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‘I don’t recognize how we’ll survive’: War-damaged Lebanese businesses face the unknown


‘I don’t recognize how we’ll survive’: War-damaged Lebanese businesses face the unknown

BBC A main commercial street in southern Beirut, much of which has been destroyed by Israeli air strikes.BBC
A main commercial street in southern Beirut, much of which has been destroyed by Israeli air strikes

Wedged into the middle of a three storey-high pile of rubble and charred possessions in southern Beirut is a twisted and cracked metal sign. “Spare parts. Jeep Cherokee,” it says.

It is the only indication that the ground floor of this destroyed building had been occupied by a busy car parts dealership – one of many such businesses destroyed by Israel’s heavy bombing of Dahieh, the largely Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of the pool.

“We were so confident we wouldn’t be hit, because of the nature of the people here – ordinary, people, business owners,” said Imad Abdelhak, staring up at the smashed building.

Imad Abdelhak's car garage was damaged by a direct strike on the adjacent building
Imad Abdelhak’s car garage was damaged by a direct strike on the adjacent building

Abdelhak’s garage, next door, had survived the worst of the air strike, but he was waiting to discover out if the whole structure would have to be torn down because of the impact.

All over Lebanon, business owners are reeling after an intense dispute between Israel and Hezbollah saw Israeli bombs rain down on residential, commercial and industrial parts of the country, destroying shops, warehouses and stocks of goods.

A destroyed shopping parade in central Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut.
A destroyed shopping parade in central Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut

A US- and French-brokered ceasefire, which is largely holding, halted the war last week, but for many of the country’s business owners and workers the pain is only beginning.

“I have lost $20,000 and my only source of income,” said Ibrahim Mortada, another car parts dealer in Dahieh whose building was hit. “I have no concept how we can survive,” he said.

Ibrahim Mortada, second from left, clearing out the rubble from around his garage, which will have to be torn down.
Ibrahim Mortada, second from left, clearing out the rubble from around his garage, which will have to be torn down

Like Abdelhak, Mortada was waiting for engineers to assess the building, but it was obvious to anyone standing underneath it that the structure was unsafe. The top seven floors had been destroyed by a direct strike. Huge slabs of concrete and loose rubble hung precariously over Mortada’s head as he attempted to obvious up what was left of his premises.

“My business has been open here for 23 years,” he said, dejectedly. “We are counting on God to assist us now.”

The business owners of Dahieh and beyond are also counting on Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese political and militant throng, which said it will commence this week to assess the damage to homes and businesses and dole out liquid assets for people to pay rent, buy recent furniture, and commence to rebuild.

Part of Nabatieh's historic market, which has been targeted before but was destroyed during this conflict.
Part of Nabatieh’s historic trade, which has been targeted before but was destroyed during this dispute

In the southern city of Nabatieh on Wednesday, where its Ottoman-era trade and surrounding businesses were completely destroyed, people were still waiting for the Hezbollah assessors to arrive.

“Nobody has contacted us – nobody from the government, nobody from any throng,” said Niran Ali, a 56-year-ancient woman whose shop, Zen Baby Fashion, had disappeared with virtually all of its distribute.

Scanning the rubble, Ali caught sight of a pink, soot-covered pair of girls’ tracksuit bottoms, hanging from a steel girder jutting out of the heap. “These were mine,” she said, running her finger across the blackened fabric. “Maybe they are the only thing left of my business.”

Niran Ali and her husdand stand in front of the remains of her destroyed children's clothing shop.
Niran Ali and her husdand stand in front of the remains of her destroyed children’s clothing shop

Like others in Nabatieh, Ali had heard that Hezbollah was going to commence by assessing homes (the throng has pledged $5,000 per household to assist pay for rent, and $8,000 to replace furniture) and then shift on to businesses, where the losses are much higher.

Jalal Nasser, who owned a large complicated containing a coffee shop, restaurant and library, returned to the city on the first day of the ceasefire to discover the complicated transformed into a charred husk by a massive air strike across the road. He estimated he had lost up to $250,000.

He set up a tiny table and chair on the edge of the shell of the building, overlooking the main street, and smoked his shisha. “To provide people aspiration”, he said.

Jalal Nasser in what is left of his restaurant and coffee complex in Nabatieh. "We are waiting for Hezbollah," he said.
Jalal Nasser in what is left of his restaurant and coffee complicated in Nabatieh. “We are waiting for Hezbollah,” he said

As for where the money was going to arrive from to rebuild, “that is the large question,” he said, shrugging. “But we are waiting for Hezbollah. I’m sure they will provide.”

The globe financial institution estimates this war has caused at least $8.5bn worth of damage to Lebanon’s economy. It would be a huge sum for any similar country, but for Lebanon it comes on the heels of a monetary crisis in 2019 and the devastating port blast the following year.

In the aftermath of the previous war with Israel, in 2006, money poured in from Iran and from gulf states to rebuild Lebanon. This period around, it is ambiguous if that tap will turn on.

Part of a ruined shoe shop. Thousands of businesses in Lebanon have lost their premises and stock.
Part of a ruined shoe shop. Thousands of businesses in Lebanon have lost their premises and distribute.

“There is nothing yet in terms of apportionment for reconstruction,” Nasser Yasin, the surroundings minister and head of the government’s crisis cell told the BBC on Wednesday.

“We have some excellent indications, some pledges from friends of Lebanon,” he said. “But we approximate we are going to require billions of dollars this period. The level of destruction is probably six to 10 times what it was in 2006.”

Israel has said it was acting solely against Hezbollah in its strikes on Nabatieh, and not against the Lebanese population. Yasin accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “urbicide” for its widespread destruction of the city.

On a visit to Nabatieh on Wednesday afternoon, Imran Riza, the UN’s deputy special co-ordinator for Lebanon, told the BBC the scale of what needed to be done was “enormous”.

“The history two and a half months, particularly, have been massively destructive,” he said. “It is a very long road back.”

Yusuf Mouzzain climbs into his shop. "This is the worst war we have seen," he said.
Yusuf Mouzzain climbs into his shop. “This is the worst war we have seen,” he said.

The historic trade in Nabatieh dates back about 500 years. It has repeatedly arrive under attack from Israel in the decades since 1978. Unlike previous attacks, this period the destruction was total.

“This is the worst for Nabatieh, the worst war we have seen,” said Yusuf Mouzzain, who owned a clothes shop in the trade. In his shop, a few surviving clothes hung on a rail, coated in soot. He estimated he had suffered about $80,000 worth of damage.

In 2006, Hezbollah gave a excellent sum to the affected business owners. This period, he had no concept what they would receive, or who from. “But we have lost everything, he said. “So someone has to provide us something.”

Additional reporting by Joanna Mazjob. Photographs by Joel Gunter.



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