photo- Hussein Jaradi moves between the cells of the bees that he raises in his humiliation in the town of Ma’ra, to spend Tire in southern Lebanon, inspecting each cell carefully, after a forced absence that lasted for more than two months due to the intensification of the recent Israeli war on Lebanon.
The return was not easy, as it was found, and it was ruined from it, and the bees were wilt or left, and the cells died or weakened by forced neglect and direct and indirect destruction.
This distance from the dissolution was not transient, but rather heavy losses, as the bees need a precise weekly care that includes the provision of the necessary medicines and supplementary nutrition to maintain the health of cells and ensure their reproduction.
The absence of this care led to the death of a large number of cells, and the weakening of the remainder of them, which doubled the burdens on the breeders after the end of the bombing.
Damage
Jaradi talks to “Al -Jazeera Net” about the damage to the bee sector in southern Lebanon, noting that the beacons were left without follow -up throughout the war, and their educators were unable to secure the necessary treatment during the fall season, specifically between October and November.
This time is crucial to strengthening cells before the winter, but this forced neglect, in addition to the absence of nutrition that the educator usually provides, led to the weak bees and the decline in its ability to resist.
Jaradi adds that the Israeli bombing did not only cause direct damage, but that the heavy smells resulting from gunpowder and smoke spread in the atmosphere negatively affected the bees and led to his death. Even the cells that were not directly injured by the bombing were affected by the pollution resulting from the war, which lost the beekeepers dozens of kirban not only in the south, but in other parts of separate from Lebanon.
According to a joint report issued by the World Bank and the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon, the number of bees kafran, which was completely destroyed by the recent Israeli bombing, amounted to about 5 thousand cows, while the value of the required compensation was estimated at about 800 thousand dollars, which reflects the scale of the catastrophe caused to this vital sector.
From the confrontation line
In the town of Jannata, located in the Tire district, Hassan Trad was severely damaged by an Israeli raid targeting an area only 50 meters from the Al -Qafran site.
Tarad says in his interview with “Al -Jazeera Net” that the bombing of the cells directly caused the burning and destruction of a number of them due to shrapnel, while other cells were damaged by thick smoke and suffocating smells, which prompted the queens and bees to escape, to leave the cells empty or semi -dead.
As for Hussein Qafrani, the beekeeper from the neighboring town of Badias, he also suffered great losses as a result of the raids. In his speech to Al -Jazeera Net, he confirms that the repeated shelling and the accompanying noise caused the escape and death of a large number of bees, as he lost about 25 cells out of the total cells, while the remaining cells and found them are in a deteriorating health condition and needed intensive treatment and care to restore their activity.
Insist on restoration
The beekeepers did not wait for the intervention of the concerned authorities or the arrival of the evaluation teams to estimate the damage, but rather rushed themselves to trying to restore what the war left. They started reforming the damaged wiping, and creating new cells in compensation for those that were lost, uniting the harsh reality with individual efforts and collective will.
Hussein Jaradi asserts that it is lucky and retained a small number of kffrin, he was able to revitalize it as he did, explaining: “Now I try to make an artificial reproduction of cells in order to restore the productive capacity that I had before the war.”
As for the one who lost all its cells, he started from scratch by buying new cells to resume his work, because this profession is the main source of his livelihood and cannot be abandoned, no matter how difficult the difficulties are.
Jaradi stresses that the beekeeping sector in Lebanon is able to advance again, provided that the necessary support from the official authorities is provided by providing beehives or providing financial aid that enables the beekeepers to restore their activities.
In turn, Hassan Trad continued to work with the remaining cells, despite its extreme weakness, explaining that he resorted to strengthening them through nutrition and treatment, and succeeded in restoring between 35 to 40 new bee units so far, and aspires to restore his full production.
Economic importance
Beekeeping is no longer just a hobby as it was in the past, but rather turned into a major source of income for thousands of families in southern Lebanon, especially in light of the deterioration of the economic situation in the country since late 2019.
Today’s beekeeper depends entirely or partially on honey and other bee products to secure their livelihood, and selling them in local markets is a vital income for them.
Jaradi explains that “thousands of families in the south are directly dependent on bees,” noting that there are totally full -time beings for this work, as they constitute their primary income, in addition to the great environmental benefits offered by bees through pollinating crops, especially in citrus orchards and vegetable seasons, which supports the agricultural economy in the south and Lebanon in general.
As for Qafrani, he sees that his beast has become his only source of livelihood after his previous work in the field of construction, and insists on continuing the profession despite the losses, because he does not have another alternative to securing a fixed income.
While Trad points out that the benefits of beekeeping are not limited to the economic side, but also include the deep environmental impact of bees in preserving the natural balance through the vaccination process.
Return from ash
Despite the destruction left by the war, beekeepers did not surrender in the south, but rather they faced the reality and determination. They returned to their burningas to restore life to it, because they realize that the bees are not only a source of livelihood, but also part of the life cycle that they refuse to break under the bombing.
One of them says: “We may burn like our cells, but we do not die, because life begins again … from one cell.”
