Since the end of last year Lebanon has been paralyzed
by a political and economic crisis.
The people of this country are no strangers to destruction...
Welcome back to another day here in Beirut.
If you saw the last video in Tripoli, it was quite intense,
we were caught in basically the middle of people firing off weapons
in all directions in the city there.
But today we are heading to the Syrian border.
So we're going to meet some people there, hear their story
but also on the way we're going to be going through some mountains,
some villages...
So we'll meet some people on the way as well
and then we will arrive at the Syrian border.
See what the day holds.
You can't really predict much in this country,
things kind of just happen in a split second.
So let's get on the road.
♪♪♪
Okay. So we've driven for an hour or so,
we've arrived in this mountainous region,
I think we're sitting around maybe 1200 meters above sea level
and it's very Mediterranean vibes, you know?
You could be in Cyprus, you could be in in parts of Italy,
you've got the grape vines,
there's olive trees around.
So we're on the way to the Syrian border,
so we're crossing this mountain pass.
We've stopped at a little local vegetable and fruit store
meeting a local old man here
and just to get a feeling for what's life.
Out of the bigger cities up in these more rural parts of Lebanon.
- Yeah, we've got some apples as well. - Okay.
// Native language //
Okay. So we're here with Badih again,
my main man in Lebanon who's keeping me safe,
- looking after me... - Safe? Nice word.
IN THE LAST VIDEO...
- So we've met a local fruit and vegetable vendor here.
- How is life out here in the rural areas?
- Is it a nice standard of living here?
// Native language //
Economically and the situation as all of Lebanon it's not very good
but he has to carry on, has to work
and this is how they're keeping alive, just... You know...
He's selling this fruits and vegetables.
- So how do you see the future?
Do you think things are going to become much more difficult?
Or you think that it's going to be manageable?
// Native language //
Unfortunately no.
He's laughing but he's not...
// Native language //
Politically he's saying he has no hope for tomorrow,
no hope of...
If the current politics persist and continue
their acting as they're doing right now...
It doesn't seem things solutions are coming very soon,
unless the leader put in a proper solution
and work hard for it
but he doesn't seem to be very optimistic about what's happening.
And that's the way it is.
- Would you say that the situation in these rural areas
is more hopeful and more stable than in cities such like Beirut, Tripoli...?
// Native language //
In rural areas like this villages, small communities,
everyone knows each other, they support each other,
they complete one another.
It's more calm in these areas rather than the capital Beirut
or bigger cities where people don't know each other much
and everyone cares for himself,
here they take care of each other.
- Although there's very difficult times at the moment
and the future is quite uncertain.
You still seem to be a fairly cheered up man
and you've got a smile on your face.
So would you call yourself generally a happy man?
// Native language //
If I want to cry or want to whip,
I will benefit nothing.
So I have to keep my smile, I have to stay positive
and I'm a faithful person,
and I have to bear with it, and to live my days...
And I have to stay positive.
That's...
That's really impressive.
// Native language //
So you got a big bag of grapes and apples...
And how much the bag cost?
6000 LBP, 4000 LBP...
So both of them 10,000 LBP.
One kilo of apples, fresh apples,
and one kilo of grapes that are originally planted here.
♪♪♪
Okay. So we've just pulled off the main road,
you see that big bridge there,
that's actually the highest bridge in the middle east.
Behind me you can see a mountain range in the distance,
that's basically the border of Syria,
the natural border where the hill is.
So on the other side of that hill you have Damascus,
this whole valley is littered with refugee camps.
So we're going to drive down this valley,
we're going to into the refugee camps, meet the people.
There's over a million Syrians in Lebanon at the moment refugees.
Behind me to my right is Palestine...
So it's a heated area,
there's also Palestinians in this valley as well.
So we're going to continue down this valley to the border.
♪♪♪
So this is the Syrian border here.
We're just turning around and getting it.
Okay. So we're just down from the Syrian border now,
literally just behind me would be Syria,
a few kilometers that way.
But here we are at a refugee camp here,
you can see how the houses are built,
you'll see them soon, we'll go inside...
Just reinforcing the fact that there's a million refugees,
Syrian refugees here in Lebanon.
The conditions here are quite extreme,
you have such a difference in the weather.
So in summer you're hitting very high temperatures, you know?
40 degrees Celsius.
In winter you're hitting -11 ºC
and this whole place in winter, which is coming now,
turns to a huge swamp.
You can see these houses,
they're not very well insulated...
So there's a huge problem, not only with getting food but for staying warm.
So there's some kids over here.
// Native language //
- Hi. - Hi!
So i think we're going to go and meet a family now.
// Native language //
- What's your name? - My name is Yun.
- You're from Syria? - Yeah.
- Syria? - Yeah.
- What's your name? - Sadid.
- Sadid? Nice to meet you.
// Native language //
- Okay. So we've come into the camps and we've met a lovely lady... Sikta?
- 85 year old.
- How long have you lived in this camp?
// Native language //
I've been here for the past 8 years.
- And why did you leave Syria?
// Native language //
They ran for their lives, to seek safety
because of the war, because of the conflict that happened,
it became very dangerous where they were living
and they managed somehow to come to Lebanon,
and they came right away to this camp.
She's also mentioning: Look, look at it it's warn out...
really in a very bad condition.
When it rains it leaks massively, heavily inside the camp.
- So you say it was very dangerous in Syria and you had to flee.
What kind of things were you seeing on a daily basis?
// Native language //
They used to own a land and a house that they built,
they were working with agriculture, they were generating income,
they were living decently with the whole family...
