Introduction
Literature Review
Business for Peace “B4P” and Its Discontents
MSE Peacebuilding Through Economic and Social Development
The Context: MSEs in Northern Lebanon
Political Divisions and Sectarian Divides
MSE Challenges in Lebanon
Research Design
Business/participant | Employees: full time, part time (# varies due to project load) | Location within Lebanon |
---|---|---|
Business 1 | FT 0, PT 2 to 3 | Batroun |
Business 2 | FT 2, PT 0 | Berkasha |
Business 3 | FT 2, PT 0 | Zgharta |
Business 4 | FT 17, PT 0 to 8 | Tripoli |
Business 5 | FT 3, PT 3 | Koura |
Business 6 | FT 1, PT 0 | Tripoli |
Business 7 | FT 3, PT 3 | Tripoli |
Business 8 | FT 1, PT 2 | Zgharta |
Business 9 | FT 12, PT 0 | Zgharta |
Business 10 | FT 2 to 6, PT 0 | Zgharta |
Business 11 | FT 0, PT 5 | Zgharta |
Business 12 | FT 7, PT 1 | Zgharta |
Business 13 | FT 3, PT 2 | Koura |
Business 14 | FT 8, PT 0 | Zgharta |
Business 15 | FT 2, PT 3 | Batroun |
Business 16 | FT 3, PT 0 | Koura |
Business 17 | FT 2, PT 0 | Koura |
Business 18 | FT 3, PT 0 to 3 | Akkar |
Business 19 | FT 2, PT 3 to 10 | Al Mina |
Business 20 | FT 12, PT 0 | Tripoli |
Business 21 | FT 2, PT 3 | Tripoli |
Business 22 | FT 4, PT 0 | Kobayat |
Business 23 | FT 3, PT 0 | Tripoli |
Methodology
Sample
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Theme | Codes | Participants cited |
---|---|---|
Theme 1. Economic development from business fosters peacebuilding | C1. Economic development from business fosters peacebuilding | All |
Theme 2. Social development from business fosters peacebuilding | C2. Social development from business fosters peacebuilding | All |
Theme 3. Business promotes the rule of law | C3. Business promotes the rule of law | P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P10, P12, P14, P15, P16, P17, P18, P19, P20, P21, P22, P23 |
C4. Following the law is dependent on education level | P12, P17, P18, P22 | |
C5. Following the law is costly and complicated | P1, P9, P11, P13 | |
Theme 4. Job training partially associated with peacebuilding | C6. The industry promotes job training | P4, P5, P7, P9, P12, P13, P14, P15, P16, P18, P21, P23 |
C7. Job training linked to peacebuilding | P4, P5, P16, P18, P21, P23 | |
Theme 5. No evidence of local commitment or track-two diplomacy | C8. Evidence of commitment from either government or outside companies | P5, P8, P15, P19 |
C9. No evidence of track-two diplomacy | All | |
Theme 6. Business partially associated with peacebuilding between local factions | C10. Business fosters peace among local factions, and all factions are inclusive during work | P3, P4, P5, P8, P10, P11, P17, P19, P20, P23 |
C11. Business is not related to local factions, as the difference is only at a political level | P2, P6, P7, P12, P14, P15, P22 | |
C12. Exclusivity between local factors is evident and maintained despite business | P1, P9, P13, P16, P18, P21 | |
Theme 7. Business creates tension between local and refugee groups | C13. Business fosters peace between local and refugee groups | P2, P4, P5, P17 |
C14. Local businesses are hindered by the presence of refugees | P1, P3, P6, P7, P8, P10, P11, P12, P13, P15, P16, P20, P21, P22, P23 |
Findings
Theme 1: Economic Development
….when the industry is developed, it will influence societies in general, when there is growth it will affect all religious groups, positively, because people will exchange information and grow together… all type[s] of work that induces mixing and living between different groups will lead people to get to know each other and reduces fear between them and promote[s] cohesion and peace(Participant 10)….when there is work and activity going on, this promotes peace because everyone is benefiting, unemployment brings a lot of problems, so employment brings peace and a good lifestyle(Participant 12)
When I work, I go and get material from different places, therefore I am benefiting the different people from where I get goods and services and the entire chain is benefiting(Participant 8)
I have a company, I am creating employment opportunities, and contributing to the local economy, I can reach 50 workers indirectly through outsourcing, sometimes from 5 to 60 families are benefiting from my business.(Participant 4)
Theme 2: Social Development
…my business contributes to the social development of the community, it affects relationships between others…they say if your neighbor is good then you are good(Participant 2)
….there is a sense of community because carpenters in the area share their experiences; they come to our shop we go to their shops(Participant 1)
….as long as you work in the community, [the business] will always have an effect; our work has a positive effect. When I work here and there I meet a lot of people…and as long as your relationships are good with everyone, word will spread and relationships will grow well.(Participant 8)
Theme 3: Rule of law
….if you want to work and be secured and comfortable, you need to follow the rule because this will allow everyone the same security and opportunity. If you work within the law you make more work and you feel better, everything under the law is better(Participant 16)
….when you have a factory within the rules of law, the government and other organizations will stand with you and offer you opportunities(Participant 23)
….when the industry is organized and stable, it will promote peace; when it’s not it will create tension and chaos. The Syrian labor should not compete with you, he should work according to the law(Participant 15)
Theme 4: Job Training
….if a person needs to do training, he accepts to have it at his factory and help him [the trainee], [when] someone is helping me with my work or is working with me, he is also, therefore, being productive and having an income, he is turning away from bad things and doing bad things(Participant 16)….when I am training a student for the industry, I turned him into a good trained citizen with a good position in [the] community. I gave him the opportunity to build skills and have a good life(Participant 18)
