SHWEIR, LEBANON - MASTER
PLAN
Shweir has inadequate infrastructure to meet current needs & NO
Master Plan!
April 1, 2009 - Latest update from
Municipality - Complaint to Industry Minister + 2 violation notices
We would appreciate if someone would summarize or
translate these docs to English.
In an effort to keep the people of Shweir informed,
Municipality provided these 5 Documents below on March 17, 2009
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Positive response
from Ministry of Environment: Shweir Beauty must be saved > > or click on
link:
http://www.shweir.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=594
Master
Plan update: Decision 439 of the Directorate General of Antiquities dated
February 3, 2009 and based on the report of architects and technicians appointed
by the Directorate itself. These are steps in the right direction for
Shweir's Future. اعتدنا مشاركتكم بكل ما يتعلق
بالمخطط التوجيهي العام لبلدتي الشوير وعين السنديانة؛
ومن هذا المنطلق ها نحن ننشر لكم قرار المديرية العامة للآثار عدد 439 المبني على
تقرير المهندسين والفنيين المكلفين من قبل المديرية العامة للآثار والصادر في
الثالث من شباط 2009. واعدين إياكم بالمزيد وشاكرين دعمكم المعنوي لنا لما فيه خير
بلدتينا
More info on Bulletin
Board at:
http://www.shweir.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=586
Shweir's Future: Industrial V.
Environmental?
Read official
response from Mayor on Nov 4, 2008 and
Shweir.com
open letter & proposal to create an advisory committee for New Master Plan
Shweir.com has received many inquiries
about plan to Expand Industrial &
Commercial Zone to 300% Shweir Size
between Shweir & Ain Sindyaneh in Nahr Bou
Dawoude Valley from Al Sadd Restaurant to Mar Yohanna Monastery.
Important Questions by concerned Shweirys include: Has
Shweir benefited or been harmed by the existence of current Industries?
IF Shweir's very weak to non existent
infrastructure is beyond current capacity, how can it handle Huge Industrial
Expansion?
Any studies about: Roads? Water &
Wastewater? Pollution? Impact on Environment, Health & Economy,
Tourism? Funding?
How can people learn more about these important issues? What are the
risks and rewards? Who Benefits? Who Loses?
What is best for Shweir? Owners, Residents &
those who love Shweir need facts to make informed decisions
In April, 2008, we posted link re: New Master Plan and asked for public
comment to support Baladieh's efforts.
Proposed Study leading to New Master Plan - Municipality invites public
Comment
Please visit that link and share your comments. We invite
Baladieh to share an update of their efforts.
Editorial Comment: Information below
reflect the overwhelming responses we are receiving from Shweir members and
readers. We will continue to update it as we get more feedback and we
look forward to also include updates from the Municipality whenever they
choose to share it with us/you.
Industrial plants are usually built in least
desired locations and as far away as practical from residential communities.
The most exclusive and successful communities are those with NO or least
heavy industry impact, usually, no more than five 5%. Values for
entire towns & communities are affected: The less heavy industry, the
greater the value.
Shweir should NOT have heavy industry
because:
Lost Arouse al Masayef:
Shweir was famous as best tourism & resort town for 100 years. Not
any more. Heavy Industry & tourism do not mix.
Setting: Shweir is in a bowl shaped valley surrounded by hills
from 3 sides = Poor Air Circulation will magnify pollution exponentially.
Pollution: Heavy industry is known to produce Air, Liquid,
Solid, Toxic & Noise pollution that are harmful to environment and
residents.
Roads: Roads are NOT engineered to handle heavy trucks.
Annual damage from heavy trucks and repairs to roads would be far costlier
than any benefits the town gets from all heavy industry revenue combined.
Shortage of Water: Current Residents do NOT have adequate water
and have to buy water 2-3 times a week by the truck loads -
NO Water for Industry: How can we provide more water for New
industry to adequately wash away their waste when there is not enough water
for residents?
Wastewater system that does NOT work: Yes, Shweir has a new
waste water system that does NOT work!
Electric Power Shortage: Brownouts & blackouts are common
occurrences. Consider harvesting wind energy like
Mike Sawaya proposes
Future Growth: There are currently over 1000 residences that
are empty, damaged and/or NOT completed yet. and if we factor in New
construction for residences and/or businesses over the next 5, 10 and 20
years... that could be equivalent to 2000 - 4000 units. Would they get
adequate basic infrastructure and services like Roads, Water, Wastewater and
electric? NO
Shweir does not have adequate basic service to
current residents, Nor the unfinished units... Nor potential Growth.
Shweir residents would like to see realistic studies of how those who
propose expansion of heavy industry plan to solve the failed infrastructure
for the residents and businesses first before proposing any expansion of
heavy industry. Unless the intent of some is to put priority on heavy
industry ahead of the need of the residents. Then, we will definitely
have a problem and we seriously doubt that the people of Shweir want to have
a ghost town on their hands.
The above are very basic factors... All of which
do NOT support heavy industry for Shweir. Look what a few existing
heavy industries caused in harm beyond what Shweir can handle. To pursue
more heavy industry, would further destroy the environment, increase
pollution, make our town smell to high heaven, the health of residents would
be adversely affected, most Emigrants would NOT want to spend their vacation
in an industrial setting, and hotels and restaurants would lose lots of
business.
