Profiles Of Poverty: The Human Face Of Poverty In Lebanon

Dar Manhal al Hayat in partnership with World Vision and the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development invites you to the book launch of "Profiles of Poverty"
Excerpts from the book: 
"This study seeks to understand why a country with relatively good indicators at a national level still has significant pockets of poverty by examining the problem through the testimony of the poor themselves. While existing reports provide quantitative data to analyze poverty in Lebanon, what is lacking is the voice of the poor and their description of their own reality. This narrative serves to balance the standard image of Lebanese prosperity and contributes to a more accurate picture of the country as a whole."
"As evidenced in the book, there was no single universal vulnerability that could be identified across communities, though the poverty found in each community is not absolutely unique either – there is overlap between communities."
"All of the causes and consequences of poverty manifest themselves in such a way as to create a downward spiral where each vulnerability or shock increases the chance of a new vulnerability. In turn, each new level of experienced vulnerability heightens the probability of being exposed to new risks."
"As has been evident across the Middle East in 2011, voicelessness and marginalization are the very traits that eventually lead to social upheaval. Bearing this in mind, and beyond the realities and constraints of confessionalism (which is right now the bedrock of Lebanese society), perhaps it is time Lebanon asked exactly what kind of society it wishes to create and just where do the poor fit into the national agenda?"