Randa Berri sponsors “Manshar Souwar 2” photography competition: Photographs reflect a pressing public opinion on Lebanon's economic policymakers to support tobacco cultivation

Under the auspices of Mrs. Randa Aassi Berri and in her presence, the Regie Libanaise Des Tabacs Et Tombacs (Regie) distributed on Wednesday, October 11, at its headquarters in Hadath area the prizes for the winners in its photography competition “Manshar Souwar”.

The competition rotated around the stages of harvesting tobacco in Lebanon and tobacco and tombac seasons in Lebanon and its name “Manshar Souwar” reflects the hanger on which tobacco leaves are hanged after their harvest. 

The competition aims at supporting the “young and talented capabilities” and documenting “the journey of tobacco and tombac” as part of Regie’s strategy of sustainable development.

In her speech, Mrs. Berri stressed the that there is “absence of health guarantees for farmers” and reiterated the call for “establishing a bank to lend the farmers,” calling for “raising the ceiling of production for each dunum of tobacco”.

And for this occasion, the Regie held an exhibition for all the participating images, attended by Minister of Agriculture Ghazi Zeaiter and a number of figures. And in this regard, it is worth noting that 614 images were uploaded by 240 contestants, amateurs and professionals, on the website of Regie, but only 56 of them were qualified for the final stage and were documented in a special booklet.

The images focused on different themes mainly “faces and tales”, “the roots”, “tolerance”, “working hand in hand” and “firmness”.

During the event, the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Regie, Engineer Nassif Seklaoui presented a memorial shield to Mrs. Berri as a “token of appreciation”.

 

Berri

In her speech, Berri noted that “each image has a great tale behind it, a tale that summarizes a history of humanitarian and historical heritage,” stressing that “preserving the history is a humanitarian and national responsibility produced by this exhibition.”

Mrs. Berri congratulated all “photographers who bore the troubles of distance, from sunrise until dawn to capture the deepest moments that reflect both struggles and joy”. She also noted that “she read in the images numerous tales, praising the capability of the Lebanese photographer who is well civilized and has enough knowledge to present to the entire world the best image of the tobacco plant, from its harvest to its look, and overnights spent until it grows to become the source of income of farmers”.

She added that “all people, young and old, work hard to protect the tobacco plant since it is a noble and generous source of income.”

“To preserve this source of income and to prevent any type of work that does not reflect our cultural heritage, House Speaker Nabih Berri has always been supporting tobacco planting regardless of it being a hectic practice, as a permanent compensation pending the development of the agricultural sector in Lebanon”.


Mrs. Berri expressed her grieve that “agriculture in Lebanon is gradually fading away,” adding that “no country or strategy in the world puts aside the agricultural sector”. She also added that “the priority goes for preserving the livelihood of all people”.  Recalling that "Lebanon is primarily classified as an agricultural country with its major sources of income coming from agriculture and tourism”, Mrs. Berri asked for encouraging agricultural tourism as is the case in certain European countries and transforming agricultural areas into touristic areas by supporting farmers and landlords”.

In this context, Mrs. Berri noted that similar projects “constitute a major source of income for the country and its economy”. She also stated that “another issue is manifested in the non-supervision on the quality of agricultural produce, especially food”.

“Should we care more about the agriculture and implement sound and proper control measures, the situation would have been way better as this neglect has major impacts on the health which is costing the state more than what it costs to repair damages caused by malnutrition; the greatest threat to people's lives.”

On another note, Berri described “Manshar Souwar” exhibition as a humanitarian encounter in its economic, social and cultural aspects, praising the advanced work of Regie aimed at developing this sector and transforming it from a management of monopolies to an eminent public institution known for being an advanced model for the productive sectors that represent the country’s needs and economy.”

Consequently, Mrs. Berri recalled what Speaker Berri said in one of the occasions that “Regie is swimming against the stream of the state which is leading itself toward a ‘no-state’”. She also stated that “Regie management and all its employees are working for the benefit of the nation, employees, the land and the sacred soil of this country, adding that “working in the field of tobacco in our country is better than working anywhere else”. 

In this regard, Mrs. Berri saluted tobacco farmers and their families and praised their hard work and efforts.

She also emphasized that the exhibition is a place for economic, social, and cultural cohesion and this is an indicator for the humanitarian aspect of the tobacco plant that has become similar to daily religious rituals. 

“A soon as the Muezzin finishes the morning prayers, farmers bend down to commence their work, listening to the leaves of tobacco plants that look like hearts, chanting to these leave songs that tell the stories of faces sunburned and wrinkled by age and dignity”.

