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24
Spring
2014
In a small undisclosed apartment in an
undisclosed area, two women are having
their morning coffee on the balcony.
Pedestrians below barely give them a
second glance.
But a closer look at one woman reveals
deep scars on her wrists. They mark her
last and thirteenth suicide attempt. It was
the only way to escape her husband’s
abuse and her father’s imprisonment.
Moreover, her husband had beaten up
their young daughtear to the point of
brain damage. Rihab, 36, just wanted out.
But not anymore. Today, she is plan-
ning the day’s meals. She is the cook in
the Beit el-Hanane (Home of Tenderness)
apartment which caters up to 12 women
- all victims of domestic abuse.
Her companion, Joanna, 30, has no vis-
ible marks on her body but the memory
of her husband’s daily beatings are still
vivid. She was so badly beaten during her
third pregnancy that her son, now three,
was born crippled.
The door of the apartment suddenly
opens and a voice calls out. The women
immediately run to her. “Mama Jacque-
line!” they say hugging her.
“Mama Jacqueline” - otherwise known
in most circles as Dr. Jacqueline Accad
Hajjar, retired Professor of English Litera-
ture at the Lebanese American University
- hugs the women right back.
Two years ago, she took in Rihab.
The distraught woman had managed to
‘kidnap’ her daughter from school and
needed refuge. The child was placed in a
boarding school and is receiving treat-
ment. Within a month, Rihab showed no
more signs of suicidal tendencies.
Joanna found her way to Hajjar only a
few weeks ago with her three children
in tow. The two eldest were also placed
in a boarding school while the youngest
is undergoing therapy. Doctors think he
may be able to walk by the age of six. Jo-
anna is overjoyed. “This is my real home.
Mama Jacqueline is my true Mama. My
family didn’t care for me. But she did.”
All the children spend the weekends
with their mothers at the shelter.
The apartment is a transitional one.
After intensive psychiatric, physical and
spiritual treatment, the women find jobs
and move on to lead normal lives.
“There are so many women suffering
out there,” said Hajjar. “They could be
rich or poor. Domestic abuse is happen-
ing in so many homes.”
One would wonder about this retired
English professor. “Well,” she said, “it’s my
dream so I used my end of service compen-
sation at the university to buy this apart-
ment and run a home for such women.”
Her sister, Evelyne Accad, a professor
at the University of Illinois and at the
Lebanese American University, does a
lot of the networking and fundraising.
As a professor for over 30 years, Hajjar
came across many university girls who
were abused in their homes and dedi-
cated much of her time to help them.
Her own life has an interesting twist.
She was born with a severe calcium de-
ficiency and, by the age of 17, could no
longer move her limbs. Unable to face a
life strapped in a bed, she contemplated
suicide. Here is where her strange
tale begins. She distinctly remembers
an out-of-body experience. Upon her
‘return’, her body was completely
healed. Doctors were dumbfounded but
nevertheless declared her healthy.
Since then she believes that it is her
destiny to help the less fortunate. This
shelter is her latest endeavor.
But like everything else, the shelter can
only remain open as long as donors are
willing to give. It is a continuous worry.
Almost 8000 kilometers away in Singa-
pore,
Andre Accad ’66
is not a stranger
to his sister’s social undertakings. Plans
of retirement were pushed away. The
Beit el- Hanane project beckoned. The
company that he had co-founded five
years ago, Bio Composite Extrusions, was
thriving. He had given back to Malaysian
society. Now it was time to give back
to Lebanon. Could he possibly find the
funds to support Beit al Hanane?
A few years ago, Accad was looking
forward to his retirement after 40 years of
working with an American corporation in
Singapore overseeing the sales and man-
agement of an electronic cleanroom man-
ufacturing venture in the Asian market.
But then he and his Malaysian partners
discovered a way to manufacture envi-
ronmentally friendly plastic (WPC - Wood
Plastic Composite to replace the old WPC
made up of 50 to 60% fiber materials
(usually saw dust) and 40 to 50% virgin
plastic. This new discovery lead to a WPC
made up of 70% rice husk and 30%
recycled plastic and finally paved the way
for much needed environmentally friendly
plastics. The product immediately received
the green product labelling.
It was a big coup for the IC graduate.
But his euphoria didn’t last long. Chinese
competition aggressively entered the
market. Putting retirement plans aside,
Accad fought back. He resigned from his
job and dedicated all his time to saving
the company.
It was a tough battle but Accad won.
The factory is now fully booked for the
next 10 months and is working twenty
four hours seven days a week.
Accad and partners went on to es-
tablish another company, Advance Low
Pressure Systems, and had an even bigger
coup: chemical free rubber wood (usually,
rubber is treated with Borax – which is
From Malaysia to Beirut