Heavy Industry would significantly reduce the
value of land and homes and businesses in the entire region. Do the people
of Shweir want to see their town to become an embarrassing example of
failure and a town that squandered its unique resources? Wake up and
save Shweir before it is too late.
The people of Lebanon and Shweir have endured
many challenging circumstances over the past few decades including Civil &
International Wars, Foreign Occupation, and Dirty Politics. Majority
of Shweirys are very upset about a handful of heavy industries that were
allowed to be built or expand as a result of questionable circumstances,
misrepresentations, lies or abuse of power over the past 10-20 years.
The people of Shweir want the current Administration to correct past
mistakes and to mitigate those heavy industries that are operating beyond
the scope or capacity of their licenses, causing significant harm to the
environment and/or to the health of Shweir inhabitants who want these
industries controlled, minimized and/or shut down.
Shweir desperately needs to
minimize existing heavy industries rather than expand them exponentially.
We only have one Shweir with a unique setting,
views and climate that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world*.
We do NOT want to repeat past mistakes. Please DO NOT make major
decisions about Shweir's Future that are likely to be devastating and
irreversible without in depth and unbiased studies and full disclosure and
public feedback to reflect Shweir's best interest.
* Three places that we
know of that come close to Shweir in topography & climate:
1. Tomazina in Central Brazil where there are a large
concentration of Choueris, Shweirys some from Merhege and Bouzaid families
2. A town in New Zealand where the Corbans and Atayas started their
wine industry
3. "Trois es Pixs" sp? The three peaks in France near the German
border, again in the wine region.
None of these beautiful places
have in their midst the kind heavy industry that Shweir has and propose to
expand exponentially.
There are better alternatives:
IF the proposed plan is about another type of Industry, light industry
like WINE Industry, Hotels, Restaurant, Resort and Hospitality industry,
cottage industries (home grown businesses), these are ideal for Shweir, then
that is a Welcome breath of fresh air. Yes, with Shweiry engineering,
water pumps, we can transform Nahr Abu Dawoude valley into a beautiful area
with running water and cascading water falls that would rival al Bardowney.
Add to it Old Souk, Old Tahouneh, Old bridge, to highlight our history and
heritage, maintain and bring them to their old glory, add walkways, trails,
destination resort, health club... and you will have heaven on earth where
people from around the world would want to come visit and stay. That
is the kind of industry Shweir desperately needs.
Those land owners in that area would benefit far
greater, possibly over 1000% greater, by taking the light industry described
above that would get overwhelming support than the heavy industry that will
be devastating to the town and will be far less profitable for them.
We urge Shweir leaders and
council members to give serious consideration to conduct studies as per
recommendations of experts from around the world, share their findings with
the public, to reduce and hopefully eliminate as much of the heavy industry
and to focus on light industry described above and take steps that would
protect the environment, beautify and enhance future success of our
treasured town.
Related links: BB Posts:
Industrial v. Environment
Recent posts @ Master Plan
Web Pages:
Baladieh
Mater Plan
Environment
Let us take a proactive
approach, set excellent examples of positive Change and Forward Thinking to
make the best of our resources and make Shweir Shine again.
2008 Master Plan Efforts - Most
recent on top
This topic is written in both
Arabic and English. First English Version:
Samar Kiame
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 181
Location: Shweir
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Posted:
01 Dec 2008 02:54 pm Post
subject: |
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Under the theme of
“The Master Plan for Shweir and Ain Sindyaneh”, a meeting
was held in the municipal palace on the evening of November
15, 2008. The meeting was attended by the majority of the
municipal council members, mainly the president of the
municipality, Mr. Naiim Sawaya, along with a number of town
engineers and active figures who tackled all recent issues
of concern for the town residents.
The president of the municipality, Mr. Naiim Sawaya, opened
the meeting by welcoming the assembly and noting that the
meeting aimed at highlighting the municipality stance as to
the issues on the agenda, especially in light of the
declarations and objections being raised in the town. He
also welcomed any constructive criticism, and condemned what
was being published on Shweir.com about the municipality
wanting to sabotage the town, affirming that its main
concern is the interest of Shweir and Ain Sindyaneh.
Zoning
The first part of the meeting was dedicated to the zoning
issue that met with two opposing positions. Both parties
based their opinions on the meetings on urban planning held
with the town engineer, Ms. Lina Medawar, in which they
discussed the classification of Zone T (expansion of the
residential communities, industrial and residential zone)
and Zone F (industrial zone only).
Mr. Ramzi El-Katoul affirmed that he had met with Ms.
Medawar who had told him that there should be a Zone T that
would separate between Zone F and Zone C (residential zone).
In other words, the industrial zone should be expanded to a
certain limit and more industrial plants should be
installed.
