I am what you would call a veteran emigrant of sorts. I lived in Canada and France, before working in Saudi and UAE, and have perhaps some views about immigration and the issues related to integration. I believe that it is the responsibility of the hosting country to make sure that the incoming emigrant has a place in the workforce to enable a smooth transition. I, for one, have encountered no difficulties settling in or finding work for the simple reason that there was a demand for the kind of work I do, and therefore my career moved forward in a gratifying way.
You established the Irish Lebanese Cultural Foundation (ILCF) in 2001. What were your goals in establishing this Foundation?
The best diplomacy is cultural diplomacy something that I wanted to nurture, from the good faith installed by 23 years of outstanding Irish Peacekeeping service in Lebanon, and that is still felt in the hearts of 22,000 soldiers who served there since 1978. The objective was to create a cultural bond for them and for us, to have a bridge for our children who are Irish of Lebanese parents, to enjoy the cultural heritage of their ancestors. presence at their events, promoting tours to revisit Lebanon, Lebanese tourism, handicrafts, and highquality products like Lebanese wines. We organised the First International Tabbouli Competition, that ran for two consecutive years, aiming to correct the erroneous recipes that some magazines publish every now and then in the UK and Ireland. We held What are some of the ways the ILCF has helped to promote X?[?\?H?[ \?H[?\?[[?? ?]?]H ??Y[?[??? HX?[?\?H[?YH?\?[Y[ ?Y?Y?HX[?H\?H ??Y[??'??[?YH \?^?[[??K? \??[?? \] H ??? ??'??YX??Z[?????HX?[??[? ? H ?\? H ?\???\? X?X? ?\?X?[] K?]ZX?? H ?H ?\?H[X??X?Y?HH?[X?\???]\?[?\????X][??[? ?\?H[??]Y ?]?HHH?X][?? H\?\?X?[?\?H??????X?[?[?XZ?[??]X??\??X?H ?H ?Y\? X?X?] Z?H?Y[??X??\?H] H?]\???[??] ]H?X?????H ?\?H ?X??\??[?[ \?[[?K?]?[?Y H?? ?H ?\?Y\??X? \?\? ?H] [?[??H[??\? ???[Y[[?]H H][?X??