“I was almost 22 years old when then the Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon,” said Ahmad (pseudonym), a Shiite resident of Adaysse, who remembers his early 20s with nostalgia. “Don’t get me wrong, I hate Israel and I am very happy that we are now liberated. I only wish we had today the same freedom of behavior we had back then.” Ahmad was referring to the imposition of religious rules the majority of southern Shiite towns are under today. “For example, before 2000, even being a young Shiite man, I could openly drink alcohol. I even had long hair and an ear piercing. I used to live the way every 20-year-old boy discovering life deserves to live. Unfortunately, the situation now is different. Everything I used to do in my early 20s is considered haram now and is not allowed—especially for us, the Shiites who decide not to go by their strict religious rules.”
In 2011, many shops in southern Lebanon were bombed or forced to close. According to a 2011 NOW report, there was speculation the bombed establishments were targeted for selling alcohol in Shiite-majority towns. A string of liquor stores were forced to close in the face of a prohibition campaign across the region.
“We live in a Shiite town. Nobody drinks alcohol here because Islam prohibits it,” Um Mohammad told NOW. “Christians are allowed to drink alcohol in their own towns—it is their choice as long as the alcohol is invisible to us or to our children. We do not want our children to learn this bad habit forbidden by God. Almost all of our women are veiled, only because we want to please God as much as we can. How do you expect us to accept alcohol infecting our towns?”
Corruption and a weak local economy
“When the Israelis were here, we had more money than we do now,” said a 50-year-old resident of Burj al-Moulouk, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Our financial situation was better because a lot of our men used to work in restaurants and shops in Israel and used to have high salaries. Christians have a reputation of being the only people who worked in Israel, but this is not true. More than 80% of Shiite men in my town used to work there, too. After the liberation, some of them traveled and others were imprisoned for two or three years. We all benefited from the Israeli economy before 2000. Nowadays, the economic situation is really bad. The south is an economically dead area. We barely find jobs. Those who join Hezbollah are almost the only people who have a stable income. Adding to this, after the Syrian crisis, a lot of Syrian refugees came to the south and are now being hired more than Lebanese people because they accept lower salaries.”
Like the whole country, southern Lebanon has been greatly affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, though this is not the biggest concern the residents have. After 2006 War, Hassan Nasrallah promised indemnities for damaged houses and affected families in the south. Unfortunately, not all families were given aid following the war.
“Families who received remunerations are somehow related to Hezbollah or have strong connections with the party leaders,” said Umm Muhammad. “Our house was bombed. One of the walls was totally destroyed. Nobody from Hezbollah gave us any money, though we always supported the Resistance. But we do not have strong connections with its leaders. My husband has a grocery shop. During the 2006 War, Hezbollah people broke into it and took all the food there because they had no food left. We had no problem with them doing that because we were ready to help them in any possible way, but they never returned the favor. A couple of years ago, the government gave us a small amount. It was 250,000 LBP.”
“Christian families were the most neglected,” Tarek told NOW. “We never received any financial aid for reparations. We didn’t expect it anyway. Only people who are directly affiliated with Hezbollah are wealthy here. If Hezbollah is not paying its own people, it would definitely not pay us.”
The liberated south, 15 years later
I'll speak to Moshe at the head of Northern command to see if Israel can go back and liberate Southern Lebanon from Hezzie occupation
