Trying to Pick Up the Pieces in Beirut

[A.Rahman]

Trying to Pick Up the Pieces in Beirut

With the cease-fire holding, at least for now, residents of the Lebanese capital return to survey the damage and salvage what's left

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/ak_m_f/le.jpg



It was relatively easy for Hussein Abbas to find his belongings from what used to be the 10-story apartment building where he lived in Haret Hriek in South Beirut. A bomb had struck his building around the fourth floor, shearing the upper half clean off. Since he lived on the top floor, what remained of his home was on top of the rubble, "That's my yellow pot, and that heap used to be my stove," said the retired shopkeeper, who is now living in a school building in East Beirut.

On this the first day of the cease-fire between Israel and Hizballah, he had returned to collect his possessions, though what remained barely filled the trunk of his car. "Money doesn't matter," he said. "What matters is dignity. I made a home once; I can make it again. We defeated Israel once; we can do it again."


Like Abbas, thousands of the estimated one million Lebanese displaced by the war streamed back to their homes today, despite government warnings about unexploded bombs — and fears that the cease-fire might not hold. In Beirut, that meant a sudden mass migration by refugees who had been living temporarily in the Christian eastern side of the city — which had been largely spared by the Israelis — to the heavily Shia Muslim southern suburbs, which had borne the brunt of the Israeli attack.

Streets that had been nearly empty for a month were now snarled with traffic. Some people had come to see their homes, while others were merely curious, and snapped pictures with cell-phone cameras. The still-smoldering lunar craters of what used to be residential blocks were now filled with a parade of people, scrambling over the concrete slabs and broken widow panes, as if participants in some mass funeral procession, choking on dust and that special acrid smell that comes from burnt buildings. In some areas, rescue crews were still looking for bodies.

Many expressed pure relief that the conflict appeared to be over. "All we want is peace," said Ali, a tennis coach from Chiyah who had been living with his family at the sports club where he works. His apartment building received only minor damage from a bomb that yesterday destroyed an entire block about 200 yards away. "Let the Israelis give us our country back and there will be no need for resistance." Others were merely stunned. "I used to live there, but I don't know where my building is any more," said Sulieman, a 20 year-old student, pointing to some ruins. And some were raw with anger. "Tell them that we are a thorn in the eye of Israel, an unbroken thorn!" screamed one young man. "We will plant a tree of revenge against America."

Hizballah fighters and supporters were out in force, passing out flags and posters of Hassan Nasrallah, their leader. A new billboard played on the Arabic meaning of his name, declaring "Victory from God, Nasrallah is Back." That evening, as the terrace cafes of East Beirut filled with the first decent sized crowds since the war began, the southern suburbs erupted in fireworks and celebratory gunfire. Divided in war, the city is still divided in peace.

Source: Time Magzine.

 

[Neo]

Lebanon skirts issue of Hezbollah's arms

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A top government official said the Lebanese Cabinet has approved a plan to deploy the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting Thursday. But the Cabinet apparently skirted the issue of disarming Hezbollah, a key requirement of the cease-fire that has ended fighting between Israel and the guerrillas.
The twice-delayed meeting approved sending the army to the south of the country, where it will slowly take over territory from which Israeli forces have begun to withdraw.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak before a formal announcement was made, said the army deployment would begin Thursday.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Israeli military officials said Defense Minister Amir Peretz had created a military committee to investigate Israel's conduct during the 34-day war against Hezbollah guerrillas.

The formation of the committee was a step toward addressing criticism over the handling of the crisis but fell short of meeting growing demands for the creation of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate both the government's and the military's performance.

Hezbollah said it would help tens of thousands of people reconstruct homes that were destroyed in a month of war with Israel, a move likely to boost its standing among Shiite Muslims, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.

The mayor of a southern town said 32 more bodies were pulled from rubble, as rescue workers drove into areas that were previously inaccessible because of the heavy fighting.

Visiting Beirut on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France would commit troops to the United Nations peacekeeping force that will deploy in south Lebanon, but did not say how many soldiers. The international force, which will be bolstered by 15,000 troops from Lebanon, will police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters that ended 34 days of fighting on Monday.
The diplomatic maneuvers came as the Israeli army withdrew more troops from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops prepared to move across the Litani River on Thursday to take control of the war-ravaged region from Hezbollah guerrillas.

The Lebanese army will begin moving Thursday into a "significant part" of south Lebanon left behind by Israeli troops, U.N. peacekeeping official Richard Morczynski said.

Small military delegations from Israel and Lebanon agreed to details of troop movements at a meeting Wednesday with the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL at the border crossing point at Ras Naquora. The 2,000-strong UNIFIL has been in southern Lebanon for more than two decades.

Douste-Blazy urged Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon, saying it was unnecessary because the U.N.-imposed cease-fire was holding.

"The blockade imposed on the airport and Lebanese ports should be lifted. We ask Israeli authorities to lift the land and sea siege on Lebanon. And we ask the Lebanese government to strengthen monitoring" of points of entry to insure Hezbollah weapons are banned, Douste-Blazy said.

The blockade was instituted shortly after fighting began July 12, when Hezbollah staged a cross-border raid and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the Beirut international airport, blocked seaports and began destroying road links to Syria.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the blockade is still necessary until the peacekeeping force is in place to prevent the Islamic militant group from rearming.

"Israel cannot allow a situation in which Hezbollah could be strategically rearmed," he said, adding that "Israel will do everything we can to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon" in the interim.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce a 2,000-strong U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.


Israel's military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.

Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz had predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven to 10 days.

In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier.

