So I did not go to (occupied) South Lebanon, on Israel side. Sorry if I was not clear. But I maintain my comments about conversations I had. In fact, most of the villages have been totally destroyed and had been replaced by lots of ugly concrete 3/4 floor villas built by returnees from abroad who made money in all parts of the world. That was really an ugly sight.
I remember a market place in Tebnine where Hezbollah suporters were selling key holders / stickers with the Hez. flag, pamphlets related to the Jihad etc, and there were hezbollah posters pretty much all over the place BUT I was told by locals that there was pretty much freedom of cult since christians were living in the village and were not bothered in any way.
Women were not wearing anything more than traditional wear for old ladies and modern wear for younger / married women. The person I stayed at was managing a small restaurant where his wife worked and she was dressed normally during the day, only when I came to their place she wore a veil and long sleeves but that was it. Whatever, I did not feel like the population was fundamentalists, plus most of them (esp in the more damaged villages) were returnees bringing back a lot of money, so I suppose Hezbollah is willing to be nice to them.
>> Same when I talked to people in the Baalbek area, they all agree that
>> Hezbollah is doing a necessary job,
> Baalbek was the birthplace of Hezbollah in Lebanon. opinion might be different
> in the traditional PLO-leftist zones.
Possible, but the person who told me that was a female medical doctor of Druze background whose Husband family had a son (my ex-boss) in the communist militias (the 'funny thing' is that Hezbollah negociated with his family that there would be no vendetta if he got killed by them...) So I suppose she had no interest in supporting Hez if she did not feel like they were really doing something good. She was esp comparing their action to the lack of investment from the gvt (at the time, the prime was from Tripoli, I think, and most of the investment were said to be aimed at tourist/banking facilities on the coast, nothing in the Bekaa where he had no political support).
> The Bekaa was for a long time one of the leading producers of hash and heroin
> in the world but I've read that production has ended completely, due to
> eradiction programs under Syrian control. Do the Syrians still have a large
> presence there? If the area remains under Hezbollah control, the needed
> investment may come from Iran or even Saudi Arabia.
Here is a quote from something I wrote for my local newsletter :
>> Up North in Chtaura I entered the Bekaa Valley. Chtaura is basicaly a
>> traffic hub between Lebanon and Syria. I was now in the Syrian Army
>> controled area (even though it was hard to tell the difference between the
>> Syrian Army and the Lebanese Army). Because I look Lebanese to the Syrians
>> and Syrian to the Lebaneses, I was checked at all the army points.
>From what I heard (from a NZ guy who had been living in Damascus for 6
years) Syria was pretty much everywhere and 'controled' Hez activity to
quite an extended point.
That's pretty much all I can said to comment your original post. I'd like to add that Lebanon is a trully beautiful country, and I'd really like to be in that area for a while after I am done with Japan...
Jean Christophe Helary