On the other hand, engineer Imad Jardak and municipal
council member, Ms. Rima Rahbani insisted that they too had
met with Ms. Medawar who was positive that Zone T could be
built without the need to a Zone F. The objective would be
to limit the industrial zone to the existing plants without
expanding it. This decision was justified by the fact that
the potential plants will be necessarily built in the
vicinity of both towns and houses, and will be exposed to
view due to the geography of the region, thus having a
direct impact on their environment. In addition, they
pointed out that the municipality was the one to decide
whether to expand or limit the industrial zone, and that the
urban planning did not impose any conditions and allowed the
elaboration of a master plan regardless of the industrial
zone.
Amid the discussions, Mr. Salah Bou Saab intervened with a
firm position, stressing the need to limit the industrial
zone and prevent its expansion because the town could not
tolerate further plants.
On the same note, engineer Nabil Bou kheir confirmed the
possibility of drawing up a master plan without having an
industrial zone. He called for reasonable thinking and for
the implementation of law on the existing plants in order to
resolve the issue of building any house next to any plant,
since the law organizes and restrains plants and obliges
their owners to abide by the relevant licenses. He said that
if neglected, things will go from bad to worse, and called
for sanctioning whoever does not have a legal license,
especially with the large number of questionable enterprises
operating without licenses…
Industrial plants
The intervention of Mr. Bou Kheir led to a large debate on
the existing plants and their legal status. In this context,
he requested to present the committee formed by the
municipality and in which he is a member with the licenses
of the said plants to review them and make them binding for
the owners.
As to Mr. Simon Baaklini, member of the municipal council
and owner of the stone factory in Ain Hanout , he made it
clear that the Council of Ministers was the sole authority
that could allow the relocation of any plant, knowing that
the relocation costs ten times more than the plant itself.
He also declared that before expanding his plant, he visited
some lands in neighboring regions, such as Bou Mizan,
Koleiat and Mtein and expressed his readiness to relocate
his plant in case he finds a substitute industrial zone
between Mtein and Bou Mizan. He called upon whoever has the
capacity to help buy the land and cover the cost of
relocation, expressing his willingness to bring his own
contribution to this project.
Once again, Shweir.com had its share of criticism where Mr.
Simon considered what is being said on this website to be a
problem because emigrants for more than 40 and 50 years do
not know what is going on in Shweir but through the internet
and satellites. He said: “their suggestion is dismissed”. He
also refused any unreasonable talking, stressed on the
town’s welfare and environment, and welcomed whoever wants
to express his opinion directly.
His suggestion to build an industrial zone in Ain Sindyaneh
going from the cemeteries to the Nahr met with some
objections based on the fact that this region is merely
natural and environmental and constitutes the entrance to
the town.
Mr. Simon reiterated that the plant needs the financial
support of the Council of Ministers and the payment of a
compensation for its relocation, or else “its relocation is
out of question”.
By saying that, he stirred the reaction of some attendants
who raised the issue of the school built near the plant that
is a source of disturbance for the students...
Moreover, the mayor of Ain Sindyaneh, Mr. Sabeh Jardak
tackled the problem of the town residents, especially the
youth seeking to build houses. He explained that the small
perimeter of Ain Sindyaneh and its vicinity to the Ghwab
natural reserve where investment is limited, and the plants
on the other side of the town do not encourage the residents
to build houses in their own town, thus pushing them to
leave. When some of them resorted to Ain El-Hanout, they
were surprised to see the plants built in this region,
including Mr. Simon’s plant that transgressed the
neighboring lands and breached the terms of the licenses.
While the mayor affirmed that they did not want to remove
the plant, he wished that there would be constraints and
commitment to the licenses, and wondered if Ain El-Hanout
was a region suitable for building plants.
The mayor also called for a prompt decision to be taken as
to the cement factory at the entrance to Ain Sindyaneh,
since the owner went on and bought further lands in a
potential attempt to expand his plant.
Someone also noted that the owner of the aluminum plant in
Shweir had recently purchased a large farm near his plant.
The assembly asked the municipality to inquire about the
facts.
As to Mr. Naji Jardak, owner of a sawmill in Shweir, he said
that “none of the plants in the region fulfill the
conditions and that this is partly due to the absence of
control by the municipality”.
He also pointed out to a declaration against the nylon
plant, and read in his name and in the name of the
signatories the declaration that mentioned “the health and
environmental damages resulting from the emitted chemical
and radioactive substances, according to specialized
experts, as well as the bad smells, the sounds of engines
and power generators, the noise and the dazzling lights day
and night, the distortion of nature because of this plant
and other neighboring plants, and the disturbing trucks and
huge machineries”.
Following the declaration, Mr. Jardak called upon the
president of the municipality and the municipal council
members to “put an end to this environmental, health and
building crime in Ain El-Hanout and Ain Sindyaneh without
any delay”.
To comment the issue, Dr. Nabil Ghosn, ex-president of the
municipality and current member of the municipal council,
affirmed that the nylon plant was yet to have the investment
license and thus, did not have the right to operate, and
that it did not fulfill the conditions of the Ministry of
Industry. He also explained that the ministry of Industry
had granted the owner two years to equip the plant only,
provided that after the expiry of this period, he would ask
the Ministry to examine the plant before its operation to
make sure that it meets the required conditions. Mr. Ghosn
noted that he had suggested that the president of the
municipality grants the plant owner one or two months to
fulfill the requirements of the Ministry of Industry.
