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Lebanese Rejoice after Mayyas Win 'America's Got Talent'

A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanese Rejoice after Mayyas Win 'America's Got Talent'

A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese celebrated the local dance troupe Mayyas on Thursday after it won the "America's Got Talent" TV contest, stoking joy and pride in a country battered by years of political and economic turmoil.

Many fans, across age groups and religious lines in the crisis-tested country and its large diaspora, tearfully cheered the all-women group for what judges and viewers hailed as a hypnotic and mesmerizing performance.

"Congratulations Mayyas, proud, proud, proud," tweeted Lebanese pop star Elissa, while caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gushed that "Lebanese creativity shines" in the performance.

A Twitter user called Wael summed up the mood about the group that beat all the odds: "They come from a country ravaged by crisis and, despite the difficulties, they managed to be the best. Lebanese all around the world are proud of you."

The troupe led by choreographer Nadim Cherfan scooped a $1 million prize and the chance to headline a Las Vegas show for their extravagant performance featuring belly dancing, feather fans and white orbs of light.

"You gave us a glimpse of hope and showed the world what Lebanese women are capable of," tweeted another fan, DivaMaj, saluting the group that in 2019 won the Arabs Got Talent contest.

Even the military joined in, declaring on Twitter, somewhat more stiffly, that "the army command congratulates the Mayyas group, its trainers and members, on winning America's Got Talent,” AFP reported.

The Mayyas' win of the season finale brought rare respite and a moment of unity to the small country reeling from almost three years of deep economic hardship and political stalemate.

Amid Lebanon's worst-ever economic crisis, the national currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market since 2019 while poverty and unemployment have soared.

Beirut remains scarred by the huge portside blast of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrate in 2020, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and decimated vast areas of the capital.

In a reflection of the deep popular discontent, several people who have recently held up banks, using real or toy guns, to demand their frozen savings have been cheered as folk heroes by bystanders and on social media.

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Tunisia Rehab Barge Offers Hope for Vulnerable Sea Turtles

Marine specialists treat a sea turtle on a care barge in Tunisia's Kerkennah Island, the only one in the Mediterranean, on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Akim REZGUI / AFP)
Marine specialists treat a sea turtle on a care barge in Tunisia's Kerkennah Island, the only one in the Mediterranean, on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Akim REZGUI / AFP)
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Tunisia Rehab Barge Offers Hope for Vulnerable Sea Turtles

Marine specialists treat a sea turtle on a care barge in Tunisia's Kerkennah Island, the only one in the Mediterranean, on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Akim REZGUI / AFP)
Marine specialists treat a sea turtle on a care barge in Tunisia's Kerkennah Island, the only one in the Mediterranean, on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Akim REZGUI / AFP)

On a barge hundreds of meters off the Kerkennah Islands in southern Tunisia, a group of students watches intently as Besma, a recovering sea turtle, shuffles towards the water and dives in, AFP reported.

The barge, used to treat injured loggerhead turtles, is the first floating rehabilitation center for the species in the Mediterranean, its organizers say.

Harboring netted enclosures underwater, it allows the threatened species to receive care in saltwater, its natural habitat.

"It is important that the sea turtles recover in their natural environment," said Hamed Mallat, a marine biologist who heads the UN-funded project.

"We place them in a space that's large enough for them to move and feed more comfortably," he added.

Mallat, a member of the local Kraten Association for Sustainable Development and the International Sea Turtle Society, founded the project last month and said the rehab barge was refashioned from a sunken aquaculture cage.

It can hold up to five sea turtles at a time, each in its own enclosure, and spans 150 square meters (1,610 square feet) at the surface, with netting below to allow the convalescing animals to reach the sea floor.

The loggerhead sea turtle, also known as Caretta caretta, is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Every year, around 10,000 loggerheads are caught by trawlers and in fishing nets in the waters off Tunisia.

Life Medturtles, an EU-funded sea life conservation project, estimates that more than 70 percent of sea turtle deaths in the Mediterranean are caused by gillnets -- large nets used for mass fishing.

It is often the fishermen themselves who bring the injured turtles to the barge, said Mallat.

The project is also an opportunity to teach younger generations about preserving sea life, he added.

"This is a direct application of the things we study," said 24-year-old Sarah Gharbi, a fisheries and environment student at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT).

"It's also a first interaction with marine species that we usually don't see as part of our study or in our laboratories. It's something new and enriching."

Her teacher, Rimel Ben Messaoud, 42, said the barge's "educational value" was in giving students a first-hand experience with marine life conservation.

Due to rising sea temperatures, overfishing and pollution, a number of marine species have seen their migratory routes and habitats shift over time.

Mallat said the project could help study those patterns, particularly among loggerhead sea turtles, as Besma now bears a tracking device.

"It gives us a significant advantage for scientific monitoring of sea turtles, which is somewhat lacking in scientific research in Tunisia," he said.

Mallat said he also hoped to attract the islands' summer tourists to raise awareness about the vulnerable species.