Pics From The Village

Click on the picture to see full size.

Survey conducted

Final Presentation

Final Report

Development in Barja

These pictures show the increased number of building in a part of Barja. The difference between the years 2005 and 2010 is striking, and highlights the decrease in size of agricultural land.

In 2005 (Click to enlarge)

In 2010 (Click to enlarge)

July 2006 War

During the 2006 war Barja did not suffer directly from bombing. But still, like most other Lebanese villages, the war had an impact on it. The main effects of the war are the destruction of the 2 main bridges that link Saida city to Barja. Picture 1 shows the destruction of the Awali Bridge and picture two shows the destruction of the Wadi El Zainy bridge.

Pic.1 (Click to enlarge)

Pic. 2 (Click to enlarge)

The second big impact that the war had on Barja was caused by the destruction of the Jiyeh fuel tanks, which caused huge fires for more than 30 days. Beside the destruction of the shore line, the smoke coming out of the fire had a huge impact on the health of the residents and on the environment in the area. Pictures 3 and 4 and the video below show a part of the impact that the fire had on the village. And picture 5 shows the location of the destroyed tanks relative to the village.

Pic. 4 (Click to enlarge)

Pic.3 (Click to enlarge)

 

Pic. 5 (Click to enlarge)

Sibline Query

This video, shot at the edges of Barja village, shows the level of noise and aesthetic damage caused by the Sibline query.

Location where the video was shot. (Click to enlarge)

Queries Problem in Barja: Causes and Effects

Causes of the queries problem:


• Apparently no proper studies conducted before starting excavations
• Owners of the facility no responsible

• Ignore environmental issues
• Ignore rules and regulations
• Ignore people's demands

• Increased need for building material all over Lebanon
• Nature of land in the area

• Large empty lands 
• Geology suitable for these activities
• Land not suitable for agriculture

• People with a huge political powers own and operate the land in the area

• Have the power to escape punishments
• Pressing power to change laws and regulations
• Control over the population in that area

• Area designated as industrial zone
• People in the area used to be poor

• Didn't have the power to object
• New factory provided lots of jobs
• New facility provided support for the surrounding community

Effects of the queries:


• Air pollution

• Harming agricultural lands and crops in nearby and far lands
• Endangering people’s health in the Kazaa
• People spending large sums of money on health care and medications

• Surrounding land in several villages lost most of its value

• Due to aesthetic damage, and destruction of vegetative cover
• Due to noise

• Explosions and drilling noise that occur 24/7 are a great annoyance to the people
• Huge land affected by the quarries is damaged and unusable
• Large amounts of money required to rehabilitate the land
• Underground water and surface water in the vicinity of the query is damages beyond usability
• Land lost its potential

• As a possible touristic site
• Other nearby areas were chosen for building hotels
• Other areas were chosen for agricultural projects

Satellite image of the area (Click to enlarge)  

Bassir query (Click to enlarge)

Sibline query (Click to enlarge)