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Last update - 11:23 23/10/2009
After Lebanon war devastation, Hezbollah suburb now booming
By The Associated Press
Tags: second lebanon war 

Dahiyah - meaning the suburb in Arabic - is the Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily targeted by Israel during its war with the militant Shiite group during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The bombardment leveled Hezbollah's headquarters as well as entire blocks across the neighborhood.

Now, the sprawling Shiite suburb of south Beirut has made a comeback after the destruction from the 2006 fighting, a symbol of the community's resilience at a time when its political patron, Hezbollah, is seeking a greater voice in Lebanon's government.

Dozens of newly built or repaired apartment blocs stand in place of those destroyed, the result of a reconstruction program led by Hezbollah, which receives millions of dollars a year in aid from its ally Iran.
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Property prices are soaring. The district's main streets are congested bumper-to-bumper with cars, while uniformed Hezbollah members direct traffic. Commerce is thriving, restaurants are packed.

"Dahiyah will be more beautiful than it was before," read billboards at the construction sites that remain.

Beyond the district's ties to Hezbollah, Dahiyah is a source of pride for Lebanon's Shiites. For them, it exemplifies how the community has shaken off years of discrimination at the hands of the country's traditional powerbrokers - Christians and Sunni Muslims - and has established itself as a powerful political force.

Dahiyah literally brought Shiites closer to the center of power: It grew from nearly nothing over 30 years to become a densely packed region of apartment towers and homes for 700,000 Shiites on the southern doorstep of Beirut, historically a mainly Christian and Sunni city.

"In Beirut, people are arrogant and think the world of themselves," said Nagat Gradah, a bookstore employee in the district who, like many of its residents, migrated from Lebanon's mainly Shiite south. "But Dahiyah? It's very special."

Dahiyah's revival comes as Hezbollah is seeking to bolster its credentials as a mainstream political power.

For months, it has been in negotiations with Sunni-led pro-Western parties over the creation of a new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies would have a sizable role. The negotiations have been deadlocked, however, in a dispute over who will get which positions, fueled by suspicions in the pro-Western bloc that Hezbollah and its allies will seek to impose Syria's and Iran's agenda in the deeply divided nation.

Hezbollah is strongly backed by Syria and Iran, and it touts a powerful armed guerrilla force. But the movement also runs an extensive social welfare network and is the main political representative for Lebanon's Shiites, who make up about a third of the country's population of 4 million.

Dahiyah itself may be a sign that Shiite power is not necessarily an omen of Lebanon's "Iranization" as Hezbollah's opponents fear.

Despite its undisputed lock on Dahiyah, Hezbollah has not tried to enforce its strict interpretation of Islamic teachings in the district, a show of pragmatism perhaps aimed at casting doubt on the extremist tag critics slap on the group and increasing its appeal to secular Shiites and other sectarian groups.

Billboards advertising women's couture compete for space with billboards of bearded clerics and images of the young Hezbollah guerrillas who died fighting Israel over the years.

Women in tight pants and low-cut tops shop at boutiques with names like Pascale and La Verna where bikinis, miniskirts and hot shorts are on display in windows - much like in the more liberal districts of Beirut.

"Here in Dahiyah, we have managed to have resistance, freedom and fashion all at the same place," said Hussein al-Zein, a 40-year-old resident who runs a women's casual wear store.

"People think Lebanon is either about fighting Israel or whoring with nothing in between. In Dahiyah, we have freedom, but it has boundaries," he said at his store.

That said, the majority of women in Dahiyah dress conservatively in Islamic headscarves in public. There are no bars or liquor stores and certainly no nightclubs. European nonalcoholic beer ads in the streets don't mention the word beer, using instead the term barley drink.

Hanein Estiatieh, a graphic design student, says she has no worries about going out in jeans and a tight top in Dahiyah, her birthplace.

"I will cover up only when I marry," declares the 18-year-old.

"I don't mind her not covering up," said Aliyah Sohoura, daughter of the owner of the women's clothes store where Estiatieh works. "But I pray for her to see the light of faith," added Sohoura, who wore a headscarf and a bulky coat. The two giggled.

Dahiyah was not always a Shiite stronghold. It was once an area of small villages south of Beirut that were home to Christians and some middle-class Shiites. During Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, tens of thousands of Shiites poured into the area from the impoverished, more rural south and east to flee fighting. The Christians largely moved out, though pockets remain.

