News

As part of the Bioviva For Life “Special Lebanon” project in partnership with Bioviva, LEM Les Enfants de la Méditerranée and Fondation d´entreprise CMA CGM, 36,000 educational games on the theme “Nature Challenges” are being donated to Lebanese and displaced refugee children in Lebanon.

A ceremony gathering all benefiting NGOs and humanitarian organisations took place at L’ecole du Cirque Cirquenciel on Friday the 29^th of March, where we were all granted a unique show featuring experienced children of all ages displaying athletic and fun skills. Cirquenciel is a social circus, part of the arcenciel Youth empowerment project promoting peace through circus arts. It is founded on the belief that every human being has the right to grow and develop in a friendly environment.

Within that context, the Order of Malta Lebanon will benefit from 2,000 games that will be redistributed to our primary health care centers across the country catering to both the Lebanese children and displaced refugees of ages varying between 4 and 10 years old. Games will be handed over to the psychologists at our centers to engage the children in memory stimulation, knowledge acquisition and self-esteem building; and to the Youth of the Order to use within the children camps and outings organized throughout the year.

As importantly, all the Bioviva For Life games are produced with eco-friendly material enabling all children to better grasp the importance of the environment intrinsic to their upbringing.

To ensure the success of the project, Bioviva For Life held a tutorial session clarifying the handling and rules of those educational games. They highlighted the collaborative, inclusive and multi-usage aspect of the games and the means to integrate those within the programs of each associations’ projects. We take this opportunity to thank Bioviva For Life and its partners for this great initiative and for supporting the education of children of the middle east.

The Order of Malta Lebanon has vacancies for :

Project Manager
– Starting May 2019, ending December 2020
– Field of Activity : Sin el Fil & North Beqaa
– Salary to be negotiated

Field Coordinator
– Starting May 2019, ending December 2020
– Field of Activity : Sin el Fil & North Beqaa
– Salary to be negotiated

M&E Expert
– Starting May 2019, ending December 2020
– Field of Activity : Sin el Fil & North Beqaa
– Salary to be negotiated

Interested candidates should send an email to info@orderofmaltalebanon.org to receive the job description of the position they would like to apply for.

The fundamental point of convergence between the various religious communities that rub shoulders in Lebanon lies within their same devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The Marian culture, which brings together Christians and Muslims around the figure of Mary, has brought down many religious barriers, and so, Lebanon became the only country in the world whose initiatives of tolerance and interreligious dialogue have resulted in the official institution of a national holiday celebrated on the occasion of the feast of the Annunciation.  

Back in March 2007, more than a decade ago, for the first time more than a thousand people from all communities had gathered to pray to the Virgin Mary, a sign of genuine conviviality between Christians and Muslims for whom the Blessed Virgin embodies a bridge that reconciles religious differences.

Following the success of this event, Prime Minister Saad Hariri decrees, in 2010, March 25 “National Day for Christian-Muslim Dialogue” and proclaims it a national holiday.  This ceremony, that became an annual spiritual meeting, gathered on Monday, March 25, 2019, in the Grand Serail, high Lebanese dignitaries alongside the president of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta, Mr. Marwan Sehnaoui, and Mr. François Abi Saab, Advisor to the Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Lebanon, to salute this interreligious dialogue and the spirit of coexistence, which are reflected in the heart of the activities of the Order of Malta.

Charles-Henri d’Aragon à son bureau à Aïn el-Remmaneh : « Je n’ai pu m’empêcher de placer mes propos sous le signe de l’émotion. » Photo Marwan Assaf

DIPLOMATIE
Bertrand Besancenot, ancien ambassadeur de France au Qatar et en Arabie saoudite, et un ancien de Jamhour, succédera à Charles-Henri d’Aragon.

