A teacher handing out papers to his students during an exam at the Saints-Cœurs Ain Najm college, in Metn. (Credit: AFP)
Hazem Saghieh is a journalist and writer. He is one of the leading figures in Arab journalism. He worked at As-Safir, then at al-Hayat, before joining al-Sharq al-Awsat in 2019. He is regarded as one of the most influential critical voices in contemporary Arab intellectual discourse. His books and articles primarily address issues of politics and culture, and are characterized by their critique of nationalist ideology, authoritarianism and political Islam.This week, he looks back on his past distrust of the French language to show how foreign languages have enriched Lebanon, before the civil war weakened that legacy.In 1975, with the outbreak of the war, I moved from my parents’ home in Ashrafieh to Hamra. The reason was my fervent leftism at the time, and my eagerness to inflict a crushing defeat on the “isolationists” among whom I...
Hazem Saghieh is a journalist and writer. He is one of the leading figures in Arab journalism. He worked at As-Safir, then at al-Hayat, before joining al-Sharq al-Awsat in 2019. He is regarded as one of the most influential critical voices in contemporary Arab intellectual discourse. His books and articles primarily address issues of politics and culture, and are characterized by their critique of nationalist ideology, authoritarianism and political Islam.This week, he looks back on his past distrust of the French language to show how foreign languages have enriched Lebanon, before the civil war weakened that legacy.In 1975, with the outbreak of the war, I moved from my parents’ home in Ashrafieh to Hamra. The reason was my fervent leftism at the time, and my eagerness to inflict a crushing defeat on the “isolationists” among whom...
