Toward a Scientific Renaissance in Lebanon

Dr. Salwa Nassar sets out her plan in a letter to Dr. Charles Malik

This tune that Dr. Salwa Nassar strikes up for us today, in pursuit of a scientific renaissance in Lebanon, is not a new one. Our foremost woman scientist has never ceased, these twelve years, to repeat it in the ears of the responsible officials on every occasion, only to be met with a smile of apology for the lack of funds...

Yesterday came Dr. Charles Malik's statement on Lebanon's foreign policy, strong as a thunderbolt; the dams and obstacles collapsed, faces lit up with hope, and it became plain to those concerned that the longed-for renaissance was about to be realized.

And The Woman's Voice, which has walked beside its friend the scientist through all twelve years, repeating her tune with enthusiasm and sincerity, is stirred with pride and gladness to be, alone among the papers, the resounding trumpet of this vital national project, which the Doctor presents here in her letter addressed to His Excellency Dr. Malik — but for whose mighty efforts Lebanon would not have such wide-open windows, through which good comes pouring to make of this small country a beacon of construction and prosperity in the procession of world civilization...

The Editors

Sir, Your Excellency Dr. Charles Malik,

A nation, like the individual man, emerges, takes pride in itself, and proves itself by its fruitful activity in the fields of knowledge. These qualities are among the attributes necessary to every sound nation, and to the continuance of its existence in dignity and independence. It is well known that we live today in the age of the atom, amid an advanced, progressive civilization whose substance is physics, electrical engineering, and mathematics. What, then, is Lebanon's position in these fields? What is its share of giving, in return for what it gains from the progress achieved? How long will Lebanon remain, in the domain of the sciences, a dependent and a parasite, living on the production of others? And why should it not stand among the states that contribute their share, to the measure of its capacity?

The first cause of this backwardness, Your Excellency the Minister, is the absence of any awareness of this great national problem, and a failure to acknowledge the importance of scientific activities in the life of the nation. Organized scientific training on the national level has become an urgent necessity, and the neglect of our repeated appeals for effective measures to improve the position of the sciences in Lebanon is a discouraging thing, and one that no longer has any justification.

In the past, Your Excellency Dr. Malik, the first obstacle behind which the government took shelter, rather than listen to us and grant our requests, was the lack of funds. Now, however, that obstacle has been brought low, after your frank and historic statement, in which you declared your readiness to intercede with the American government to obtain whatever material aid might be spent on constructive projects. And is there any project more nobly

constructive than an organized scientific renaissance?!

Lebanon today lacks the competent scientist, the creative researcher, and the expert workman. To meet this crisis and put an end to the scientific sterility we now face, all our resources must be mobilized and swift, decisive measures taken. First of all, a “National Research Council” must be formed, all of whose members shall be competent Lebanese scientists holding the doctorate or its equivalent.

It is essential that this council work in freedom; that it possess powers equal to those of a “ministry”; and that it be answerable only to the Prime Minister — or better still, if possible, to the President of the Republic himself. The council's principal responsibility would be to guide the government in the manner of proceeding and in how to lay down the plans and projects that will lead to the advancement of the sciences in Lebanon.

As members of the “National Research Council” I suggest certain names: Dr. Nicola Khoury (in physics), Dr. Jean Merhej (in zoology and botany), Mr. Joseph Najjar (engineer), Dr. Labib Haddad (in mathematics), Dr. Zuhair Baydoun (electronic sciences), Dr. Samir Thabit (in chemistry), Dr. Elie Baghdadi (expert in electronics), and Dr. Nazih Taleb (in mathematics).

These scientists, and many others besides, would form an excellent body of counselors to organize the projects and plans for a flourishing scientific future in Lebanon, so that our homeland may thereby prove itself an independent and dignified state.

This can be achieved along two paths, running side by side, each completing the other:

1 — Strengthening the sciences in the secondary schools: every secondary school, government or private, must be fully equipped with a laboratory complete in its apparatus and a scientific library, and with at least two expert teachers. The growth and expansion of the sciences must also be supported by manual technical skill, which comes by way of a vocational school of high standard — and these too must be built in every province of Lebanon.

2 — A center for scientific research: to make research and study easier for scientists and investigators.

It would fall to the council to estimate the necessary budget, provided it is officially charged with the task; and I believe the period of preparation and of fixing the budget need not exceed six weeks. At that point — and relying on your assurances, Your Excellency the Minister, that we can obtain the necessary funds — the council would be informed of the results of the contacts and of how much can be obtained. Here recourse may be had to certain technical experts from abroad, inviting them to give their opinions in consultation and drawing on their experience.

Please accept, Your Excellency the Doctor, the expression of my highest respect.

Salwa Nassar