the classrooms only a click of a button away, how are today's students thoughts on a possible path towards online higher education?

Analysis by Dina Richani, Staff Writer

"No one is abiding with social distancing," says Abdallah El Hussein, Syrian refugee residing in the Shatila Camp, the home to an estimate of 16,000 people. "Ninety per cent of the refugees had their jobs stopped and so the ones that were working are currently unemployed," says El Hussein. 

Opinion piece by Sarah Yehya, Staff Writer

Kafala System is the labor law by which an estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers live by, in Lebanon. It states that the employer – or “kafeel” – has relatively full control over the employee’s life. Blackmail, holding back their passports, and refusing to pay money are but a fraction of the atrocities these workers will inevitably encounter.

Opinion Analysis by Joelle El Sheikh, Staff Writer

“My salary is now worth two cartons of milk”, a mother of two children yelled at Thursday’s protest in Tripoli. As the economic situation tightens its grip on the Lebanese economy, citizens find themselves in an impossible dilemma: Risk getting exposed to the virus or silently suffer with barely enough money for basic necessities. Almost 90 countries have adopted new cash transfer programs-where governments put money directly into people’s accounts- to help mitigate the effects of the virus on their daily lives, where does Lebanon stand?

Opinion piece by Taleen el Gharib, Staff Writer

Many defined lines exist between different sects in the Lebanese demographic. And as the years went by, those lines gradually thickened, unraveled and prioritized a bitter sect-based unity amidst so-called national unity, and made something as simple as inter-faith marriage an accomplishment in Lebanese society.

Analysis by Jana al Hassanieh, Staff Writer & Sarah El-Abd, Editor-in-Chief

The International Committee for the Red Cross has officially been present and active in Lebanon since 1967 and has carried out its critical humanitarian work through more historical periods of conflict.  Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) emergency medical technicians have long been our heroes, yet in the more recent cases like the Lebanese uprisings and the scorching wildfires back in October 2019, and with the latest COVID-19 lockdown, Lebanese have certainly been forced to appreciate the infinite daily missions on the frontlines.

Opinion analysis by Annabelle Ghanem, Staff Writer & Sarah El-Abd, Editor-in-Chief

As an independent Lebanese newspaper, we pride ourselves with a national constitution that stipulates “the freedom to express one’s opinion orally or in writing, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of association shall be guaranteed within the limits established by law.” under article 13. As May 3rd passed yet again this year, The Phoenix Daily examines the situation of the Freedom of Press in Lebanon, from a cultural, social, and legal perspective and attempts to understand what these limits established by the law are and how they influence our daily lives.

News coverage by Karim Bassil, Staff Writer

It was in early March, during the evening, when George Junior Merheb was returning home in the car and a headache suddenly hit him. He started getting sweaty and felt a fever coming on, followed by a dry cough. Worried and shocked, he checked for CoViD-19 symptoms online like anyone else would.

Opinion piece by Tala Karkanawi, Staff Writer

When I first came to London, it was the 17th of January 2020. I had booked my return ticket to Lebanon on the 17th of April 2020, which would’ve been a couple of days ago. However, the sad reality is that is that it is now long after April 17th, and my return back home to my country, family, friends, and my mother looks like an impossible dream at the moment.

Opinion Piece by Taleen Gharib, Staff Writer

The patriarchy oppresses women. The capitalist system exploits the environment. The belief that women have a limited role of motherhood, property of her husband, is paralleled with the opinion that the environment is a resource of production, property of whoever owns that resource.

Analysis by Karim Bassil, Staff Writer

After years of unsuccessful attempts to develop alternate crops, Lebanon’s government has finally caved in and decided to go ahead and legalize the plant for both medicinal and industrial purposes. In July and September of 2019, two bills were introduced to parliament proposing the legalization of marijuana cultivation. However, both bills were proposed by rival sides; one by Lebanese Forces MP for Baalbeck-Hermel; Antoine Habchi, and another by non-other than Speaker of Parliament and Amal Movement leader; Nabih Berry. Tax the plant like you would with tobacco and alcohol ….

Opinion Analysis by Sandro Joseph Azzam, Contributor

In light of the Lebanese uprisings, Lebanese banks have taken it upon themselves to try and solve a crisis that they caused. The result has been a crisis even worse than the first. The alleged stem of the crisis was the bankruptcy and bail out of 2 Lebanese Alpha Banks. The central bank (BDL) bailed them out, in accordance with its role of lender of last resort and the Money and Credit law of 1964. Setting aside the fact that the mere possibility of being bailed out creates infinite moral hazard problems, why did banks need to be bailed out in the first place? What was the trigger that moved us away from “business as usual” into what is seemingly a disaster?

Analysis by Zeina Dagher, Staff Writer

Why is the government so adamant on building the Bisri dam, when it’s no secret that most of the other dam projects in Lebanon have failed? The truth is that infrastructure has always paved the way for neoliberal development, the World Bank’s ultimate goal. These international institutions measure economic growth through GDP increases, and argue that infrastructure projects will serve that purpose by, for example, creating job opportunities. However, what they do ignore is “to whom will resources be distributed and from whom will they be withdrawn.”

Opinion analysis by Fouad El Amine, Staff Writer

This article will not discuss nor critique the factors that led to the formation of the new government. Neither will it attempt to discuss where its loyalties may or may not lay; rather, it will underline the measures and policies said government took in order to overcome the challenges facing it. Therefore, we must highlight Diab's government reaction to the two crises it has faced so far, namely: the worsening economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

News opinion piece by Tala Majzoub, Staff Writer

The World Health Organization (WHO) contends that, though gender-based-violence is prevalent during times of stability and peace, risk escalates when a crisis – such as war, natural disaster, and pandemic - strikes . the legally mandated lockdown and the quarantine present us with unprecedented territories in terms of what domestic violence survivors are going to be facing. Layla Awada, head of the Family Violence Unit at KAFA explains that due to the Coronavirus widespread, “the police don't want to immediately arrest people to avoid crowding detainment centers and jails. Before, they were arresting them”.

Analysis by Mounia El Khawand, Staff Writer

As Lebanon witnesses a shocking 100% year-on-year increase in the number of domestic violence reports in March 2020 alone, according to a study published by ESCWA, it becomes clear that domestic violence is a disease in its own right - festering and poisoning the very fabric of society for decades, with no hopes for a definitive cure in sight, save for education, awareness, and compassion.

Opinion piece by Sandro Joseph Azzam, Contributor

Look around Beirut. If you think it looks like there are more new cars on the street, you’re exactly right. People have opted to put their “Lollars” to use, rather than risk losing them in the bank.

News analysis by Jad Arabi, Staff Writer

The Fakhoury case demonstrates that despite the presence of a dangerous pandemic and a worsening economic crisis, the events of the past can never be put on hold and history will forever be a prominent actor in the cultural and political landscape of Lebanon.

Opinion analytical piece by Tala Majzoub, Staff Writer

In truth, we ought to remember that we are not really prisoners and we are not under the Lebanese government’s measuring gaze… Instead, we are redirecting the agency to ourselves here, taking the initiative to stay home without anyone literally compelling us to.

News analysis by Ubah Ali & Claudette Igiranaeza, Staff Writers

Traveling thousands of kilometers to find a better source of income in order to meet their needs and support their families is the main reason that many women from Sub-Saharan African countries come to Lebanon as migrant domestic workers - yet expectations fade away the moment they set foot at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.