Beirut itself is sharply divided between Sunni and Christian districts, with very few mixed areas. In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Israel almost exclusively targeted Dahiyah and Shiite areas in the south and east, while largely steering clear of Sunni and Christian regions - which in turn fed distrust between the sects.

In May last year, sectarian tensions turned violent when Hezbollah fighters clashed with Sunni rivals and briefly seized Sunni districts at the height of a political dispute with the U.S.-backed government. Fistfights and stone-throwing have broken out occasionally since between youths from Dahiyah and adjacent Sunni districts.

Shiites' sense of solidarity in Dahiyah is reinforced by what residents see as neglect from the central government. The district gets only 12 hours of city electricity a day, compared to 19 in Beirut. Authorities blame large-scale power in Dahiyah, while residents call it discrimination.

Hezbollah handles security in the district, managing traffic and even handling crime cases like drug offenses. The group says it has no choice, saying central authorities ignore the area.

"We don't try to be a substitute for the state but we just try and come up with solutions," said Hezbollah official Ghassan Darwish. "We cannot replace the government, even if we tried".
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  1.   Beirut 12:48  |  Beiruti 23/10/09
  2.   Hezbollah`s lost ideological control 13:30  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 23/10/09
  3.   Enjoy it while you can Beiruti 13:34  |  Peter Williams 23/10/09
  4.   Beiruti 14:21  |  Arnold 23/10/09
  5.   #1 - Beiruti 15:21  |  Eric 23/10/09
  6.   Eric. Think about it. 16:21  |  jez 23/10/09
  7.   To Eric # 5 16:30  |  Gays in Lebanon 23/10/09
  8.   hezb0llah state 17:04  |  zoe 23/10/09
  9.   Amongst other things this article 17:26  |  Victor 23/10/09
  10.   Another Israel war crime, Lebanon 17:53  |  Dav 23/10/09
  11.   To Beiruti 18:21  |  Tel Avivi 23/10/09
  12.   to # 1 18:30  |  James 23/10/09
  13.   If Hezbollah returns 18:36  |  Israeli 23/10/09
  14.   Eric i brt you are proud of gay pride..a nation of degenerates 18:42  |  so please 23/10/09
  15.   Prosperity 18:42  |  Pieboy 23/10/09
  16.   why so fast 18:50  |  alan 23/10/09
  17.   Beruiti 19:10  |  Mickey 23/10/09
  18.   Dhahia Revival 19:34  |  Abbas 23/10/09
  19.   # Eric 19:47  |  Mimmi 23/10/09
  20.   I`m delighted 19:54  |  Brad 23/10/09
  21.   HZB Will Target T.A. if Suburbs Are Targeted Again By Israel ... 20:46  |  Monitor 23/10/09
  22.   "Hezbollah handles security in the district" 21:49  |  fo realz 23/10/09
  23.   A Resilient People 23:47  |  American Patriot 23/10/09
  24.   #1 - That`s why they bomb it 04:23  |  Candida 24/10/09
  25.   To #2 and #4: Hezbollah became popular because of israeli crimes 05:53  |  christian pali 24/10/09
  26.   World rushed to rebuild Lebanon 06:34  |  binny 24/10/09
  27.   ....and who exactly won the war? 09:12  |  Palestinian Brit 24/10/09
  28.   I remember Israel trying to lay siege to Lebanon 14:02  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/09
  29.   Linthwaite, Lebanese export is just immigration 14:33  |  like it is 24/10/09
  30.   We live only once 14:36  |  Al 24/10/09
  31.   Tel Avivi 15:21  |  northern neighbor 24/10/09
  32.   Its all free and toerant as long as Hezbo thugs aprove 15:35  |  Dan 24/10/09
  33.   #27 like it is 15:41  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/09
  34.   #25 - Palestinian Brit 16:20  |  Maurice 24/10/09
  35.   Beirut #1 16:31  |  arik 24/10/09
  36.   Iran to support Israel 17:30  |  charro 24/10/09
  37.   a little dream 17:55  |  ClearCut 24/10/09
  38.   Lebanon used to be the Switzerland of the M.E. 19:08  |  Benjamina 24/10/09
  39.   When Can We Move In 19:26  |  Oppresed Palestinian 24/10/09
  40.   Linthwaite that what I call a democracy 00:16  |  like it is 25/10/09
  41.   Christian in Ramallah (#23) 04:47  |  Steve of Mevaserret 25/10/09
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