Fady NOUN | OLJ 22/02/2019

En guise de discours d’adieu, c’est un autoportrait attachant et ému qu’a brossé pour ses invités Charles-Henri d’Aragon, ambassadeur de l’ordre souverain de Malte au Liban, lors de la soirée en son honneur offerte mercredi dans un restaurant de la rue Sursock, à Achrafieh. Et en guise de départ définitif, c’est… un faux départ qu’il a annoncé puisque, en quittant la direction de l’ambassade, il saisit au vol le trapèze de l’Association Malte-Liban, où il succède à la princesse Françoise de Lobkowicz, ce qui lui permettra de servir l’ordre et de revenir régulièrement au Liban.

Au cocktail d’adieu, se sont associés, en particulier, Albert Serhane, ministre de la Justice, représentant le chef de l’État ; le député Michel Moussa, représentant le président de la Chambre ; la députée (dont le mandat a été invalidé) Dima Jamali, représentant le Premier ministre ; Najla Assaker, représentant le ministre des Affaires étrangères, et Mgr Antoine Seif, représentant le patriarche maronite.

Sous le signe de l’émotion

« Je n’ai pu m’empêcher de placer mes propos sous le signe de l’émotion, a dit le diplomate. Ce départ est mon second de cette ville. Je n’ai pas oublié le premier en septembre 1980. Après quatre ans de services à l’ambassade de France, rue Clemenceau, je quittais en larmes mon domicile proche de Gefinor pour n’arriver à sécher mes yeux qu’à la hauteur de l’Unesco. J’y repense en regardant parmi vous des amis d’alors dont la fidélité me touche profondément. Tout cela pour vous dire combien ce premier séjour avait été marquant pour moi et combien son souvenir a pesé dans ma décision d’y revenir pour servir l’Ordre de Malte.»

« Deux raisons m’ont poussé à prendre la décision de quitter mes fonctions, a enchaîné Charles-Henri d’Aragon, avant d’annoncer le nom de son successeur. La couleur de mes cheveux, d’abord, mais surtout le fait que j’avais déniché un excellent candidat à ma succession (…). J’ai pensé à mon ami Bertrand Besancenot (…). Ancien élève de Jamhour, il connaissait bien le Liban où il avait de nombreux amis, il avait passé une grande partie de sa carrière dans des postes importants de la région où sa maîtrise de la langue arabe lui avait ouvert bien des portes et des cœurs. Ambassadeur au Qatar puis en Arabie, il avait rendu, dans ces deux pays, des services signalés à l’Église qui lui ont valu la reconnaissance du Saint-Père. »

À son successeur, l’ambassadeur a annoncé : « J’ai découvert en février 2012 – dans l’Association libanaise des chevaliers de Malte – une organisation parfaitement huilée qui faisait fonctionner à plein régime des centres médico-sociaux dans tout le pays, des unités médicales mobiles, des centres pour le 3e âge, un centre de physiothérapie et un centre de vacances pour les handicapés, sans oublier le programme Caravane et l’activité des jeunes de l’ordre. Et cela au service de tous.

« Aujourd’hui, que de nouveaux projets ont été réalisés! La plupart des centres ont été agrandis et modernisés, un nouveau a ouvert à Deir el-Ahmar. Trois nouvelles unités médicales mobiles ont été mises en place. Le centre de vacances de Chabrouh a été transformé et doté d’une chapelle qui peut s’enorgueillir d’être le premier lieu de culte consacré par l’ordre dans la région depuis son départ de Terre sainte en 1291. En même temps, le nombre de camps de vacances a explosé, et l’on est obligé d’agrandir le centre d’accueil des volontaires de Caravane. Le nombre des jeunes de l’ordre a plus que doublé, et je ne parlerai pas des projets à démarrer prochainement. »

Le cèdre en Albigeois

Remerciant le président de l’Association libanaise des chevaliers de Malte, Marwan Sehnaoui, qui lui a décerné la suprême distinction de l’ordre, le diplomate a précisé : « Ce n’est pas à moi, ce soir, qu’il faut rendre hommage, mais à ceux qui, au quotidien, incarnent sur le terrain nos idéaux : à toi, d’abord, et tes vaillantes troupes, à Paul Saghbini et à son bureau technique, au Dr Issa (Farkh), à nos sœurs, nos dames de la Fondation Moussa Sadr, à Khaled Kaskas, à nos médecins, nos infirmières, nos soignants, notre personnel administratif, nos chauffeurs (…). Je ne voudrais surtout pas oublier nos jeunes (…). Ce sont eux l’avenir prometteur de l’ordre. »

