Lebanon’s long history of battle has meant that almost every corner of the country has a history of conflict, with the remnants to prove it. MAG talked to residents of Smaaieh which, like many villages in southern Lebanon, was hit by rockets filled with cluster bomblets during the 2006 war and subsequently littered with unexploded cluster submunitions.
Since its arrival in Lebanon in 2000, MAG has endeavoured to remove the threat of deadly remnants of conflict, including mines, cluster submunitions, and other unexploded ordnance.
A long history of battle, including the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War, the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon though 2000 and the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, has meant that almost every corner of the country has a history of conflict, with the remnants to prove it. At the height of MAG’s efforts to remove cluster submunitions and other dangerous remnants of conflict following the 2006 war, MAG operated 22 Battle Area Clearance teams in southern Lebanon. This work removed the threat of injury or death from dozens of villages.
 |
|
Zeinab Suleiman (in black, pictured with her family) described the fear she felt for herself and her children from the surrounding cluster submunitions. |
One of these villages was Smaaieh, a settlement of 4,000 that sits on a hill among orange groves and banana fields, overlooking the sea. A few kilometres to the north, the city of Tyre juts out into the Mediterranean, with high-rise concrete apartment buildings rising from the causeway built by Alexander the Great during his siege of the ancient Phoenician city in 332 BC.
A few kilometres to the south is the border with Israel. During the 34-day war in the summer of 2006, Smaaieh, like many villages in southern Lebanon, was hit by rockets filled with cluster bomblets, and subsequently littered with unexploded cluster submunitions.
MAG began to remove and destroy cluster submunitions immediately after the war, and finished work in Smaaieh at the end of 2007. During that time, MAG staff were able to meet with some of the residents of the village and understand how the war had affected their lives.
 |
|
Samir Mustafa al Raay and his wife praised MAG teams for allowing them to access their land again and regain their livelihood. |
The Suleiman family lost their father as a consequence of the war. Samih Suleiman was electrocuted and died a few days after the conflict as he was repairing war damage to the family home. Zeinab Suleiman, his widow, then found herself without income, and four children (aged six, 10, 14, and 17) to raise by herself.
Her elderly father-in-law readily does his best to financially support his deceased son’s family, but Zeinab seems demoralised by her plight as she sits in front of the house with her family. She describes the fear she felt for herself and her children from the surrounding cluster submunitions, while simultaneously dealing with her grief over losing her husband. Although she is thankful to MAG and its donors for removing the immediate threats, she still seems preoccupied with her loss.
The Al Raay family, who live nearby, lost income due to the contamination and destruction of their orange trees. Some 25,000 square metres of agricultural land – more than 60 percent of their property – was lost, as the orange trees were hit by shrapnel and made unproductive. While most of the land was cleared immediately after the war, the loss of the orange trees could not be quickly remedied.
 |
|
Manal and Hussein Khishen both had to make adjustments due to loss of income and post-war stress. |
In order to rapidly regain some of their lost income, the family planted banana trees that will grow to maturity more quickly than orange trees, but are far less lucrative per metre. Nevertheless, the Al Raays are effusive in their praise of the MAG teams for allowing them to access their land again and regain their livelihood.
The Khishen family – father, mother, and five children – had to make adjustments due to loss of income and post-war stress. The father used to supplement his income as a school guard by working in the surrounding orange groves. With the orange trees destroyed by bombing, he lost this extra work.
The eldest son, 22-year old Hussein, worked in a barbershop in Smaaieh that was destroyed in the fighting, and so lost his job there until finding new work in a coffee shop in Tyre several months later. The eldest daughter, 23-year old Manal, is planning to emigrate and marry her fiancé in the United States. She describes the family’s fear and anxiety during the war, and paranoia and lack of sleep afterwards. A local non-governmental organisation helped with psychosocial counselling and support. She emphasises the respect MAG receives for removing and destroying the cluster submunitions.
MAG worked in Smaaieh from September 2006 until December 2007.
Statistics for the village of Al Smaaieh, January-December 2007:
- Metres cleared: 329,308
- UXO destroyed: 32
- Submunitions destroyed: 1,035
Report and photos by David Harbin, MAG Lebanon Programme Officer
MAG’s work in Lebanon is currently funded by: Adopt-a-Minefield; DFID (UK Department for International Development); European Commission; German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
4 August 08
