Lebanon & the Ivory Coast by Tamara Abdallah and Lara Chehabeddine

              The Ivory Coast and Lebanon have had close ties since the 1920’s. Over there, they form the growing Lebanese community, and have established themselves in the business sector. Therefore, not only does the Ivory coast have one of the largest Lebanese communities in west Africa, but also they are strong economic ties linking them together. So, it is important to examine the intercultural relation of both countries.

History

              After World War 1, Lebanese people began migrating and took ships to France, and somehow ended up in Africa. Furthermore, after the Lebanese civil war many chose to flee Lebanon and seek refuge in the Ivory Coast. During that time, over one hundred thousand Lebanese citizens were living there. The flux of immigration to the Ivory Coast was mostly controlled by France, to grow their colonies. So, they can be considered the original mediators between these two countries.

              Historically speaking, what helped the Lebanese integrate themselves into the Ivory Coast was a common colonizer and language (French). They both struggled during the colonization. The Ivory Coast was exploited because of its natural resources. As for Lebanon, France was constantly shutting down any form of potential independence, and creating tension between the different sects

Economic relation

              According to the Lebanese chamber of commerce in the Ivory Coast, the Lebanese own almost half of the industrial sector. The Lebanese exports to the ivory coast are worth about 40 million dollars. For more information, follow this link: THE ICT MARKET IN IVORY COAST 2015 - investinlebanon.gov.lb

            The Lebanese dominate in several sectors: the fish trade, the tertiary sector, and the construction sector, among many other. This means that the Lebanese community is one of the driving forces of the economy of the Ivory Coast. The two countries are constantly improving their trading relations

Comparison

There is a common attitude towards humor in problematic situations. For example, the electricity issue, the corruption, and many other. Since it is out of their control, they choose to joke about it. Similarly, with the outbreak of a flu epidemic in the Ivory Coast, they turned the epidemy of the Asian flu into a joke, which gained attention.

Although the cuisine differs greatly, both countries place an importance on food.

      Typical Cuisine in Lebanon

      Typical Cuisine in the IvoryCoast

Also, both communities have emphasis on the exterior appearance. Their societies are mainly based on consumption.

Both countries have created their own ‘language’ which is a combination of the languages used there on a daily basis. In Lebanon, the three languages used (English, French, and Arabic) are combined as a single language to ease communication. While in the Ivory Coast, the language Nouchi is a combination several languages such as French, dioula, English, and Spanish.