HASHISH-FARMING REPUTATION STILL STAINS VILLAGE OF
BRITAL

Inhabitants Struggle To Clear Community's Name

Zoning, Civil Planning, Development Guidelines Are Missing In Residents'
Daily Lives

BEKAA: Like hundreds of similar Lebanese villages, Brital, in Eastern
Bekaa, has very little in the way of a public infrastructure. Despite the
cash influx that once resulted from hashish farming, zoning, civil planning
and development guidelines are generally missing elements in a daily life
that has left residents in a state of permanent despair.

Now, after efforts to promote alternative crop cultivation failed, Brital
is still suffering from a reputation as a hashish zone without having the
luxury of enjoying any of the benefits that came with the trade.

The situation has left inhabitants of the village, as well as its municipal
council, struggling to clear the community's name from accusations of
theft, carjacking and other illicit activities, including drug trafficking.

"Brital inhabitants are known for their good heartedness and hospitality,"
said Brital Mayor Abbas Ismael. "But the bad reputation staining our
village is unfortunately hurting everyone and distorting our image. We
believe it is the work of antagonistic elements of the special agencies in
the Lebanese System."

Ismael said the authorities remember Brital only in association with crime,
while "excluding it from all development plans that might answer to the
people's needs and aspirations.

"For decades," he said, "Brital, with 20,000 inhabitants, had one public
school consisting of three rooms and staffed with four teachers. To this
day, we have no police station or any other official building displaying
the Lebanese flag or any national sign saying this village was actually on
Lebanese land."

Toufeil, a border village lying within Brital's municipal jurisdiction,
symbolizes some of the ostracism which Brital faces. The village functions
as though it were a Syrian village. "One cannot travel to the village
except through Syria," said the mayor. "The Lebanese Authorities have never
considered connecting the village to its main land ... We have to enter
Syria, drive north then reach Toufeil."

Brital's bad reputation, according to Ismael, is a form of punishment from
successive governments due to the village's stand and sacrifices in
resisting the Israeli occupation.

"The government punished our villagers for standing firm against the
Israeli occupation and starting the resistance movement in 1983," the mayor
said.

"How could a thief steal a car and get it into the village without being
noticed by the numerous army checkpoints surrounding Brital?" he asked.

In his second term, Ismael stressed that the local municipal government was
trying to push forward with development. "Within its limited resources, the
municipal council is attempting to provide services to compensate for the
government's absence over the decades . We established a local Civil
Defense post hosted on the premises of the newly built Municipal House. In
addition, the council helped establishing a local clinic. We also offer
certain social services which we run in association with the Social Affairs
Ministry, but services are very limited."

The main problem in Brital, says Ismael, is the absence of property
mapping, a basic function of government that prevents real estate transfers
and which deprives the local government of property taxes and leasing fees.

"Officially, the inhabitants do not own their private houses as these are
not registered in official records; thus we cannot collect property fees,"
the mayor said. "Because of the registration problem, all attempts to draw
plans or lay down general guidelines lead nowhere." He said he explained
the problem to the Premier Rafik Hariri and Finance Minister Fouad Siniora.

"Naively, Hariri offered a simple solution to a historical problem; using
the locals' testimonies to confirm the individuals' properties," said the
Mayor. "He forgot the fact that the central authorities had no intention of
solving this nationwide problem. It is not unique to Brital.

"Meanwhile Siniora was surprisingly not interested in our argument that
property registration would generate more revenue for the Treasury," he added.

Adding to the village's problems, Ismael said that residents had tried to
earn their living from agriculture. "But," he said, "the government's
agrarian policies have been very disappointing ... After suffering heavy
losses in successive seasons, the farmers are in debt such that it forces
them to quit the sector ... and they have little in the way of alternatives
and options."