Ministry for the Displaced receives LL10 billion for Chouf village

by **Admin** Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:39 am

The Ministry for the Displaced has received around LL10 billion to continue the repatriation of citizens displaced from the village of Kfarmata in the Chouf region, a statement issued by the ministry said on Monday. Minister for the Displaced Neameh Thome said in the statement that he was "pleased to announce that funds are now available to increase the reparations and compensation available to residents of the mountain areas."

"We believe reconciliation to be one of the more important aspects of our work and our policy agenda," added Thome. "This process will require more than financial efforts in order to turn the black pages of the past.
The Chouf region has played a central role in the history of the Mount Lebanon area, largely because of the coexistence of the Christian and Druze communities alongside one another.

This coexistence, several centuries old, has fluctuated between times of peace and eruptions of violence based on religious differences, economic tensions, and differing political demands. The latest significant clashes took place during the mid-1980s, resulting in the emigration of hundreds of thousands of mostly Christian citizens from the region.

Efforts to resettle or compensate those who emigrated abroad or to other areas of Lebanon have at times stalled, due to a lack of funds or the misuse of those available, but progress is slowly being made.

Addressing the history of the areas in question, Thome said: "This area has witnessed disturbances, massacres and expulsions, and it is with this in mind that we acknowledge the importance of reconciliation in Kfarmata to the broader process in the mountains.