“Our history is not for sale.” Residents of Beirut’s heritage neighborhoods want restoration, not brokers

The Lebanese capital, Beirut, was famous for its intermingling of architectural styles, as Ottoman, Arab and modern European architecture juxtaposed. Roman and Byzantine buildings were known in the past, from which columns remained underground were discovered in the heart of the city in the early 1960s.

However, this architectural and cultural diversity is threatened after the recent explosion, as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warned that 640 of the heritage buildings were damaged by the explosion that hit Beirut on August 4, 60 of them are at risk of collapse, stressing that they will lead the move International for the reconstruction of the Lebanese capital's heritage.

Monumental buildings

The Lebanese Antiquities Directorate estimated the initial total cost of repair and restoration works for these buildings at no less than $ 300 million, but the head of the Beirut Engineers Syndicate, Jad Thabet, in a previous interview with Al-Jazeera Net, estimated the real financial value of its cost at three times the declared amount, which is no less About $ 900 million. "

During her visit to Beirut after the explosion, the Director-General of the United Nations Organization for Culture, Education and Science "UNESCO" Audrey Azoulay warned that the restoration process would require a long time and hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Without its historical neighborhoods and without its creators, Beirut (is) not Beirut," she said, warning that "the spirit of the city" is at stake. "

After news of tempting dollar offers circulated in light of an economic collapse and the evaporation of the US currency from the markets for months, political and religious references have warned of "crows brokers" croaking over the stricken Beirut neighborhoods.

The Lebanese Ministry of Culture issued a decision prohibiting the sale of damaged real estate until after the completion of the restoration. The Ministry of Finance also banned the sale of real estate of a heritage and historical nature except after obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Culture, "to prevent the exploitation of the current state of the affected areas," and hung papers on the walls of a number of houses that read "My house is not for sale," according to the French agency.

Since the explosion, members of the "Save Beirut Heritage" association have been busy assessing the condition of the buildings, as do dozens of volunteer engineers from the Engineers Syndicate or from major engineering companies and several associations.

"We will not sell"

In his house, which was ravaged by the Beirut explosion, its traditional arched façade and damage to its high ceiling, Bassam Bassila is resisting pressure he says he is being subjected to from the owner of a nearby tower to buy his property, which he inherited from his family.

Residents, engineers, and local officials speak of brokers and investors touring neighborhoods whose buildings were destroyed or cracked by the explosion, and they offer sums of money to their owners, most of them unable to repair them.

Basila, 68, who lives on the first floor of an ancient heritage building in Mono district, east of Beirut, told AFP, “The owner of a property near us who owns a large tower ... is trying to pressure me to sell it the house that I own until he demolishes it” with the aim of “building a tall tower” in its place. .

Basila recounts how he earlier rejected a tempting offer made by the investor to sell his 450-square-meter house. This investor had succeeded in purchasing the ground floor of the same property. "In the end, you will leave," he told him at the time.

Today, according to Basila, the man refuses to "reinforce the basement." "If he does not do that, my house may fall down ... It is supposed to support the building," he adds.

Then he continues angrily, "After the explosion, no one asked about us, as if we were not present."

After more than three weeks after the terrible explosion, a group of volunteer engineers inspected Basila's house, assuring him that he could stay in the house, but repairing it requires time, and no one came from the authorities.

The explosion knocked down beautiful arches that became piles of stones, and caused part of the balcony floor to fall, and to crack the roof of the house, which is more than six meters high.

"I was born in this house and my father was born in it before me ... I cannot live in another house," says Basila, a former photographer who lives today from a taxi. "If aid is available, we can repair, and without it, we cannot."

The districts of Gemmayzah, Mar Mikhael, and Mono include dozens of heritage buildings, which are generally distinguished by their large areas, ornate walls, internal arches, and high ceilings.

Restoration attempts

The head of the Engineers Syndicate, Jad Thabet, told Al-Jazeera Net that comprehensive surveys show that heritage buildings have been damaged in their structure, and starting on Tuesday, August 18, the Beirut municipality began providing real estate numbers about archaeological buildings, in order to conduct a preliminary study to support them, because the restoration of ancient buildings has occurred. It takes a long time, and in the first stage, it needs quick reinforcement, before the onset of winter, so that it does not become in a more dangerous stage. "

Restoration cannot take place randomly and quickly, because it requires careful technical study and huge financial support, according to Thabet, who added, “Depending on the value of external financing allocated for restoration and construction, it is possible to bet that Beirut will return to its previous state, especially since people are in a difficult economic situation and the state is bankrupt. If Lebanon does not obtain external funding, it will not be able to do anything to save its heritage buildings. "

The horror of the catastrophe of the explosion that befell Beirut's heritage buildings is evident in the streets of Gemmayze and its surroundings, which were similar in charm to the old European neighborhoods.

On a tour along its rectangular extension, the effects of damage and destruction to its ancient stone buildings are revealed, on the ceilings, stained crystal glass, arches, wooden windows and ornate balcony railings.

Reconstruction

After the civil war (1975-1990), the private "Solidere" company established by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri took over the reconstruction of the destroyed Beirut Central District.

This sparked widespread criticism regarding the process of buying collective real estate at low prices compared to what became equal to real estate after reconstruction, and many considered that the reconstruction process did not take into account the spirit of the old neighborhoods, but rather was designed to attract investments, tourists and the rich.

The modern district in Downtown Beirut was designed to be neutral and expresses nostalgia for Beirut’s past in the 1960s, the era in which the city was described as the “Paris of the Middle East,” and old buildings were efficiently and carefully restored to the smallest detail, which brought support for this project that blends heritage originality. Artistic modernity.

Nevertheless, the new markets and their famous trademarks "are like American commercial centers instead of the popular Arab markets," according to the description of the Danish academician at Roskilde University Son Haugbull.

In his study entitled "Reviving Memory and Nostalgia in Post-War Lebanon ... Why did the reconstruction of Solidere in Downtown Beirut fail to build consensus and reintegrate Lebanese society", academic Hadi Makarem considered that the neoliberal policies embodied in the "Solidere" region led to a mandate The public tasks and responsibilities of private entities, while the state and public institutions have retreated to the role of facilitating the work of private entities, which has caused negative economic, social and political consequences alike.

At the end of Gemmayzeh Street, Alan Chaul stands in front of a building he owns badly damaged, saying, "All I want is for my house to be as it was."

Then he asks excitedly, "The price of my house is 3 million dollars ... the cost of repairing it is 200 thousand dollars, and I do not have a pound to fix it, what should I do?"

And if selling is the solution? "This is our history, I do not sell it," says Shaul.