QAA farmers cut the road to protest against invoices they say correspond to the consumption of Syrian refugees.Photo provided by Sarah Abdallah
Farmers from the area known as Masharia al-Qaa cut off the main road leading to the border village of al-Qaa (Baalbek) on Wednesday to protest against warnings sent to them by Lebanon's state electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL), to pay bills they claim do not correspond to their electricity consumption. According to our correspondent, the protesters are denouncing the fact that EDL has issued notices to farmers claiming the general sum of 20 billion Lebanese pounds, while the farmers argued that this bill corresponds to the consumption of Syrian refugees occupying informal camps in the area. They are therefore asking international organizations to pay the bill.
Bashir Matar, president of al-Qaa municipal council, explained that the official in charge of installing the meters on the farmers' land had promised them that the bills would be paid by an organization and that they would not be held responsible. He added that following an agreement with EDL, these meters were installed on the roads and not inside the farmers' land. He added that the Syrians had been reassured that their bills would be settled by a third-party payer, which had pushed up the amount owed, which for nine tents alone stood at 137 million Lebanese pounds.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, EDL reiterated that all Syrian displaced persons were obliged to "pay all amounts due and pay" their bills, in return for using electricity. EDL warned against the "illegal" use of electricity and "non-payment" of dues, recalling that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had described such acts as "breaches of the law, generating sanctions for their perpetrators," such as "the cutting off of power or the payment of penalties."