The president of the municipality declared that a committee
will be formed to conduct a study on the ground and
determine the suitable area to build an industrial zone, a
transitional zone and a green zone, expressing the
municipality’s readiness to cooperate with this committee.
As to the objection against the nylon plant, Mr. Sawaya
asserted that it was submitted to all concerned ministries
of environment, health, industry, interior and
municipalities. He also noted that meetings were held with
the ministers who called upon the municipality to oblige the
owners of plants to abide by the licenses or else their
plants will be shut down. He said that this was the reason
behind the formation of a committee to study the plants and
reach a solution in favor of both towns and of the plants
that became an irreversible fact.
Mr. Wajih Nasr, owner of a gas plant in Khenchara, also had
an intervention in which he affirmed his fulfillment of the
license terms and his commitment to the required
specifications for the building of his plant. He wondered
why the town residents did not abide by the licenses in
their own town while they did so outside their town. He also
suggested allowing the building of light plants for those
who wish to work in their town.
Mr. George Rizk went back to the year 2004 because he
considered that the issue must be discussed from the very
beginning. He suggested increasing the rate of investment in
the Ghwab to allow the Shweirys to benefit from this region
and build houses while preserving the green landscape, thus
staying in their town. He also suggested building an
industrial zone in what he called “the valley” at the bottom
of Ain Sindyaneh. However, this suggestion was highly
dismissed because “the valley” is close to the houses and
overlooks the opposite regions…
Mr. Sadek Korban suggested studying the current situation
and forming a committee that would examine all issues and
present them in another meeting.
Ghwab
Engineer Samih Halabi considered that the decision of the
municipality to limit plants to their lands and licenses was
a good step, saying: “the lesson is yet to be implemented”.
As to the Ghwab that is subject to a debate to decide
whether to preserve its greenery or turn it into a
residential area, Mr. Halabi suggested not to rush to
request the increase of investment in this region. He also
expressed a point of view that would improve investment in
this region and increase the prices of lands while
preserving the green environment that distinguishes Shweir
and attracts many vacationers from all regions… The proposal
was to make Ghwab an environmental tourist region and build
chalets there or a region for camping, bike riding, horse
riding and fishing… thus attracting tourists from all over
Lebanon…
Engineer Nabil Bou Kheir backed the proposal and explained
that the direction of the region is towards the north, which
makes it cold and unsuitable for residence, not to mention
its geography, soil, and steepness. He also said that had
our ancestors deemed it a suitable area to build houses,
they would have done it a long time ago.
As to Mr. Elie Aoun, he wished to separate the issues in
question, dividing them into three:
- zoning: according to him, some issues did not cause any
damage and “must be mended before they break”. He suggested
recovering the zoning file from the urban planning service,
reevaluating it, and adding to it the recommendations of the
current council where the industrial zone would be limited
to a certain area…
- Issues that caused a serious damage (stone factory, cement
factory, nylon plant…): he said: “we noticed that the owners
of the plants are from Shweir and we want them to stay here”
and no one is thinking of getting revenge. He also explained
that the relocation of these plants must go hand in hand
with a land reclamation, and said that the municipality
should borrow to support this project and all residents
should bring their contribution…
- The school: Shweir is reputed for its environment and
education, “education is the ornament of this town”. He
suggested promoting the educational utility and building a
university. He also pointed out that the school is close to
the plants, “which violates the simplest of environmental
and health conditions”, calling to put an end to this
problem and reach a decision as soon as possible”…
Recalling the decisions taken in the previous years pushed
the president of the municipality to read some of the
decisions that were signed by the former municipalities and
that gave the owners of plants licenses, allowing them to
expand and overstep the neighboring lands…
The president of the municipality held responsible both the
former municipalities and the owners of plants, and
condemned those blaming him on Shweir.com for decisions
taken by former presidents. He noted that the owners of
plants insisted on relocating their plants to areas within
Shweir and Ain Sindyaneh, but the municipality could not
relocate them. He also demanded the owners to follow the
licenses to the letter by virtue of law, assuring that the
municipality will pursue violations…
Finally, an advisory committee was formed to study the
zoning issue, including the following members:
- Engineer Elie Aoun
- Engineer Ziyad Shaya
- Engineer Nabil Bou Kheir
- Mr. Ramzi Katoul
- Attorney Gebrayel Nassar
- Engineer George Naoum Mjaess
- Mr. George Bou Rizk
- Attorney Ramzi Mjaess
- Engineer Imad Jardak
- Engineer Elie Halabi
- Engineer Samih Halabi
- Ms. Rima Rahbani
- Mr. Touma Touma
- Mr. Naji Jardak
And the three mayors: Mr. Sabeh Jardak, Mr. Sami Sayegh and
Mr. Mkhayel Sawaya, as well as the deputy president of the
municipality Mr. Habib Mjaess as president.
Since we value objectivity and we stand at an equal distance
from everyone, we will make public the declarations of the
former president of the municipality Dr. Nabil Ghosn and the
current president Mr. Naim Sawaya who requested, each at a
time, the publication of some official documents.