Par ailleurs, l’ambassadeur sortant a eu des mots touchants « pour la petite équipe de l’ambassade, à commencer par mon vieil ami et complice de près d’un demi-siècle, François (Abi Saab), qui a accepté de venir nous rejoindre après une carrière exceptionnellement longue et bien remplie à l’ambassade de France où je l’avais connu en 1976. Son humour tendre et féroce dissimule parfois le sérieux de son engagement ».

Sa secrétaire Fadia Mahfouz a également eu droit à un mot touchant. « Grâce à vous, a-t-il dit, grâce à la générosité de la pépinière Mahfouz, j’ai pu planter quelques cèdres sur mon bout de terre en Albigeois (sud de la France). Le matin, en ouvrant ma fenêtre, je vois le plus beau d’entre eux au fond de la prairie qui donne sur le parc. Vous pouvez deviner alors à quoi je pense. »

Et Charles-Henri d’Aragon, sans quitter le thème du cèdre, de conclure adroitement son discours « d’adieu » en remerciant le chef de l’État de lui avoir décerné l’ordre du Cèdre. « Je n’ai pas voulu voir dans ce geste qui m’a touché la reconnaissance de mes mérites, mais celle de l’amour que je porte depuis longtemps à ce pays », a-t-il conclu avec élégance.

Photo above, in the front row, from left to right: Ms Bénédicte Schutz, Director of International Cooperation, Ms Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Bechara El Khoury, Monaco’s Consul in Lebanon.
In the back row, from left to right: H.E. Mr Umberto Di Capua, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Principality for the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Mr Marwan Sehnaoui, President of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of the Order of Malta, Ms Oumayma Farah, General Delegate and Chief Communication Officer for the Lebanese Association of the Knights of the Order of Malta, Ms Elodie Martin, Lebanon Programme Manager for the Department of International Cooperation.

Published on the Government Portal of the Principality of Monaco.

On Tuesday 5 February 2019, a delegation* led by Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, received Marwan Sehnaoui, President of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of the Order of Malta (ALCM), at the Ministry of State, in the presence of H.E. Mr Umberto Di Capua, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Order of Malta in the Principality.

The meeting highlighted the importance of the partnership between the Government and the ALCM, and follows a ministerial visit to Lebanon in April 2018, when Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, was able to see for himself the project that Monaco’s Official Development Assistance is supporting in Kefraya, in the Beqaa Governorate. This is a project which aims to improve living standards for elderly people in rural areas, particularly with regard to health care, by maintaining a social network. 

Since 2017, the Principality of Monaco has been increasing its support for vulnerable groups in Lebanon as the country faces significant challenges due in part to the crisis in Syria. In 2020, the partnership between the Prince’s Government and the ALCM could be extended in areas of shared interest, such as health or support for people with disabilities. 

The actions taken together with the ALCM fall under the framework agreement signed by the Prince’s Government and the Order of Malta in 2012.

* Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bechara El Khoury, Monaco’s Consul in Lebanon, Bénédicte Schutz, Director of International Cooperation, and Elodie Martin, Lebanon Programme Manager for the Department of International Cooperation.

By Doreen Abi Raad.

Anthony can hardly contain his delight, as he spins around with a huge smile and shining eyes.
That joy is typical of the reaction of Anthony and his fellow residents at a psychiatric institution when the Caravan group with the Order of Malta Lebanon comes to visit three times a week.
Anthony basks in the undivided attention from Caravanista Antonie Borggreve as they dance to the beat of background music, their arms flapping together in harmony.

