Periphery — the outer limits, the edge of an area
When the Lebanese entity is born, the South of Lebanon is on the periphery of both the idea of Lebanon & then its State. In 1920, the South is still a peripheral space, in every sense of the term & not only territorial.
At the time, the South is mainly a compilation of underdeveloped rural areas, distant from the political & economic centre of the country. The Southern community is composed of a large majority of peasants & is ‘represented’ by families of Shiite feudal leaders such as the Hamadeh, El Assa’ad & Osseiran families — wealthy families in a country where 50% of the population holds 18% of the national income in 1958, & 4% holds 33%. The average income in Beirut is 5 times higher than in the South.
Between the 1950s & 1970s, Lebanon is said to be the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’. Many Lebanese reminisce, naively, this title.
On the other hand, by 1971, the South has the fewest paved roads per capita & per acre. Running water is lacking in all towns & villages in the South. Electricity is mostly inoperative. Sewers exist only in the major cities. Outside, telephones are absent except for a manual booth which is usually out of order. Doctors visit the Southern villages once a week or even once a month. Hospitals & pharmacies are only found in big towns. Elementary education is provided in an old insalubrious house abandoned by the village municipality.
In 1974, the South receives less than 0.7% of the State budget — 0.7% while the South is home to 20% of the Lebanese population at the time. 50% of the Southern community is not educated, compared to 30% of the rest of the population.