In the first three pages of the link below, Dr. Ghosn states
briefly the content of these official documents, and
considers that Mr. Naim Sawaya, being the president of the
municipality, allows the nylon plant to operate, without
fulfilling the conditions of the Ministry of Industry, and
that he is responsible for this issue because he signed the
report of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
Consequently, if the owner of the plant meets the required
conditions of the Ministry of Industry, he will not pose a
threat to its environment. Mr. Ghosn also stated that during
his mandate, he never violated any of the legal terms, even
if some published documents mentioned that the lands where
the plant was installed were not yet classified as an
industrial region. Dr. Ghosn justified his approval of
building the plant on land 1487 by saying that this land is
situated in a region that was considered industrial a long
time ago.
Link
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/files%20from%20Dr%20Nabil%20Ghosn/?start=all
On the other hand, President Naim Sawaya held Dr. Ghosn
fully responsible for the building of the nylon plant in the
town, for the following reasons:
- Transforming land 1487 (where the plant was built) from a
residential to an industrial area
- Ignoring the requests of many municipal departments who
told him not to give the plant owner the license before the
classification of the area as an industrial area
In addition, Mr. Sawaya said that the plant owner, Mr.
Youssef Habib has asked the municipality to reconsider the
classification of the land 1478 from a residential area to
an industrial area in order to expedite the applications
related to the building of the plant. He also explained that
what Dr. Ghosn had said about the land being situated on
either side of Nahr Bou Dawoud was wrong because the land is
far from the Nahr.
As to the right to invest in a floor tile plant and stone
sawing on the land 1542, Mr. Sawaya wondered why the
municipality had agreed to expand this land that would
overstep the neighboring lands 1543 and 1545, especially
that the Ministry on Industry had issued a license for one
land.
Link
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/files%20from%20Mr%20Naiim%20Sawaya/
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It is worth mentioning that Shweir.com and the town
residents and emigrants it represents expressed their
concerns even before the building and operation of the nylon
plant without a license. In fact, they have been following
the issue from the very first moment the bulldozers went
into that land, uprooted the almond trees and grapevines,
and destroyed the stone walls… At that time, Shweir.com used
all means to contact the municipality which was then
presided by Dr. Nabil Ghosn, in an attempt to show him the
gravity of the situation, according to the explanations of
specialists and experts united on this website.
This important issue comes to surface again with the new
president of the municipality, Mr. Naim Sawaya, knowing that
the plant owner violated the license like the majority of
plant owners in the town…
Amid exchanged accusations, the town residents are the
masters of the situation, for those who used to go to sleep
in a calm town are awaking today on the noise of trucks and
sometimes the deafening sound of huge machineries before
dawn…
While the debate intensifies over the industrial plants, the
Ghwab reserve, the potential lands to build houses for the
townsmen, and job opportunities… people fear that these
problems combined would dominate the fundamental zoning
issue from which all other decisions are to be taken
concerning the town future image, especially on the
patrimonial and cultural levels. In fact, the zoning issue
is of a great importance for the townsmen since it will
define the future of their houses and their children, mainly
because it covers the entrance to Ain Sindyaneh and the rare
and distinguished green zone between Shweir and Ain
Sindyaneh…
What adds to the people’s concerns is that some officials
are talking about licenses being issued for plants that are
yet to be built and about real partners… Rumor has it that
the building of these plants is due next spring, which led
the president of the municipality to assure that he will not
sign any other license for the building of further plants in
the town…
Finally, eyes and hopes are pinned on the committee that
will study the zoning issue and draw up a master plan for
the town… Let’s hope the day won’t come when new plants will
be built at the expense of an environmental fortune offered
to us by God… may we appreciate its value someday!!!
Link
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/Shweir%20beauty/?start=all |
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If you like to read more about this subject or post a
comment, there are several pages on the BB at:
http://www.shweir.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=520&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=91ff554561ec768e28556c877589759e
Related links: BB Posts:
Industrial v. Environment
Recent posts @ Master Plan
Web Pages:
Baladieh
Mater Plan
Environment
تحت عنوان "المخطط التوجيهي العام لمنطقة الشوير – عين السنديانة"،
عـُقد مساء
السبت الواقع فيه 15 – 11 – 2008 اجتماعا في القصر البلدي، ضم غالبية أعضاء
المجلس البلدي وعلى رأسهم رئيس البلدية السيد نعيم صوايا، الى جانب عدد من
المهندسين في البلدة وشخصيات فاعلة، تداولوا فيه كافة المواضيع التي شغلت
سكان البلدة في الآونة الأخيرة،
بدأ الاجتماع
بترحيب رئيس البلدية نعيم صوايا بالحضور وأشار الى ان الهدف من الاجتماع هو
توضيح موقف البلدية من المواضيع المطروحة لا سيما في ظل البيانات والاعتراضات
التي يتم نشرها في البلدة، مرحبا بأي انتقاد بنـّاء، ورافضا ما ينشر على
"الشوير دوت كوم" حيث رأى أن البلدية وُصِفت وكأنها تريد "خربان" البلدة مؤكدا
حرصها على مصلحة الشوير وعين السنديانة...
