BEIRUT: Has corruption been part of Lebanon so long that its citizens have come to think of it as a cultural trait of the country from which there is no escape? This is one of the many questions that the Lebanese Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (LALAC) has been trying to figure out since March 2009.
LALAC is part of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), which has been working on reform in Lebanon since 1999 with the support of Transparency International.
Since its creation a year ago, LALAC has helped hundreds of victims of corruption in the Lebanon by providing them with efficient legal advice.
Anyone who has been subject or witness to corruption in any form can call their hotline to schedule a free consultation with the organization’s lawyer, Mahmoud Kadri.
Project manager Natacha Sarkis explained that LALAC’s primary goal is to assist victims by advising them on how to proceed legally with their case, considering that many people do not have the necessary funds to hire a lawyer.
“However, the ultimate goal is to collect these cases, study them, and come out with concrete information on which institutions are the most corrupted in the country, in order to know where reform must be introduced,” Sarkis added.
She also revealed that when the hotline was first installed, the organization didn’t receive as many calls as one would expect.
“Some were too afraid to call, and others were simply unaware of the existence of our hotline,” Sarkis said.
A “Visibility Plan” was soon drafted and put into action, as TV commercials and Internet adds started to appear on screens all over the country, encouraging people to take advantage of the LALAC hotline. An SMS campaign was also started in order to reach Lebanese in a quick and efficient way.
The organization will be putting up billboard adds as well, to reach even more potential victims of corruption.
“A documentary about LTA has also been filmed and part of it has been dedicated to introducing LALAC to the public,” said media coordinator Omar Kabboul, “and LALAC is now on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter as well.”
While the number of phone calls has considerably increased since the ads started to appear, Sarkis noted that “some people are still afraid to come forward – many of them schedule appointments and never show up.”
Kadri revealed that roughly half of the cases handled by LALAC involve problems encountered with the judiciary as many court cases are endlessly delayed and a considerable number of judges are found to be biased.
“These cases are difficult to tackle because most victims don’t have evidence of the bribes or
other verbal violations they have been subject to. How can you have proof of such a thing?” Kadri asked.
And yet despite the difficulties, successes are met along the way, encouraging LALAC members to keep moving forward with their campaign. According to Kadri, a citizen came forth last month claiming that the judge in charge of his case was blindly acting in favor of the opposing party. Thanks to the citizen’s courage and LALAC’s legal advice, the biased judge was successfully replaced with a non-partial one after a complaint was issued at the judiciary.
Sarkis added that a large number of complaints concern outrageous bribes that are required to register real-estate transactions, or when it comes to paying the yearly mecanique (roadworthiness) fee for one’s car, or even while obtaining a driver’s license.
Both Kadri and Sarkis agreed that cases have shown that corruption appears to be most prevalent at the interior and finance ministries, and at local municipalities.
Sarkis also emphasized the absence of whistle-blower protection laws in Lebanon, explaining that “no law protects people who come forward with complaints about corruption.”
She argued that Lebanon needs a national commission, independent from the government, that would be able to monitor corruption and gradually impose reform.
The organization has also been organizing Outreach Sessions in towns, schools and universities across the country in order to raise awareness about corruption in the hope that people will stop thinking of it as a Lebanese cultural trait and admit just how wrong and unfair it is in reality.
Special focus has been given to young people in the belief that to change the prevailing mentality, one should start with younger generations, since they are the leaders of tomorrow. A children’s book entitled “A Cloud in a Dream” has also been distributed to youngsters, using easy-to-understand language and visuals to denounce the corruption that has become part of our everyday lives.
LALAC’s hotline is open five days a week, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. Callers may also leave a message during off hours, and will be called back the next day. The names of callers are kept strictly confidential.
The database of names and cases is kept in a computer that is never linked to the internet in order to increase security and avoid hacking.
Asked about how this arduous work affected her personally, Sarkis said: “It’s hard when you discover that powerful people are causing corruption and you know you are unable to denounce them. Nonetheless, our aim is not to put people in jail, but to incite reform in our country.”
If you have been a victim of or witness to corruption please call LALAC at 01/388131
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
