The Lebanese town of Arsal, located on the eastern border with Syria, has never experienced a more difficult phase than the one that it has witnessed in the past seven years, as confirmed by its residents.
The series of rapid events that began with the hosting of about 120 thousand displaced Syrians since 2011, the stance in favor of the Syrian opposition accompanied by logistical support at certain times, in addition to the abduction of a number of Lebanese soldiers in the summer of 2014 by ISIS and Al-Nusra Front, have all exhausted the town and its inhabitants and made them look forward to return to the calm and tranquility they enjoyed before the outbreak of the crisis in Syria.
A year after the battle carried out by the Lebanese Army in the eastern border area to end the presence of extremist organizations, whose elements have been kidnapping young men from Arsal and terrorizing the population, the town is trying to recover and rearrange its papers to serve the interests of its people.
Arsal residents are optimistic about the return of the first batch of displaced Syrians to their villages in the region of Qalamoun, hoping that such move would reduce social and economic burdens and would limit the competition on employment opportunities, although there are those who consider that the departure of all Syrians would negatively affect the economy.
The son of Arsal, Future Movement MP Bakr al-Hujairi, described the phase since 2011 as the most difficult of all, pointing out that regional forces “considered that our town is located at an inappropriate geographical point and its people must be forced to leave.”
Al-Hujairi did not deny that Arsal supported Syrian opposition fighters as a “revolutionary movement” in Syria and formed a “rear base” for the opponents of the Syrian regime, and specifically for those who were fighting in Syrian areas bordering Lebanon.
“But when rebel opposition groups have turned into gangs that attack the safe population of our town, our actions have changed completely,” he said.
He noted that as Russia took control over the Syrian areas bordering Lebanon, residents were somehow reassured and were currently seeking to solve Arsal’s problems, mainly the infrastructure and the sewage network.
The majority of displaced Syrians still living in Arsal are eager to return to their neighboring towns and villages on the opposite side of the border. This is confirmed by Deputy Mayor of Arsal Rima Karnabi, who pointed out that the Lebanese residents were reassured with this fact.
In contrast to the consensus of the majority of the people of Arsal that the return of displaced people to Syria would ease the economic and social burden on the town, a 45 year-old restaurant owner from the town said that the departure of the displaced would likely have negative repercussions on the economic cycle. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the funds received by the displaced from the United Nations and many associations were currently being spent in the Lebanese town.
“Moreover, tasks carried out by the Syrian workers in Lebanon are not carried out by the young Lebanese, in addition to the wages that will be doubled if works are carried out by local workers,” he added.
