View of the village of Rmeish, in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel. (Credit: AFP archives)
To the west, Israeli tanks have cut off the road linking the village to Aita al-Shaab. To the east, no one dares to use the paths near where the Israeli military and Hezbollah are locked in fierce combat.The villages of southern Lebanon closest to the Israeli border are being wiped off the map one by one. Yet, the 5,000 resolute residents of Rmeish refuse to abandon their homes, despite the very real and psychological sense of entrapment that haunts them.A predominantly Christian village that leans toward the Lebanese Forces (LF) and is openly hostile to Hezbollah, Rmeish serves as a magnified reflection of a country held hostage by a war it did not choose.Now, it finds itself abandoned by the authorities, accused of betrayal by the ‘Resistance,’ and facing its own ordeal under relentless Israeli fire. Read also For animals abandoned...
To the west, Israeli tanks have cut off the road linking the village to Aita al-Shaab. To the east, no one dares to use the paths near where the Israeli military and Hezbollah are locked in fierce combat.The villages of southern Lebanon closest to the Israeli border are being wiped off the map one by one. Yet, the 5,000 resolute residents of Rmeish refuse to abandon their homes, despite the very real and psychological sense of entrapment that haunts them.A predominantly Christian village that leans toward the Lebanese Forces (LF) and is openly hostile to Hezbollah, Rmeish serves as a magnified reflection of a country held hostage by a war it did not choose.Now, it finds itself abandoned by the authorities, accused of betrayal by the ‘Resistance,’ and facing its own ordeal under relentless Israeli fire. Read also For animals...