Time to Adjust
For the first time since the day Arabad published its zero issue in 1986, the magazine has been affected by the uncontrolled and stormy turbulence of Lebanese politics, or rather by theatrics performed on the local and international stages by our so-called politicians. We at
Arabad watched as the whole regime sailed in uncharted waters day after day without any compass or direction. In the process, with the fall of the Lebanese currency, the COVID-19 crisis and governance void except for the daily mud-slinging among the top brass, dealing a hefty blow to whatever left of a reputation for the country.
However, in the spirit of the founder of Arabad, we have decided to confront the multitude of hurdles and address the challenges, with resolve, resilience and perseverance. We felt that we have failed our loyal readers, for that we profusely apologize. Nevertheless, our absence was inevitable due to the well-know circumstances that impacted the publishing industry, needless to say that veteran publications and newspapers, have either downsized or disappeared altogether. The future is still very gloomy and without a light at the end of the tunnel. Arabad, in the meantime believes in Lebanon and in the communications industry.
Arabad in tandem with many communication institutions, will take the plunge, and face the risks involved, with the hope that sense will prevail and honest efforts would be exerted to lift the country from this dreadful and hellish quagmire. In this, we are inspired by the legacy left by Walid Azzi and his fighting spirit regardless of the difficulties. On record, we have never let down our readers during the violence of the eighties, with skeleton staff who put their lives on the line to produce a professional magazine worthy of the professionalism of the Advertising and Marketing industries.
During the past few months, due to the severe inflation and COVID-19, we could not keep even a skeleton staff, made mainly of professional expat journalists, who with their experience were able to move into greener pastures in the Gulf and Europe.
We can say we are prepared for a post-pandemic business recovery and adjusting to operate in a new marketing world of opportunities.
We realize that we are embarking on a risky endeavor, but we are certain that Arabad, and always with your support, will prevail as the industry’s platform and its promising new generation of luminaries.
Ghada W. Azzi