A woman in Beirut holds a mobile telephone showing contradicting time zones on March 26, 2023, after Lebanon's government announced a decision to delay daylight saving time. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — “I had a critical meeting with my colleagues at work who are based in Berlin,,” said 34-year-old Dana Husseiny, a legal consultant working remotely from Beirut.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 12pm, suddenly became 11 am when Lebanon announced its last-minute decision to postpone its observation of daylight saving time. Dana missed her meeting.
“I was in tears as I tried to explain to my stern boss that I got confused, but he wouldn’t buy it. I had to send him [international] coverage of the craziness that was going on … so he would believe me,” she said.
The decision to postpone daylight saving time, initially scheduled for Saturday, March 25, until the end of April in Lebanon took many by surprise. It was adopted unilaterally last Thursday, March 23, after a discussion between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri.
Husseiny told L’Orient Today she already struggles with her job “because of Lebanon’s notoriously slow internet.” The time change debacle took “a toll on [her] career in a new twisted way.”
On Monday, March 27, Mikati backtracked on the decision, and Lebanon “officially” shifted to daylight saving time overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
Missed appointments and confusion
Marwan Takash, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering student, said he missed an exam because he was confused about the time his university was using.
“I assumed they would follow Mikati’s decision, but I was wrong,” he said with a laugh.
Some institutions, schools and universities had decided to ignore the postponement, while others stuck to it, leading to two effective time zones in the country.
Takash said several other students and even a few instructors made the same error. He added that his university has promised to offer retests and adjust deadlines accordingly.
Dana Wreidan, a 39-year-old economics high school teacher in Beirut, said many of her students missed school altogether Monday because of the confusion.
“Some schools were abiding by Mikati time while others had switched to daylight saving time,” Wreidan said. “Although the school I work at had sent a [text] to parents informing them that it would be following Mikati’s time, many decided not to come because of how chaotic [the situation was, and several had children in other schools that were abiding by a different time, while others didn’t even see the message.”
Hadi Massoud, 19, who has been working as a waiter for the past two years to save money for university, told L’Orient Today that he was an hour late to his shift on two different days, causing him to “lose much needed money and tips.”
The government’s confusing decision also impacted Beirut international airport. A video circulating on social media platforms showed a sign at the Beirut international airport displaying daylight saving time on one side and winter time on the other side.
Mikati’s time … not bad for everyone?
“I couldn’t believe what I was reading in the comment section on social media,” said 29-year-old digital marketer Nayla Hassan. “A big chunk of the Lebanese were blaming all Muslims for the timing crisis. I’ve heard of how sectarian Lebanon is from my parents, who endured the Civil War, but this is nothing like I’ve ever seen.”
Sarah Hammoud, a 27-year-old health auditor, meanwhile told L’Orient Today, “This incident showed the islamophobic side [of society], regardless of this needless decision.”
“The comments people were making are sectarian and ridiculous,” she added.
On Monday, Mikati defended the decision to postpone the time change, saying it “was aimed at resting those fasting during the month of Ramadan for an hour without causing any harm to any other Lebanese component.”
Nour Kadaha, a 29-year-old biologist, said she got upset when the Lebanese government reversed its decision because she would have preferred to break her fast at 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.
“It would have been nice if the winter timing remained that way so we would have more time to work and study after Iftar,” said 21-year-old psychomotor therapist Rim Slim told L’Orient Today. But overall, she said, she was relieved by the government’s decision to bring the whole episode to a close on Wednesday night.
‘Happy the whole thing will be over’
Farah Ghanem, a 27-year-old leadership and business coach, said she waited for one hour on Tuesday for her tennis class because her coach was “still working according to winter time.”
“So I’m definitely happy the whole thing will be over [on Wednesday],” she said.