It was not their fault that two parties started fighting each other where they're living,
they witnessed bombs shelling on them,
aircrafts, shooting, killing, on daily basis.
I didn't have any other choice either than to run out,
they didn't even have the chance to bring in any clothes, any money, whatever...
They left their houses, they left everything, run away for their lives.
// Native language //
She's got an illness, she's got a heart disease,
she had to do a surgery, three veins in her heart,
they had to collect money from everywhere
for her to cover part of her surgery but she's still ill,
there's no income for them,
they're not generating an income,
they're only 100% relying on what donations are coming for them.
So what people that could donate to them
and this is how they're surviving on a daily basis, day by day.
- Do you think that you'll ever go back?
You'll be able to go back to Syria?
// Native language //
She hopes this from the bottom of her heart
because it's her home, she spent all her life there.
If today they said it's secured for her to go back
she would right away just go back.
- What future do you see for the children here?
// Native language //
She would love them to be well educated,
to go back safely to their homes and rebuild their own home,
stand again and continue to have a brighter future.
She's praying that this will happen very soon.
- In your home what are you most of need?
// Native language //
The basic need that they're looking on a daily basis for them is food,
she's mentioning food to feed their children,
this is their daily challenge, the tents are worth out and, of course,
we're coming into winter, and winter that means they need to stay warm,
blankets or heating oil, or clothing.
Lots of complications...
Normal people they just cannot imagine how complicated life is here.
Me personally I've been here like...
I've been working with Syrian families for the past 9 years
and i cannot understand,
I cannot put my feet in their shoes,
I cannot stand living one night in a tent like this.
I just can't.
So people living there for 8, 7 years, 9 years,
bearing this conditions on a daily basis...
It's really harsh and hard for human beings to experience this,
especially they are running away from war
seeking security for their lives and the lives of their children, and grandchildren.
So the lovely lady setter that we just spoke to
has invited us into her home which is very kind of her.
So let's have a look and see how her and her family are living.
So you can see the walls are coming apart here and...
That's right outside.
See the roof, that's the only insulation,
imagine in -11 ºC.
They keep it very tidy but...
- Water... - From sleet...
- Water... - I don't...
- Water coming. - Water or fire?
- Fire, yes...
- You had a fire here. - Fire, yes.
So you can imagine, it gets very cold
and here in winter when the floor is flooding
and the roof's leaking and it's -11 ºC outside.
- Kitchen? - Kitchen.
Such a lovely lady.
Here is the kitchen.
Got some aubergine eggplant there.
- More fire?
- Fire from cooker?
- Yes. - Okay.
Obviously they keep these homes in great shape for what they have,
it's very organized, they respect their home.
You know, there's order to it
but the only help they get here is from donations from NGOs, so...
They're solely reliant on that.
// Native language //
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
You can just see the smile on that lady's face
and how she welcomed me into her home
after everything that they've been through
and still got that huge smile.
I mean, that's...
Touching.
Obviously, you know...
Somebody smiling isn't a representation of the hell that they sometimes face on a daily basis
but just that they have the strength and the energy to show that
to somebody in the house
I think it speaks a lot about the people.
So on this trip I’m working with "Human Appeal",
which is a charity that supplies food packs to families like we've just met.
I'm going to leave some information below, a link.
10 USD supplies a family of four with food for a week
We're talking about things like lentils, rice, oil, dried foods...
You know, things that fill the stomach and are somewhat nutritious,
these are the things that these families desperately need, right?
Because without donations and these organizations like Human Appeal
helping out in camps like this,
this specific one and others all along the valley here,
and in other places in Lebanon,
they literally do not have the means to feed themselves,
let alone their children.
So i can't stress enough how much 10 USD will go,
you're buying food for a family for a week.
So I think that's quite profound.
- Hello! - Hello!
You want photo?
Several days after my visit to this camp, it flooded...
- How high it is?
Let's see on my left this camp it's in middle of a swamp
and we are literally walking through a swamp now,
drive it through swamp.
This is real life for lots of people.
This is a playground,
this is a playground for the children.
Obviously I'll keep emphasizing that it's a hard time for everybody,
so if you don't have the money to donate I'm not going to guilt-trip you into it,
I know that the financial strain all over the world on everybody because of this pandemic
I don't take it lightly.
So only if you have the extra money to help out
and if you want to...
Then I’m going to leave a link below and feel free.
Bye, bye...
♪♪♪
Okay. So Badih, we're at the Syrian border here, right?
Lebanese Syria border.
The mountains basically divide Syria on that side
and here is Lebanon.
So this was kind of the goal for all the Syrians fleeing from the wars
And now this whole valley is absolutely littered with refugee camps,
you can see them behind here, behind here.
Definitely, they're everywhere.
They're living in harsh conditions
but for them it's better than other going back
because their homes are still insecure
or totally wiped out, totally damaged...
So there's nothing to go back for.
They started 2011 and... Yeah, 2012 - 2013,
it was like massive immigration.
Women, children, families were fleeing over these hills at night
from absolute terror on the other side, with no choice.
Definitely, we could hear the bombing,
we could hear the sounds of bombs and shooting...
- Coming from Syria. - Coming from Syria,
from those hills or behind those hills, we didn't know where
but we could hear them and we could feel them.
These people had no other choice but to run
otherwise they would have died.
If you put yourself in their position and there's bombing around you...
Where would you go?
You would find that the nearest place
or whatever is available for you to run away just to stay alive
and never thinking where you're going, with whom,
where you're gonna end up.
This is their situation,
They came like in hundreds and thousands, all at a time.
♪♪♪