Qatari rebuilding effort wins gratitude of battered town

Source: Daily Star, 10-4-2007
By Theodore May
AITA AL-SHAAB: From his bedroom window, Ahmed Srour has the best view in town. The sweeping expanse of the "Israeli" and Lebanese countryside is laid out in impressive fashion before his eyes. Not more than a few dozen meters away, the land drops off into a deep gully before rising up again to a ridge crowned by an "Israeli" military base. From his panoramic vantage point, he gestures toward various hilltops identifying them as either "Israeli" or Lebanese in a casual effort to delineate the meandering border.
Despite the grandeur of all he sees before him, Srour is the victim of a tragic state of affairs. Ankle-deep in rubble, Srour never had such a view before last summer, when the "Israeli" military blew out the southern wall of his bedroom. The room has been cleared of all furnishings - only the odd page of a magazine pokes through the broken concrete blocks that litter his floor as a vague indication that someone had once lived there.
Srour is from Aita al-Shaab, ground zero for the summer 2006 war with "Israel" and one of the towns most devastated in the conflict. His house, which still retains much of its basic structural integrity, has been gutted by what Srour estimates were several "Israeli" shells or missiles.
These days, however, rather than dwelling on the war that laid ruin to their town, the citizens of Aita al-Shaab are focusing on progress and reconstruction. Thanks to a multi-million-dollar commitment by the government of Qatar to rebuild Aita al-Shaab, houses everywhere are springing from the rubble.
Qatar has been one of the most active participants in the reconstruction of South Lebanon. Having pledged $300 million immediately after the war, the Qataris are focusing their efforts on four towns in particular: Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil, Khiam and Ainata. Some 1,000 homes in Aita al-Shaab were damaged or destroyed, Srour`s among them.
The house was built in the 1940s by Srour`s grandfather. Srour and his parents, with whom he shares the house, had begun to add onto it in 2001. The construction had not been completed by the time the bombs started falling in the summer of 2006.
The Srour family lives on the outskirts of town and their house would have been one of the first met by the "Israeli" Army. Srour has many relatives in his neighborhood whose houses shared the same fate.
Srour, like many people from his town, was grateful when the Qataris offered to pay the cost of rebuilding his home. Apart from their generosity, the efficient and straightforward way the Qataris have gone about providing funds has really impressed him. The process began in January, when Srour was informed that engineers would be coming by his house. When they arrived, they measured the dimensions and explained how those measurements translated into funding.
The Qatari government distributes funds based on the unit size of a house. One unit is equal to 130 square meters and pays $40,000. Srour`s house measured 520 square meters, the equivalent of what the Qataris called two double units. Qatar has pledged $158,000.
The Qataris have been making initial payments of $10,000 per unit. Srour, therefore, has received $20,000, or $10,000 for each of his two double units.
The engineers in charge of the rebuilding, he says, will return to see if the initial payment was used responsibly. Then, with approval from the engineers, Srour expects to be given an additional $40,000 installment to do more work.
Srour believes that Qatar is giving more generous sums of money than are necessary to rebuild the houses.
"People are very happy because the Qatari [government] is paying people more than they deserve," he says. "Most people will still have money to buy a car, buy furniture, whatever."
Another aspect that has impressed citizens of the town is the efficiency of Qatar`s government compared to Lebanon`s.
"I get paid. That`s what makes me happy. The Qatari government is more serious. Most of the people here got paid. But in other towns where the Lebanese government is paying, like in Kafra, they haven`t gotten paid yet," said Srour, echoing the sentiments of many.
The steady stream of cash from Qatar seems to suggest a brighter future. If all goes as planned, Ahmed Srour and his family will eventually recapture what their relatives began 60 years ago. And soon, Srour`s view of "Israel" will once again be limited to the confines of a normal window frame.