الزونينغ
تمحور القسم الأول
من الاجتماع حول الزونينغ حيث برز رأيان في الموضوع وكلا الطرفين استندا الى
الاجتماعات التي عقداها في التنظيم المدني مع مهندسة المنطقة السيدة لينا
مدوّر، ودار النقاش حول التصنيف للزون
T
(إمتداد
للمنطقة السكنية، وهي مختلطة صناعية وسكنية) و للزون
F
(منطقة
صناعية فقط)؛
ففي حين أكد السيد
رمزي الكاتول أنه اجتمع مع السيدة مدور وقالت له إنه يجب ان يكون هناك زون
T
تفصل بين F
و C
(منطقة
سكنية)؛ ويعني ذلك تمديد المنطقة الصناعية الى حد ما وإقامة المزيد من المصانع
أصرّ كل من
المهندس عماد جرداق، والآنسة ريما الرحباني، عضو في المجلس البلدي، أنهما
اجتمعا مع السيدة مدوّر ضمن وفد من البلدة وأكدت لهم أنه بالإمكان إنشاء زون
T
من دون إقامة زون
F؛
ويهدف ذلك الى حصر المنطقة الصناعية بالمصانع الموجودة فعلا على أرض الواقع من
دون توسيعها، ويبرر أصحاب هذا الرأي قرارهم بأن أي مصانع أخرى سيتم إنشاؤها
فستكون حكما قريبة من البلدتين والمنازل ومكشوفة الى العيان نظرا للتكوين
الجغرافي للمنطقة وسيكون لها الأثر المباشر على المحيط، وأشارا الى ان التنظيم
يؤكد أن البلدية هي صاحبة القرار بتوسيع أو حصر المنطقة الصناعية وأن التنظيم
المدني لا يفرض شيئا عليها، مع العلم أنهم أفيدوا من التنظيم أنه من الممكن
وضع مخطط توجيهي عام من دون تواجد منطقة صناعية.
ووسط الأخذ والرد
تدخل السيد صلاح بو صعب وسجل موقفا حازما حول ضرورة حصر المنطقة الصناعية ومنع
توسعها أكثر مما هي عليه والاكتفاء بما وجد من مصانع وعدم إنشاء المزيد، معتبرا
أن البلدة ما عادت تحتمل أكثر من ذلك.
إمكانية وضع مخطط
توجيهي عام من دون تواجد منطقة صناعية أمر أكده المهندس نبيل بو خير الذي دعا
في الوقت نفسه الى الانطلاق من المنطق والواقع، وبضرورة تطبيق القانون على
المصانع الموجودة، ما من شأنه ان يحل مشكلة إقامة أي منزل الى جانب أي مصنع ذلك
أن القانون ينظم ويضع ضوابط على المصانع ويجبر أصحابها على الالتزام بالرخص
المعطاة لها وبالتالي بحماية أي منزل يقام بالقرب منها، وأشار الى انه إذا تم
عكس ذلك فإن الامور ستؤول من سيء الى أسوأ، كما دعا الى اتخاذ خطوات بحق من لا
يملك رخصة قانونية للعمل مشيرا الى وجود علامات إستفهام حول العديد من المؤسسات
التي تعمل من دون رخص...
المصانع
السيد بو خير في
مداخلته هذه فتح باب الجدل واسعا على مسألة المصانع الموجودة فعلا وعلى واقعها
القانوني، وفي هذا السياق طالب أن تحصل اللجنة التي شكلتها البلدية، والتي هو
عضو فيها، على رخص هذه المصانع لتطّلع عليها وإلزام أصحابها بالتقيد بها
من ناحيته، أوضح
السيد سيمون بعقليني، عضو في المجلس البلدي وصاحب معمل الحجر في عين الحانوت،
أن مجلس الوزراء هو السلطة الوحيدة المخولة بالسماح بنقل معمل من مكان الى آخر،
وأشار الى ان ذلك يتطلب كلفة تصل الى عشرة أضعاف كلفة المعمل وأنه قبل أن يعمد
الى توسيع المعمل كشف على أراض في المناطق المجاورة مثل بو ميزان والقليعات
والمتين وأعرب عن استعداده الى نقل مصنعه من المنطقة اذا تم ايجاد منطقة صناعية
مصنفة فئة ثانية ما بين المتين – بو ميزان على ان يساعد من يستطيع في شراء هذه
الارض وفي كلفة نقل المعمل مبديا إستعداده بالمساهمة هو أيضا
ومرة جديدة
"الشوير دوت كوم" كان لها نصيبها من الانتقادات، فقد وصف السيد سيمون ما
يـُتداول على هذا الموقع الالكتروني بالمشكلة، بحيث اعتبر ان هناك أناسا
مهاجرين لأكثر من 40
و
50
سنة لا يعرفون ماذا يوجد في الشوير الا من خلال الانترنت والأقمار الصناعية،
وقال: "إقتراحهم مرفوض" وهو في هذا السياق أوضح أنه يرفض اي كلام يخرج عن
المنطق وأكد حرصه على الناحية الصحية والبيئية للبلدة، ورحب بكل من يريد ان
يتكلم ويبدي رأيه بشكل مباشر.
