After a long history of threatening families displaced by the Lebanese Civil War with eviction from a residential building in Bir Hassan under the pretext of being “illegal occupants,” and following failed negotiations, the owners have adopted a new strategy. They claimed the building was at risk of collapse, using this as justification to forcibly evict the residents under the guise of ensuring their safety. The eviction was carried out on Friday, December 13, based on an order issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Mount Lebanon.
The eviction happened in the presence of influential political party members in the area and was accompanied by the detention of six residents by security forces and the army after they resisted the forced eviction. The residents, 17-18 families, reported to Public Works Studio’s “Housing Monitor” that the eviction occurred shortly after they had already been forcibly displaced during the recent Israeli war, during which they lost family members.
The authorities failed to adhere to any of the proper procedures for assessing buildings at risk of collapse, implementing evacuation measures, or ensuring housing rights.
This text examines how people’s rights were violated and violence was inflicted through manipulation of regulations and laws, leveraging political influence to serve private interests. It also sheds light on how displaced individuals remain, even more than three decades after the end of the civil war, stigmatized as “illegal” while being neglected and left to the whims of powerful politicians, the pressures of the real estate market, and the interests of developers, contractors, and investors.
Read the full field watch in Arabic.
In Bir Hassan, Eviction After Displacement, Under the Pressure of Real Estate Development, and the Pretext of Protecting the Safety of Residents
21/12/2024