Nearby, Toufic and Caravanista Felicitas von Kessel sit side-by-side. When Felicitas whistles a soft bird call near Toufic’s ear followed by a kiss on his cheek, he shyly smiles as he leans forward with a shiver of elation.
It’s all part of the Caravan program, a joint initiative of the German and Lebanese Associations of the Order of Malta, that brings youth 18 and older from abroad to Lebanon for 10 months to serve the disabled community, who are affectionately referred to as “guests.”
Now in its 10th year, the Caravan project sprung forth from the Order of Malta Lebanon’s Chabrouh camps for the mentally and physically disabled so as to offer its guests continuity throughout the year in their everyday institutional environment.
Typically, Caravanistas choose to spend an enriching “gap year” before entering university. While currently a German-Lebanese project, the Order of Malta Lebanon aims to broaden the scope of the Caravan program with international participation. Although the current Caravan gathers 14 youth from Germany and one from Belgium, previous Caravan groups had gathered youth from many other European countries.

Their Caravan adventure began with a ten days introductory camp in Lebanon to then participate in the summer Chabrouh camps. There, in Chabrouh’s pristine mountain setting, the Caravanistas get personally acquainted with many of the guests whom they will later visit in institutional facilities.
“Even though it was exhausting, it was so beautiful,” Felicitas says of her experience at Chabrouh. “Your heart gets open.”
Although Caravan participants usually don’t have prior experience working with the mentally and physically disabled, they are drawn to the Order’s spirit of serving guests with love, upholding the dignity of every human being.
Where Anthony and Toufic live, for example, the ratio of caregivers to residents is 60 to 3, which does not allow much opportunity for individual attention. Caravanistas — as well as local Order of Malta youth volunteers who visit such facilities — fill that void, showering guests with unconditional love. A caretaker likened their visits to that of extended family, like aunts and uncles, nurturing special bonds with their presence.
“It was hard at first,” admits Antonie. “But my role is to give and show the guests as much joy and love as I can. And I feel that I receive so much more from the guests than I give to them. It’s amazing. When you receive a smile from a guest and feel that you are making new steps and the relationship is growing closer, it’s an incredible joy.”

Caravanista Leopoldina von Waldburg observes, “we realize they are people, just like us. They have feelings and a great capacity to love. I see that my guests each have their own personalities. Not only do we call them our guests, but they are our friends, our ‘habibis’ (sweethearts).”
Living together in a house close to Beirut, the Caravanistas share day-to-day responsibilities, including cooking and cleaning. This sense of community and the opportunity to share with each other the emotions, challenges and progress they experience with guests is a constant source of strength and support.
The Caravanistas are also sustained by prayer. They pray together several times a day, beginning with morning prayers. In particular, they pray for God’s strength and guidance before embarking on a visit to a facility to spend time with their guests.
“In making our guests our first priority, I grew in faith,” notes Felicitas.
The varied, full Caravan schedule includes Lebanese language lessons in their group home as well as attending the Jesuit Saint Joseph University in Beirut (USJ) for a specially designed curriculum that includes the history of the Middle East, Christianity and Islam for which 16 internationally recognized ECTS points (European Credit Transfer System) are awarded.
Throughout their stay, the Caravanistas also assist in teaching English and math in a school for Syrian refugee children.

The Caravan itinerary also features regular excursions to explore Lebanon’s historical sites and opportunities to experience its rich culture.
Like her fellow Caravanistas, one of the most difficult challenges Felicitas foresees is that it will be “so horrible to say goodbye” to the guests when it’s time to leave Lebanon. But what gives consolation, Felicitas explained, is that “there always will be someone who will be loving our guests,” thanks to the Chabrouh summer camps and subsequent Caravan groups. “That’s what makes the Caravan program so special.”

Each Caravan group also leaves a legacy in Lebanon. At the psychiatric institution, for example, colorful murals grace many of its walls. One group even funded a special therapeutic sensory room there, designed to awaken and facilitate the seven senses.

Since its inception in 2009, a total of 122 youth participated in the Caravan project, and around 15 are expected for the coming year. Their involvement continues way beyond Lebanon. Back in their homelands, Caravan alumni serve as unofficial ambassadors as they share their extraordinary experiences with others abroad, thus building momentum internationally for participation in future Caravan programs in Lebanon.
And every two years, the Caravan community also have an opportunity to rekindle and forge new bonds with their peers and guests during a Caravan Alumni camp at Chabrouh.