واذ إقترح إقامة
منطقة صناعية في عين السنديانة تمتد من حدود المقابر نزولا حتى النهر، الأمر
الذي لاقى اعتراضا لدى البعض باعتبار هذه المنطقة طبيعية وبيئية بامتياز وتعد
مدخلا للبلدة...
السيد سيمون جدد
التأكيد على ان هكذا معمل يحتاج الى دعم مادي من قبل مجلس الوزراء ودفع تعويض
كي يتم نقله الى منطقة أخرى "فمن غير الوارد نقله"
كلام السيد سيمون
لاقى ردة فعل لدى عدد من الحاضرين، فمنهم من أثار مسألة المدرسة التي أنشئت على
مقربة من المصنع الذي يشكل إزعاجا للطلاب خصوصا من الاصوات التي تصدر عنه...
وفي الاطار نفسه،
أثار مختار عين السنديانة السيد سبع جرداق مشكلة أبناء البلدة لاسيما الشباب
منهم الذين يريدون بناء منازل لهم، ولفت الى ان مساحة عين السنديانة الصغيرة
وقربها من منطقة الغواب المصنفة محمية والتي لا تسمح بمساحة استثمار عالية،
فضلا عن وجود مصانع عند الجهة الاخرى من البلدة لا تشجع أبناءها على بناء مساكن
لهم في بلدتهم وبالتالي يضطرون للرحيل عنها، ومن منهم وجد في منطقة عين الحانوت
منفذا له إصطدم بالمعامل المنشأة هناك ومن بينها معمل السيد سيمون الذي امتد
الى العقارات المجاورة له وتجاوزه لشروط الرخص المعطاة له.
المختار أكد أنهم
لا يريدون رحيله إنما تمنى ان يكون هناك ضوابط وإلتزام بالرخص، وتساءل اذا كانت
عين الحانوت منطقة لإنشاء المصانع؟
وكان للمختار
ملاحظة حول معمل اللبن المُنشأ عند مدخل عين السنديانة حيث شرع صاحبه بشراء
مزيد من الاراضي قد يهدف من خلالها الى توسيع معمله وتمديده، فطالب باتخاذ قرار
سريع حوله.
كما أن هناك من
أشار الى أن صاحب معمل النيلون في الشوير اشترى في الآونة الأخيرة مزرعة كبيرة
مجاورة لمعمله وطالب المجتمعون البلدية بالوقوف عند الوقائع.
من ناحيته قال
السيد ناجي جرداق، صاحب منشرة في الشوير، "إن كل المعامل في المنطقة لا تطبق
الشروط المفروضة وإن غياب الرقابة من قبل البلدية له أثره على ذلك".
أشار السيد جرداق الى وجود بيان إعتراضي بحق معمل النيلون وتلا بإسمه وبإسم
الموقعين على المعروض بيانا تطرق فيه "الى الاضرار الصحية والبيئية الناتجة عن
المواد الكيميائية والشعاعية المنبعثة منه، برأي خبراء مختصين بهذا المجال،
فضلا عن الروائح الكريهة وأصوات المحركات ومولدات الكهرباء والضوضاء والأنوار
الباهرة ليلا ونهارا ولا ننسى التشويه الحاصل للمناظر الطبيعية، بسببه وبسبب
المعامل الاخرى والمجاورة له والازعاج الحاصل من تنقل الشاحنات والاليات
الكبيرة"
ودعا السيد جرداق
في نهاية البيان رئيس البلدية وأعضاء المجلس البلدي "لوضع حد لهذه الجريمة
البيئية والصحية والعمرانية في منطقتي عين الحانوت وعين السنديانة من دون تأخير
أو مماطلة"
وتعليقا على
الموضوع أكد الدكتور نبيل غصن، رئيس البلدية السابق وعضو حالي في المجلس
البلدي، أن معمل النايلون لم يحصل بعد على رخصة الاستثمار وبالتالي لا يحق له
البدء بالعمل وأنه لا يلتزم بشروط وزراة الصناعة، وأوضح ان وزارة الصناعة أعطت
صاحب المعمل سنتين ليقوم بتجهيزه فقط، على ان يقوم عند انتهاء هذه المهلة
بالطلب من وزراة الصناعة بالكشف عليه قبل أن يبدأ العمل للتأكد من أنه يستوفي
الشروط. وأشار السيد غصن الى أنه اقترح على رئيس البلدية إعطاء صاحب المعمل
مهلة شهر أو شهرين للالتزام بشروط وزارة الصناعة.
وعن كل هذه
المواضيع، أعلن رئيس البلدية أنه سيتم تشكيل لجنة تكلـَف بإقامة دراسة على أرض
الواقع وتحديد المكان المناسب لإنشاء منطقة صناعية وأخرى إنتقالية ومنطقة
خضراء، مؤكدا استعداد البلدية التجاوب مع هذه اللجنة.
