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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
An important characteristic of the Lebanese is their migratory
spirit, which can be traced back to the Phoenicians who were known
for their exploratory expeditions. Substantial emigration occurred
between 1860 and 1914. During this period, approximately 330,000
Lebanese emigrated from what is now Syria and Lebanon. Between 1900
and 1914 the annual rate was about 15,000. The rate dropped sharply
during World War I and immediately thereafter, but resumed a net
annual emigration rate of about 3,000 between 1921 and 1939. Those
who had emigrated by 1932 included 123,397 Maronites, 57,031 Greek
Orthodox, and 26,627 Melkites, but only 36,865 Muslims and Druzes.
Following World War II the rate decreased somewhat until 1975;
thereafter the Civil War caused the emigration of hundreds of
thousands of Lebanese. In much of the pre-Civil War period, the
proportion of Christian Lebanese emigrants to Muslims and Druzes
was as high as six to one.
Rural to urban migration has also been a strong social force
within Lebanon. Villagers have moved to the cities, Beirut in
particular, to seek improved living conditions or to escape the
horrors of war and poverty. The new city dwellers were known for
maintaining ties to their home villages. Because of Lebanon's small
size and short travel distances, many could continue to spend
vacations and weekends in their villages, especially during harvest
time. The newcomer to Beirut usually took up residence near fellow
villagers and coreligionists. In the case of many Shias, the
massive movement to the so-called "belt of misery," which denoted
the southern and, until 1976, the eastern suburbs of Beirut, led to
deep social resentment since affluent Maronite districts were
adjacent to poor Shia districts. In fact, one of the first fronts
of the war in 1975 was that between the Shia neighborhood of Shayah
and the Christian neighborhood of Ayn ar Rummanah. The road that
separated these neighborhoods became known as the
Green Line (see Glossary),
which in the 1980s designated the line separating
Christian East Beirut from predominantly Muslim West Beirut
(see fig. 9,
Beirut During the Civil War).
More than twelve years of turmoil have resulted in considerable
compulsory and voluntary displacement of ordinary people. Hundreds
of thousands of Lebanese left their country, some as permanent
emigrants, others for what they hoped would be temporary exile. How
many left is not known, but Lebanon has the dubious distinction of
being the only developing country which the World Bank believes has
actually witnessed a negative population growth rate in recent
years. Lebanon's inability to hold a proper census, even in time of
peace, means there are only estimates for the country's population.
Whereas the population was thought by World Bank and International
Monetary Fund
(IMF--see Glossary)
sources to have grown by around
70 percent to 2.77 million over the 25 years to 1975, by 1984 the
population was thought to have declined to 2.64 million.
There has been considerable internal migration as well. Again,
it is not possible to quantify this precisely. But the repeated
redrawing of militia lines of control, and the repeated fears of
members of one community living in enclaves dominated by people of
a different religious, national or political persuasion, make it
not unreasonable to suppose that as much as a third of the
country's inhabitants in mid-1987 had moved to new homes since
1975. It might also be argued that as many as half the people have
at some stage moved away from their family homes for a while to
escape the persistent violence. Such developments have had profound
socioeconomic consequences. A disproportionate number of males have
emigrated, while men presumably also account for the majority of
those who have died in the years of conflict. Thus there has been
a steady increase in the number of women entering the workforce and
in female-headed households.
Data as of December 1987
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