When Victor Kiriakos-Saad joined Dubai-based startup Careem last month as the company’s new UAE general manager, like many residents in the emirate he was working from home.
Starting a new role is stressful at the best of times, but doing it in the middle of a global pandemic, when you cannot physically meet all your staff or lean on those next to you when things go wrong, is especially challenging.
During the first few days, Kiriakos-Saad had a technical issue. He could not call up the IT department and get them to drop by to his desk, so he had to fix it himself.
Sunday, 20 December, 2020 - 06:00
Students from different universities carry placards, wave Lebanese flags during a demonstration under the slogan of A Day of Student Rage in Al-Hamra, Beirut, Lebanon, 19 December 2020. EPA/NABIL MOUNZER Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanese riot police on Saturday scuffled with students protesting a decision by top universities to adopt a new dollar exchange rate to price tuition equivalent to a major fee hike.
Near the entrance of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the Lebanese capital’s Hamra thoroughfare, security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters who were trying to approach the main gate.
Students responded by throwing water bottles and other objects at riot police blocking their path.
Lebanon police clash with students protesting tuition fee hike Tear gas was used to disperse the students, who were attempting to approach the main gate of the American University of Beirut (AUB) December 20, 2020 at 2:39 pm
Students clashed with riot police in Lebanon during furious protests against tuition fee hikes at top university,
The New Arab reported.
Tear gas was used to disperse the students, who were attempting to approach the main gate of the American University of Beirut (AUB).
Students fought back by hurling water bottles and other objects at the riot police blocking the way.
Lebanese students burn dumpsters while protesting a decision by top universities to adopt a new dollar exchange rate to price tuition in Beirut s Hamra district on December 19, 2020 [ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images]
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Lebanese riot police on Saturday scuffled with students protesting against a decision by top universities to adopt a new dollar exchange rate to determine tuition fees – which equates to a major fee rise
.
Protesters had gathered for a “Day of Student Anger” in front of the American University of Beirut, the largest by far in a series of demonstrations organised by independent student groups from across Lebanon.
They united forces earlier this month to fight a 160 per cent hike in fees and oppose a political elite they say is compromising their future, but further violence may undermine the momentum of their cause.
Lebanese Students Protest Major University Tuition Hike The Media Line Staff 12/20/2020
Lebanese riot police fired tear gas at student demonstrators protesting a major rise in tuition at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Lebanese American University.
The demonstrations, called a ‘student day of rage,’ on Saturday near the entrance of AUB in Hamra were sparked by the universities’ decision to raise the exchange rate of US dollars to Lebanese pounds on the tuition price, effectively more than doubling student tuition since the exchange rate remains pegged to the 23-year-old official rate. There is concern that other Lebanese universities will soon follow suit, pricing Lebanese students out of higher education.