São Paulo – Last month, the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) launched a booklet to guide Brazilian women visiting Lebanon, those who are living in the country or those who plan to do so in future. The material, to be distributed in Lebanon and Brazil, brings a series of guidelines about cultural, legal and religious differences between both nations that may result in problems for Brazilian women who married or have children with Lebanese men.
The booklet was published by the Under-Secretariat-General for Brazilian Communities Abroad and the idea arose at a meeting of the Council of Brazilian Citizens in Beirut, presided by the consul general of Brazil in the capital of the Arab country, Renato Soares Menezes, and including Brazilians who live in Lebanon. The initiative is part of the Programme for Legal and Psychological Assistance to Brazilian Women living in Lebanon, which already provides assistance, by telephone or e-mail, to Brazilian women in need of assistance.
According to the Itamaraty, 4,000 copies were printed, half in Arabic and half in Portuguese. In Lebanon, the material is available at the consulate general of Brazil, at the honorary consulate in Kab Elias, in Bekaa Valley, where most of the Brazilian community is located, at the Brazilian Cultural Centre in Beirut and at NGO Kafa. In Brazil, according to the ministry, the material is being sent to organisations like the Federal Police, the National Immigration Council and the Arab Culture Institute, among others. It may also be downloaded on the internet at address www.cgbrasil.org/images/cartilha.pdf.
The booklet was organized based on cases that came to the knowledge of the consulate general. The names of the characters are fictitious, but the cases reflect true situations, according to the Itamaraty. The publication tells, for example, the story of women who were subjected to male violence, some who travelled to Lebanon with their children (of Lebanese fathers) and did not manage to return with them, as well as clarifying matters like passports for descendants and legislation in the case of separation between a Brazilian woman and a Lebanese man, among others.
The material was elaborated by a committee created for this objective, presided by the consul general and including intellectuals, scholars, diplomats and leaders of local communities of Brazilians living in Lebanon, among others. The booklet has eight pages and the cover has a drawing made for the "Little Brazilians Worldwide" drawing competition for Brazilian children living abroad, also organized by the Itamaraty. For further information, view site www.cgbrasil.org/.
*Translated by Mark Ament