….when there is healthy competition between carpenters…it will create [an] incentive for us to improve our skills and capabilities and produce better work(Participant 9)
Theme 5: No Perception of Local Commitment or Track-Two Diplomacy as Relevant
Theme 6: Partial Association of Business and Peacebuilding Among Local Factions
The peacebuilding aspect of intergroup relationships was commonly linked to economic interdependence, with business success reliant upon the relationships built through interactions in the community, which subsequently dissolve barriers between groups:Socially, people from different groups are working together, continuously interacting, which promotes peace among them because of coexistence, this has a positive impact(Participant 5)When I take work anywhere, I meet people, and if I need workers I can get them from a different area (different sect), and there is exchange in relationships and everything(Participant 11)
Some believed that sectarian divisions did not play a role in the industry, attempting to separate sectarianism from politics (P2, P6, P7, P12, P14, P15, P22);When I need to work and sell, I will accept from everyone, to make business work people will look after what is better for them and won’t look at these differences, I used to go down to Beirut (different sect) to get what I needed for cheaper and worked with different groups. The work does not have a colour or a taste.(Participant 8)
Alternatively, those who were skeptical that the industry alone can foster peace, claimed that sectarian divisions were not only at a political level but affected everyday life (P1, P9, P13, P16, P18, P21);The industry is not related to the relationships between Lebanese groups and other groups, this is a political matter, human is human, it is a socio-political matter(Participant 12)
Businesses and employees were reported as turning to religious leaders for material support to sustain themselves, galvanizing the divisions.….if you are in a Christian area and you are Christian, you will have a priority for work, if you are Muslim in such an area you will have less advantages(Participant 13)….different religions don’t work with each other, there are lines drawn where a Muslim will not willingly or commonly give work to a Christian (and vice versa), therefore there is also competition in a way between them; there is religious bias, people prefer to work among common same groups and outside collaborations are not common and are negatively perceived(Participant 9)
Participants cited that this may also promote extreme behavior; which can have a greater effect on business and the industry than the effect that business has on reducing religious bias (P18, P21).In the absence of work opportunities, resorting to religious leaders for support will create a work advantage, hence (will be) the source of feeding religious bias at work.(Participant 16)
In summary, despite the barriers that may be present, the role of local businesses is concluded as having an overall positive effect on the local community.Religious extremists affect the industry, groups that cause tension in some areas will affect the industry because they affect the peace and security, the industry requires peace and security(Participant 18)
Theme 7: Business Creates Conflict Between Local and Refugee Groups
Participants stated that the issue is partially related to the Lebanese workforce, with the Lebanese worker and businesses demanding higher wages and prices (P6, P9, P18). One participant noted that some Lebanese workers were more unreliable, forcing business owners to turn towards the more reliable Syrian workforce (P6). However, participants also cited that the refugee businesses are not registering with the Lebanese government, and therefore avoid paying taxes and other levies imposed on Lebanese businesses making the cost of business much cheaper for refugee-owned businesses (P1, P7, P8, P13, P15, P16, P21, P23).In Tripoli, there is a lot of Syrian competition, they send their income to Syria which is worth a lot more there, they don’t pay for the municipality, for electricity, for insurance, no one is after them, and they set lower prices. If they are doing the small works that are needed, it is okay. But when they become business owners of regular Lebanese businesses, it is not fair because it is not legal, there is no social justice. A Lebanese has to pay an insurance for the Syrian worker that works for him, whereas a Syrian does not have to pay for these regulations. He teaches his children for free here and in Syria, but the Lebanese worker has different living conditions for his family.(Participant 21)
The flipside to this is that some Lebanese businesses are taking advantage and benefiting from cheap Syrian labor.….they are people like us in a primary place, if we are to be equal in rights we have to be equal in duties, so they have to pay the same taxes, but since they don’t, this is what allowed them to compete with us in a way that is not very legal or fair, they have duties that they don’t fulfill like paying insurance and taxes, some of these migrants can open a factory in a way simpler manner [than Lebanese businesses] and [can] compete with me because he won’t have the same costs and expenses.(Participant 16)
However, even businesses that admitted to employing Syrian refugees and not reporting them concluded that the presence of refugees in the industry has an overall negative effect.….most factories are kicking out Lebanese for their higher wages, and employing Syrians for lower wages and hiding them (the Syrian refugees).(Participant 6)