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Nawraj sets up a crisis cell comprising architects and agronomists, led by Jean Chamoun.
In the absence of any clear prospect for an end to hostilities in southern Lebanon, the Nawraj association, led by Fouad Abounader, has decided to take action and start assessing the losses and needs of the localities subjected to Israeli bombardments.
In a press conference held at the Catholic Information Center (CCI), Abounader explained the reasons for this initiative, while the President of the Municipal Council of Rmeich, Milad Alam, reviewed the damages caused by the ongoing violence in the south, providing an initial estimate (see table).
“No school should close, and no dispensary, job, or source of livelihood should disappear.” This is the declared goal of Nawraj, which has asked the Lebanese people to make the strip extending “from the slopes of Mount Hermon to Naqoura” their “sacred cause,” with the primary concern of keeping the populations of south Lebanon, especially Christians, rooted in their lands.
“All Lebanese institutions, both social and religious, must be made aware of the suffering of the population in this part of the country, and mobilize to provide effective and sustainable aid and subsidies that will allow its population to hold on,” said Abounader.
It is known that tens of thousands of Lebanese have chosen to take refuge inland, and the initial hopes of a quick return are increasingly dimming and difficult to envision as the conflict drags on.
Delays in reconstruction
For Abounader, even if the fighting stops soon, the economic and social crisis will continue well beyond, if only because of the time it will take to rebuild and recover the losses suffered in agriculture and livestock (poultry, cattle, or bee farming, olive and vine cultivation, other fruit trees, cereals and tobacco).
Nawraj, as its president specified, has established, with the participation of a university engineering faculty, a cell composed of architects and agronomists, led by Jean Chamoun. It aims to support this phase of the crisis and provide the population with essential basic materials such as diesel, medicines and medical supplies, food and sterilization products, milk for children, etc.
The cell will work in coordination with the relevant ministries, local and international associations and embassies, to prioritize and distribute resources equitably. At the same time, the association urges state relief organizations to also take responsibility in this area “fairly and without forgetting anyone.”
Beyond this immediate short- and medium-term aid, Nawraj has asked leaders “to think about sustainable solutions and revive development projects that have been suspended due to the war.”
“A free and decent life”
On behalf of the municipalities of south Lebanon, the President of the Municipal Council of Rmeich, Milad Alam, then outlined the “tragic situation” of the localities in the border area bombarded by Israel. He spoke on behalf of the localities of Rmeish, Ain Ebel, Debel, Qaouzah, Yaroun, Alma al-Shaab, Bourj al-Moulouk, Deir Mimas, Qlaya, Jdeidet Marjeyoun, Bouwayda, Ebel al-Saqi, Kawkaba and Rachaya al-Foukhar.
“We seek peace and a free and decent life like all the peoples of the earth!” he exclaimed, before drawing his listeners’ attention to the “enormous structural and economic destruction, which has led to the displacement of a large number of residents, the disappearance of their livelihoods, and the annihilation of lifelong efforts.” “The exodus that some have been forced into has exhausted all their savings,” he added.
Furthermore, the impact of the war is not limited to the physical health of the Lebanese who suffer from it, but also includes psychological dimensions: homelessness and lack of permanent housing, loss of loved ones, continuous fear and wartime violence.
Two priorities: olive cultivation and tobacco
Alam called on the state to compensate the population for the material damage caused by the bombings, particularly in the three agglomerations of Alma al-Shaab, Qaouzah and Deir Mimas, without neglecting the cracks that have appeared in dozens of houses in all villages. The border area, he said, should be declared a “disaster zone,” with special attention from the Ministry of Agriculture to the olive and tobacco sectors, which are sources of livelihood for all Lebanese “from the slopes of Mount Hermon to Ras Naqoura.”
