An Activist’s Perspective from Lebanon: Interview with Marie-Claude Najm

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In 2007 a political deadlock paralyzed Lebanon, causing tensions to grow between the competing political camps and the citizens that supported them. Without an end in sight, many believed that the only solution was civil war. Marie Claude was among those who decided to take a stand against this growing public opinion and join a group called ‘Khalass’ (www.khalass.net)

In Lebanese civil society, I have met many impressive activists, but Marie Claude is one of those rare individuals you meet. She has a powerful presence, and projects a feeling of dedication and intelligence. The situation today in Lebanon is more hopeful than it was in 2007, yet tell-tale signs, such as failure to form a cabinet, and continued uncompromising political interests, prove that a crisis is never far away. In an interview with Marie-Claude, she tells us about her own social ambitions and the way towards real change in the country.

Question: Tell us a little bit about your experience in political activism.

I chose to remain in Lebanon with the firm belief that positive change does not occur instantaneously, but is a long process that requires civil society to engage in the democratic process in order to improve the situation regarding human rights and push for other reform issues. From this perspective, I have participated in some of the campaigns launched by civil society individuals and organizations. What I learned from such initiatives is that they are good, but not enough. They have allowed us to express our political discontent, but not to push our leaders to make the decisions needed for the country. And still, elections keep reproducing the same political class. So, the only way is to engage in positive political action, by trying to create, together with other Lebanese from various socio-political and religious backgrounds, a new political group seeking change in the political culture in Lebanon.

Question: What are the major issues that should be fixed for real change to take place?

What we need is a cultural revolution: re-reading our history, re-thinking our identity issues, imagining a viable political and constitutional system that would, at least in the long run, allow us to get rid of confessionalism and tribalism. I would stress on two specific issues of interest to give you some concrete examples of this vision:

1) A new political and constitutional system: The current Lebanese system, as well as the previous ones, has failed. Each time there is a crisis, it cannot seem to be resolved within the system, but only through the recourse to regional players (Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, USA, etc.). We need to imagine a new constitutional and political system that is viable for the future. Another issue that is important in this respect: although the Constitution outlines administrative decentralization as a primary mechanism for democratic reform, unfortunately this has remained ink on paper, mainly because none of the successive Lebanese governments was enthusiastic for a practice that may limit their power and jurisdiction.

2) A unified civil family law: One of my top priorities is to advocate for a modern civil law covering all matters of family law and applicable to all Lebanese. In Lebanese family law, each citizen abides by the jurisdiction and the specific laws of his own religious community. No political unity can be achieved as long as Lebanese citizens are not governed by the same law and do not have the same rights and obligations. This project is still very difficult to implement, mainly because secularization faces a strong opposition from religious leaders and major political decision-makers.

Question: How do you envision achieving this?

Some steps to be taken would be the following:

1) Bring together a group of individuals who share the values and principles I believe in, and brainstorm in order to set the framework for a political platform and develop policy proposals. The idea is not to have a structured organized party in the traditional way but to create a platform where major issues for Lebanon are, for once, discussed and decided upon.

2) With a coherent platform in place, such group of reform-minded individuals will then be able to grow based on clear principles, and would begin to develop a public identity capable of engaging in a pilot run program for candidates for the 2013 parliamentary elections. My dream would be to see young people (and many women) candidates in various regions of the country on the basis of this program. Whether they are elected or not, these candidates would have at least broken the wall of neo-feudalism by showing that it is possible to think about politics in a different way, and hopefully we might succeed someday.

Question: Have you felt that people are responsive and interested in working?

Through discussions, brainstorms, and activities, I have talked with many people about these ideas and the outcome is diversified: while some people are really eager to work and commit, others are convinced that the system is so rotten that it will never change.

When asked what her message is to all Lebanese, she said:

Marie-Claude Najm is a professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Lebanon). Ms. Najm is also an Attorney at the Beirut Bar, and has founded her own consulting practice specialized in Private International Law. In addition to her work as a scholar and as a consultant, Ms. Najm has actively contributed in numerous civil society projects and initiatives.