Break for the Border!

The Lonely Planet, that esteemed publication which tells me most of the things I need to know about Lebanon stops somewhere short of Tyre (Sour in Arabic). This is not because Lebanon's territory ends there, oh no. This is because it is not actually that easy to travel more than about 10km south of Tyre if you are a tourist. This area borders Israel and although the territory is no longer disputed, (the Israeli army finally left in 2000), the area is not considered to be completely safe. It is run by Hizbullah, who make a pretty good job of it, providing social care, hospitals and the like for the area. Hizbullah now have 2 Ministers in the Lebanese government (the Energy Minister and someone else!) and so are quite far removed from the Hizbullah of old in some ways. However, they still have their weapons and the big debate in Lebanon is whether they are classified as a militia (in which case they should disarm) or the resistance against Israel. So far they are still the latter...

Anyway, suffice it to say that if you are a British tourist, you will not be able to get into the far south of Lebanon very easily - which is a shame, as it is absolutely beautiful. However, if you go on a field visit with IOCC to some of the schools there, you not only are able to pass the checkpoints (after a fashion - I was greeted with the words "she doesn't look Lebanese". Well, clearly I don't - I am not very slim and ultra stylish!), but you are also able to stand within 500m of the border with Israel.

As I said, the area is beautiful. Once past the checkpoint we drove along the coastal road - still under construction - and made our way to Naqoura, a border town. The 'border' is actually a couple of km wide as on one side you have Lebanese, and on the other, Israeli forces. You also have the UN present, and we drove past their camp. I think they are mainly Fijians there at the moment. No idea why. Maybe it was their turn. I wanted to get a picture of the UN tanks, but thought, on reflection, that I was lucky enough to get through the checkpoint, I wasn't really ready for a scrap with men with guns.

So, we got to Naqoura, which is, as you might imagine, very poor. You can see the gate/building through which you pass to get to Israel. Again, I wanted to take photos, especially of a road sign that said "Palestine" pointing straight ahead (most Lebanese maps refer to all of Israel as Palestine), but again I felt that being surrounded by Lebanese soldiers on one hand, and no doubt Israeli surveillance on the other meant that photo opportunities would have to wait!

From Naqoura, we went up into the mountains for a short while until we got to a village called Alma Chab. This village was split in two in 1932 when the Israelis retreated back from areas of Lebanon they had occupied. Half of the village remained in Israel, the other half is in Lebanon. The only area they share is the cemetary. We spoke to some of the teachers at the school there. When the village was cut in half, families were separated and many have not met again since - although they can see each other at a distance. You can see Israel from the roof of the school and one teacher was telling us that when her cousin got married she could only see the wedding and half of her family by going up there and waving. Going to Israel from Lebanon is not an option. If a Lebanese was to go over the border, they would not be allowed back in the country. Many of the people in the Israeli half of Alma Chab are also not that keen to have it reunited with Lebanon as their standard of living in Israel is much higher. Better healthcare, schools, jobs etc.

The saddest and most sobering story we heard was that of a young woman who, on hearing that her father was dying in the Israeli half of Alma Chab, set off to go and see him and hang the consequences. However, as she crossed the 'no-mans land' she was seriously injured by a landmine - she lost her leg.

Despite these stories, and the poverty and threat posed by Israel, the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. They all practised their English on me, and I did my bit of Arabic, and I felt very lucky indeed to have been able to visit this area... I get the feeling it won't happen again!!!

Below follow the usual photos. They are not excellent as I was somewhat constrained as I have explained above. However, if you want to know which direction Israel is, look for the antennae/pylons/anything that makes you thing that there is a massive army presence nearby, which they are not afraid to use!!

That is the end of my 'intrepid blogger' post - I'll post more mundane details of my social life/blue run on the snowboard/fantastic Lebanese night out soon!