The Lebanese, especially the people of the south, fear the opening of the front with Israel and the involvement of Hezbollah in a war with bad consequences, which will lead to an exodus similar to what happened in 2006 as a result of the July War.
The factor that caused the explosion of the southern front pushed the residents of the south, the suburbs, and Hezbollah’s areas of influence to try to find safe places for themselves, whether in Keserwan, Jbeil, Matn, or the Mountain, that is, in the Christian or Druze areas. There are many “Shiite” citizens who left their homes in Beirut for safe areas, and they were welcomed by its residents, despite the apathy or tension that has governed relations in the recent period. In parallel, Hezbollah did not hesitate to deliver warnings to the citizens of the south, including Christians, to evacuate their homes if possible and go to the safest areas, just as its members did in Tire, Nabatieh, the adjacent border towns and other areas.
The process of renting homes is concentrated in the Christian and Druze areas, although in varying proportions. All of us know or have helped secure a home and shelter for a southern family who wanted to migrate to Dbayeh, Jbeil, Dekwaneh, or Aley, for example.
In the Dhour Al-Shuwair area, citizens reported to Al-Nahar that members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party asked some of those who own homes in the area but do not live there, to provide accommodation for whoever wants to live in the suburb or the south for some time, in the event of the outbreak of war.
The obsession with entering into war leaves citizens with two choices: either stay and be exposed to the risk of death, or be displaced?
“Our homes are threatened”
The resident of the town of Khiam, Fouad (a pseudonym), speaks to “An-Nahar” about the developments of the prevailing security situation in the region. He says: “Anxiety grips the people of Khiam, fearing a possible escalation. The town has been emptied of its residents, especially after a party affiliated with “Hezbollah” asked the people to evacuate their homes, fearing that the security situation would get worse. From here, Fouad’s family and other families took refuge in Nabatieh and its environs, before they left all of the southern lands in case they felt imminent danger. Fouad describes the current scene to us, “We do not sleep at night and are anxious most of the time.” The residents of tents are today searching for the safest towns on Lebanese territory to take refuge in in times of distress, despite the difficulty of finding Houses for rent for a short period, especially since a number of people do not have the financial capacity to help them find homes to shelter them.”
Fatima, a resident of Al-Dhahira, the most famous town recently, is in a situation no less bad than others. She told Al-Nahar: “I live alone, and I left for Sarafand after my house was damaged by the bombing. I don’t know when I will return. I feel like I am living July 2006 again.” “We are tired.”
From the Markaba area, Malik describes to us the scene of terror among the residents of the border areas, and the great damage that was inflicted on them, which caused a massive displacement movement that left the south “empty and without a soul.” However, it is unfortunate that this is the current difficult situation, accompanied by the high cost of residential rents in the rest of the areas. .
Video documenting the bombing in the town of Markaba
Real estate companies: Demands for rented homes have increased
The head of the Syndicate of Real Estate Brokers, Walid Moussa, told Al-Nahar: “The demand for furnished apartments is very high. It began with the outbreak of tension and skirmishes on the Lebanese-Israeli border, and the more the conflict intensified, the greater the demand.”
He confirms that “90 percent of the owners who want to rent their furnished apartments have rented them, while there is a large number of owners who refuse to rent, even for large sums, for various reasons, including prolonging the war.”
He points out that the demand for apartments is moving from one region to another, starting with the Chouf and reaching the areas of Mount Lebanon, Matn, Keserwan, Jbeil and Batroun, especially since furnished apartments are not available in all regions.
He reveals that there are some people who did not inspect the apartments they wanted, but rather sent money via OMT to reserve them, and from the displaced areas to Baabda, Al-Haddat, Dahiya and others.
For her part, Mabel Kanaan, who works in the real estate field with Confidence, confirms that there is a strong demand for rentals, mostly in Keserwan and Matn, with callers stressing the priority of furnished properties. She added: “The demand for rentals whose duration lasted for approximately two months only increased, while the condition of those accepting to rent their homes was that the period be no less than a year, and so it was. Consequently, we are witnessing a high demand for renting homes.”
Kanaan confirms that communications traffic, which has increased five-fold over the past period to date, confirms the presence of a large exodus from areas witnessing instability to safe Lebanese areas.
Head of the Syndicate of Real Estate Brokers, Walid Musa
2023-10-20 12:17:00
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