A recent article in Lebanon by Robert Fisk for the Independent describes what’s happening to Lebanon’s mountains as “The Massacre of the Mountains”. The article tackles the ongoing destruction of mountains in Mayrouba and Tarshish but the issue is a much bigger one and nothing is being done to stop the damage.
Take a look at the new Harissa road all the way from Ain el Rihaneh. They basically cut the mountains, did not build proper side walks and destroyed some of the valleys around. Next thing you know, they are building a couple of residential projects and destroying whole mountains. One guy is building his own villa right inside one of the mountains and before you know it, the area will be filled with buildings, shops and malls.
The sad part is that this issue has attracted little interest, just like any other environment-related topic and no matter how much we shed light on the ongoing massacres, nothing will ever change without proper law enforcement. Fisk wants PM Hariri to stop this destruction, but it’s not up to Hariri. This is a crime all parties are involved in, just like everything else happening to this country.
This is very sad. I wish there is something we could do. I hope someone can think of a way that would allow us to stop this irresponsible and ignorant “massacre”. This environmental crime is happening all over Lebanon and not just in the mentioned areas. If we continue in this path Lebanon would have scarcely any green spaces left and this is a very SERIOUS issue!!! If there is one thing that makes this country worth living in is its green spaces!!! Check out this satellite image of one of the green areas south of Beirut. You can see the crime in the making. They cut roads all over the place which means the next step is to replace all the greenery with buildings. There are definitely people making profit from these projects at the expense of destroying our country! Those who happily elected their members of parliament should see how they are involved (if not directly by approvingly staying silent) in harming our country and reach out to hold them responsible or demand action.
https://www.google.com.lb/maps/@33.6910563,35.4642445,1453m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
Good work Fisk for bringing some light to this issue. Side note though is that Fisk can live in Lebanon for a hundred years but still would not understand. despite him claiming to be atheist hes just an undercover and always seems to have an agenda against Christians