(3 Jun 2024)
LEBANON AGRICULTURE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
LENGTH: 2:52
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Southern Lebanon – 26 May 2024
1. Banana orchard that is also planted with watermelon
2. Watermelon still attached to plant
3. Various of workers picking up watermelons in al-Amriyah field in the town of Qlaileh
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Saleh, farmer:
"We worked this year, and farming was normal just like any other year. Whether it was in al-Bayada, al-Amriyah here, or in Naqoura, where we have friends who planted and harvested (watermelon). Thankfully, the war did not affect the produce."
5. Various of workers carrying watermelons on their shoulders and walking towards truck
6. SOUNBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Saleh, farmer:
"As long as we are on our land, there is certainly someone protecting us. This is why we work freely and calmly, so do the workers, as you can see."
7. Farmers picking ripe watermelons
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Omar Khalaf, Syrian working in watermelon field:
"Despite the circumstances, things are normal and we are harvesting watermelons. As long as the people of this land are here and putting their efforts into it, we stand firm with them in this work. This is our work, it is our livelihood."
9. Various of workers carrying watermelons and putting them in back of truck
10. SOUNBITE (Arabic) Mohsen Matar, wholesale fruit trader:
"Despite the conditions of war, we continue. I have been harvesting watermelons for four or five years from all the villages in the Naqoura area. Thank God, things are going well. No war or shelling can affect us. We harvest, plant, and do as we please."
11. Various of workers arranging watermelons loaded onto truck
STORYLINE:
Watermelon farmers in southern Lebanon defied the odds and harvested their crop this year despite the almost daily fighting along their country’s border with Israel.
Farmers in the south diligently picked ripe watermelons under the scorching sun.
They are undeterred by the exchanges that the Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing since October.
"Farming was normal just like any other year," said Mohammad Saleh, a farmer.
Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the Lebanon-Israel border a day after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7.
Since then, tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border.
"The war did not affect the produce," Saleh said, adding that farmers are calm and composed.
Over the past seven months, more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon most of them fighters but they also include more than 70 civilians and noncombatants.
In Israel, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed since October.
Omar Khalaf, a Syrian working in the watermelon fields in southern Lebanon, said there has been a sense of normalcy among farmers despite the adversity.
"As long as the people of this land are here and putting their efforts into it, we stand firm with them," he added.
Farmers stacked the freshly picked watermelons onto the back of a truck, before the fruit is taken on a journey that would bring it to consumers.
"No war or shelling can affect us. We harvest, plant, and do as we please," said wholesale fruit trader Mohsen Matar.
AP video shot by Mohammad Zanaty
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/61b5ea3a17274841a224d1340bb08b18
