Thousands of forcibly displaced residents returned to southern Lebanon on Friday, April 17, the first day of the truce. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Love for the land has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. They defied every prohibition under a truce hanging by a thread. South Lebanon continues to be bombarded. The Israeli army has already warned residents not to venture beyond the Litani River. The Lebanese Army formally advised against returning to villages in certain areas, as did Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri and, above all, so did Hezbollah. Turning a deaf ear, many threw themselves into traffic jams that began just a few kilometers before Saida, heading back to the districts of Nabatieh, Sour and Bint Jbeil. Others are returning to the southern suburbs of Beirut, nearly deserted for over a month.This is the paradox of this return: no one knows whether the 10-day truce will hold, whether their house is still standing, whether the roads will remain...
Love for the land has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. They defied every prohibition under a truce hanging by a thread. South Lebanon continues to be bombarded. The Israeli army has already warned residents not to venture beyond the Litani River. The Lebanese Army formally advised against returning to villages in certain areas, as did Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri and, above all, so did Hezbollah. Turning a deaf ear, many threw themselves into traffic jams that began just a few kilometers before Saida, heading back to the districts of Nabatieh, Sour and Bint Jbeil. Others are returning to the southern suburbs of Beirut, nearly deserted for over a month.This is the paradox of this return: no one knows whether the 10-day truce will hold, whether their house is still standing, whether the roads will...
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