Activists gathered at the Bisri Valley in protest against the dam project, blocking contractors from going into the valley to destroy yet another natural feature in Lebanon in the name of a failed system.
The World Bank, from which Lebanon’s Energy Ministry seeks funding, has set a deadline to resume construction of the dam.
It stated that if construction does not take place by July 22nd, that funding for the project would be halted.
To ensure that the project and funding don’t go through, people have set up camp at the beautiful Marj Bisri.
Up to 200 activists, including families with children, are doing what they can to save the Bisri Valley once and for all.
The construction threatens to wipe away another beautiful natural feature in Lebanon. Previous projects for “The National Water Strategy” were a failure.
Likewise, the Bisri Dam shows no real promise of success. And yet the Lebanese government voted not to stop it.
In fact, Prime Minister Hassan Diab just requested another 3 months to restart the construction. He blamed the delay on “newly encountered site conditions” and the “impact of COVID-19 spread.”
While the entire country is in economic collapse, politicians want to spend billions on a project that they can’t even afford, nor does the public agree with, neither will serve its purpose.
The considerable amount of funds is better going to relieve the struggles of Lebanese families or solve the electricity crisis, or any other in the long list of Lebanon’s crises.
Although the World Bank didn’t heed the appeal of the Lebanese people to stop the funding, the activists are still hoping that it can hear the people’s cry to save the precious ancient valley that is deemed a heritage site by the people.