In this regard, she stated that the competition “shows the importance of photography in our current times due to its effective impacts,” stating that it’s a major cultural, economic and journalistic tool capable of mobilizing the public toward certain issues, changing positions, and building new policies”.

She also stressed on the importance of an image in drawing the attention of officials toward their intuitive commitments related to establishing a lending bank for farmers and raising the ceiling of production of each dunum of tobacco. 

Thanking Regie, Mrs. Berri stated that “its administration provided recently machines and equipment for farmers and worked on rehabilitating a number of agricultural ponds”.

“An image can have numerous messages that create a pressing public opinion on Lebanon's economic policymakers to support tobacco cultivation."

Berri also tackled “the scenery of steadfastness and victory that could be seen in images to reflect the role of tobacco plants and the people of south Lebanon who stood against the Israeli enemy that used to destroy and burn tobacco crops, blowing away the harvest of the season and the living of farmers, as well as the role of bad feudalism, which has always exploited the efforts of farmers and their families.”

Seklaoui

For his part, Eng. Seklaoui welcomed Mrs. Berri stressing that she “has built a culture of joy and art through the festivals of Tyr and South Lebanon and by establishing, through determination and perseverance, the most prominent institution for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities in the Middle East, and who undertook the responsibility of comprehensive development by establishing cultural, heritage and environmental associations, universities and unions and also by supporting Lebanese women through establishing the National Commission for Lebanese Women”.

Eng. Seklaoui also stated that Speaker Berri was “the only one to write the most beautiful poems and draw the best images about tobacco”.

Seklaoui explained that the competition “aims at supporting the young and talented capabilities” and documenting this cultural heritage.

“For the second consecutive year, we insisted at Regie on holding this exhibition to document the journey of tobacco and tombac and the tales of the land and the people because an image can reflect this beautiful fatigue and the generosity of these hands and the sweat mixed in soil while working and can also document the harvesting seasons that have always been linked to patience and perseverance”.

Seklaoui added that “only an image can reflect the sweetness of a bitter plant and the warmth of love in a family that tells the tales of tobacco during afternoon sittings.”

“Only an image can transfer the echo of chants and the tales of roots and tolerance and steadfastness from one hand to another, from one generation to another and from South Lebanon to Bekaa and Akkar.”

Seklaoui added that “what you see today wasn’t easy to achieve as photographers had to tour the tobacco growing areas adjacent to the border with Palestine in the southern town of Aitaroun, where the resistance and steadfastness are also manifested in planting tobacco”. 

“Together, along with the talented and professional photographers, we saw how people live in these villages from planting tobacco,” Seklaoui added.

“We headed with a group of photographers to Deir El-Ahmar, concurrently during the battle of liberating the mountains. The photographers saw how the people in Bekaa are working despite the tough security situations to seek their determination and convey the image of their steadfastness and solidarity. Then we headed to Akkar to the villages of Tal Meayan and Qleiat where we all saw unity, patience and unified fruitful efforts”.

Stressing that Regie believes in committed art and in developing the capabilities of the youth, intellectually and artistically, Eng. Seklaoui underlined the fact that “Regie also believes in the importance of sustainable development and supporting the farmers and their families,” recalling that Regie has helped in the past 4 years 133 developmental projects that varied between building agricultural ponds, opening agricultural roads, granting scholarships, drilling of artesian wells, distributing pesticides, starting planting campaigns, distributing agricultural machinery, spraying engines, waste transportation vehicles, water tanks, and building libraries for children”.

Seklaoui concluded by saying that Regie participates through the “Manshar Souwar” competition in supporting the art sector, encouraging the talented and identifying the professionals,” vowing to continuously develop this project and exhibition.


The winners

According to results, announced by Rana Kamaleddine, Imane Nayef Barek won the jury’s award for the best image and was awarded 2,000 USD while Krix Berberian won the second prize and was awarded 1,500 USD. As for the third award, best group of images, it was won by Abbas Salman who was also granted 1,500 USD. 

Regarding the award resulting from online voting, it was won by Tharwat Noureddine who was granted 1,000 USD.

It is worth noting that the jury members evaluated the images while the public voted online through Regie’s website and all its pages on social media platforms.

As for the jury, it was composed from professional photographers; Fadi Bou Karam, Mahdi Skafi, Engineer Jaafar Husseini, and Ms. Mariam Hariri from Regie.