Aid officials said unexploded bombs littering southern Lebanon were forcing relief workers to move gingerly to deliver food and fuel to people cut off by weeks of fighting and to evacuate war wounded to hospitals. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah sent teams across south Lebanon to clear explosives from the battlefield.

At a makeshift registration center set up in a Beirut high school, Hezbollah officials with pens and notebooks wrote down contact details of hundreds of people who need money to rebuild. The group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.
A Hezbollah official said all destroyed buildings will be reconstructed exactly as they were. The source of the funding was unclear, though Hezbollah receives money from Iran.
"We will use the same maps," he said. "We will give their flats back but they will be new flats."

Lebanese refugees returning home have clogged the road from Beirut to the southern port of Tyre, but farther south near the Israeli border the scene is more desolate, said Annick Bouvier, spokeswoman in Geneva for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"There is a lot of unexploded ordnance and in the very remote areas of southern Lebanon," Bouvier told The Associated Press. "There is not much traffic because it is a highly dangerous area to move due to unexploded ordnance."

Douste-Blazy and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, arrived in Beirut for talks early Wednesday. A delegation of the 56-country Organization of the Islamic Conference also traveled to Beirut by land from Syria.
France was expected to lead the international force. The Italian foreign minister has already pledged as many as 3,000 troops. Indonesia and a dozen other countries have expressed willingness to help.

However, it remained unclear how quickly a full force could be deployed. The process involves three armies on the ground and is complicated, given that the Lebanese and Israeli armies do not have direct contact and a third and central player — Hezbollah guerrillas — will not be involved.
At least 842 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead — including 118 soldiers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_israel

 

[Neo]

Hezbollah promises to rebuild in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of people went from room to room at a makeshift registration center at a high school here Wednesday to report damage to their homes from Israel's bombing attacks. Hezbollah agents with pen and notebooks promised to help them rebuild.

Tens of thousands of people have returned to their villages in eastern and southern Lebanon and to Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs. They have arrived to find their homes either damaged or destroyed from the monthlong war.

The cost of rebuilding homes is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars and Hezbollah — whose social support network is a main reason for the loyalty it commands — was quick to offer help.

Hours after a cease-fire went into effect Monday, the leader of the Shiite Muslim group, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, appeared on television and promised to help Lebanese rebuild, pledging money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.

Nasrallah did not say where the money would come from, but the source was widely believed to be Iran, the group's primary donor of money and weapons. Hezbollah has used Iranian money to fund charity work and social welfare programs that have won it wide support in Lebanon's Shiite community.

Nasrallah said 15,000 housing units were hit during the war. His group's bid to play a central role in reconstruction could further boost its standing after it declared victory over Israel.

Salim Kenaan entered a room at the Haret Hreik Public High School and looked at signs on the wall. The one on the left read "Damaged" while that on the right read "Destroyed."

He gave his name, address and telephone number to the man sitting under the sign on the right.

"My house was totally destroyed. After I heard Sheik Nasrallah's speech, I started looking for an apartment," Kanaan said.

In the southern city of Tyre, Hezbollah's commander in south Lebanon, Nabil Kaouk, promised Wednesday to rebuild the devastated region and compensate those whose homes had been destroyed.

"We want to bring south Lebanon back to its real life and to rebuild it better than it was before the war," said the white-turbaned cleric as he stood in front of the demolished building that used to house his office before it was destroyed in the fighting.

He said Hezbollah believes it will take one year for people to rebuild their home. In the meantime, he said, the organization will pay their rent, handing out the assistance itself instead of funneling it through the government.

Hundreds of workers were in the streets of Dahiyeh on Wednesday, clearing streets and removing rubble. Some areas were completely closed by Hezbollah members who said they wanted to prevent theft, and residents were only allowed to enter after getting special passes.

Ahmed al-Mileeji, a 67-year-old Palestinian who has lived in Haret Hreik since 1979, registered to get compensation for what used to be his home near Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station.

"They will give me money to pay rent and to buy furniture. I will also get my flat back after one year," he said as he carried documents proving he owned the apartment.

The Hezbollah official in charge of the Haret Hreik center said all destroyed buildings will be reconstructed exactly as they were.
"We will use the same maps," he said. "We will give their flats back but they will be new flats."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_hezbollah_rebuilds

 

[Neo]

Hizbullah gives $12,000 each to war affectees in south Beirut

BEIRUT (updated on: August 18, 2006, 22:40 PST): Hizbullah on Friday began distributing tens of thousands of dollars to residents in battered southern Beirut whose homes were hit during Israel's month-long offensive targeting the Shia militia.

Families whose homes were destroyed received 12,000 US dollars each from Hizbullah officials operating out of a secondary school in the predominantly Shia neighbourhood.

"I received 12,000 dollars to rent a house for one year and to furnish it," said Hajj Mohammed, 40, whose apartment in Bir Abed district was completely destroyed.

The money, counted out in 100 dollar bill increments by Hizbullah officials and handed to residents who lined up to take the cash, is meant to help pay for one year's rent and new furniture, according to Hizbullah's leader Hassan Nasrullah.

"Hizbullah has a program to rebuild because people cannot live in the street," said Hizbullah deputy Hossein Hajj Hassan, without saying where the funds had come from.

"We have sources of income, thank God," he said, adding that it was "normal" for "Iranian social groups to help" Hizbullah, which has been branded a terrorist group by some western governments and was attacked by Israel in a campaign which only ended in a shaky truce on Monday.

In the absence of government aid, Hizbullah established reception centres to field complaints and try to manage aid efforts for those who lost homes or possessions in the fighting.