وحول الاعتراض على
مصنع النايلون، أكد السيد صوايا انه تم ارسال الاعتراض الى كل الوزارات المعنية
من بيئة وصحة وصناعة وداخلية وبلديات، وأشار الى انه حصلت اجتماعات مع
المسؤولين في هذه الوزارات الذين طالبوا بدورهم البلدية بإلزام المعامل بالرخص
المعطاة لها وإلا إغلاقها، وأوضح ان ذلك كان سببا لتشكيل البلدية لجنة لدراسة
واقع المعامل والتوصل الى حل لما فيه خير البلدتين ومصلحة المعامل التي أصبحت
أمرا واقعا.
وكانت هناك مداخلة
للسيد وجيه نصر، صاحب معمل غاز في بلدة الخنشارة المجاورة، الذي وصف إلتزامه
بشروط الرخصة المعطاة له وتطبيقه لكافة المواصفات المطلوبة من أجل إنشاء معمله،
وتساءل لماذا الاستباحة ولا يلتزم أهالي البلدة برخصهم في بلدتهم طالما أنهم
يلتزمون بها خارج بلدتهم؟ واقترح السماح بإنشاء مصانع خفيفة جدا للذين يريدون
أن يعملوا ويبقوا في بلدتهم.
عند هذه النقطة
عدنا بالتاريخ الى العام 2004 مع السيد جورج بو رزق الذي اعتبر انه يجب مناقشة
الموضوع بدءا من الاساس وليس من "القفا تحتا"، وفي خلاصة ما أتى به؛ إقترح
العمل على رفع الاستثمار في منطقة الغواب كي يتمكن أبناء الشوير من الاستفادة
منها وبناء منازل ضمن شروط المحافظة على المساحات الخضراء، وبالتالي لا يضطرون
الى الابتعاد عن بلدتهم. كما اقترح إنشاء منطقة صناعية في ما وصفه بـ"الوادي"
في أسفل عين السنديانة، الامر الذي لاقى اعتراضات عدة نظرا لقرب هذا "الوادي"
من المنازل وانكشافه على المناطق المواجهة له...
من جهته، تمنى
السيد صادق قربان دراسة الحاضر وتشكيل لجنة تكلف بسحب كل الأوراق ودراستها
وعرضها في اجتماع آخر
الغواب
من ناحيته اعتبر
المهندس سميح الحلبي أن قرار البلدية بحصر المعامل في نطاق عقاراتها وتراخيصها
خطوة جيدة وقال: "العبرة تبقى للتطبيق".
وحول منطقة الغواب
التي تتنازعها وجهتي نظر بين إبقائها منطقة خضراء أو تحويلها الى منطقة سكنية،
اقترح السيد الحلبي التريث في طلب رفع نسبة الاستثمار فيها، وطرَحَ وجهة نظر
ثالثة رأى أن من شأنها أن تحسن الاستثمار في هذه المنطقة وترفع سعر الاراضي
وتحافظ على طابعها البيئي الأخضر، الذي هو طابع الشوير، والذي يجلب اليها
المصطافين من كل المناطق... ويقضي الاقتراح بجعل الغواب منطقة سياحية بيئية
وبناء نماذج سكنية صغيرة (شاليه) أو منطقة تخييم وركوب على الدراجات والخيل
وصيد السمك... وبالتالي استقطاب السياح من كل لبنان...
المهندس نبيل بو
خير دعم هذا الرأي وأوضح أن وجهة هذه المنطقة شمالية وبالتالي فهي باردة وغير
صالحة للسكن فضلا عن تكوينها الجغرافي وتربتها وانحدارها، وأكد أنه لو رأى فيها
أجدادنا منطقة جيدة لبناء منازلهم لفعلوا ذلك منذ زمن بعيد.
السيد إيلي عون
تمنى الفصل بين المواضيع المطروحة، مقسما اياها الى ثلاثة؛
- مسألة الزونينغ
حيث لاحظ أن هناك مواضيع لم يلحقها الضرر وأنه "يجب تجبيرها قبل ان تنكسر"
واقترح استرجاع ملف الزونينغ من التنظيم المدني وإعادة تقييمه وإلحاقه بتوصيات
من المجلس الحالي تحصر فيه المنطقة الصناعية بمساحة معينة....
- مواضيع لحقها
الضرر بشكل مفجع ومرعب (معمل الحجر، معمل الباطون، معمل النايلون...)، وقال
"لاحظنا أن أصحاب المعامل شويريون ونريدهم أن يبقوا" وأن لا أحد بوارد الانتقام
واعتبر أن إزاحتهم يجب ان تكون مقرونة بإلتزامات تحسين مستوى الاراضي، وأنه يجب
ان تقوم البلدية بالاقتراض والمساهمة من كل الناس لنقل هذه المعامل...
- موضوع المدرسة؛
حيث اعبر ان الشوير معروفة ببيئتها وبكونها ضيعة علم "زينة هذه الضيعة، العلم"
واقترح تعزيز المرفق العلمي وبناء جامعة.
وأوضح ان المدرسة
قريبة من المصانع وهو "أمر لا يتوافق مع أبسط مستلزمات وشروط المسائل الصحية
والبيئية" ودعا الى "ضرورة وضع حد لهذا الموضوع وأخذ قرار بأسرع وقت"...
العودة بالتاريخ
الى القرارات التي اتـُخذت في السنوات الماضية دفعت برئيس البلدية الى تلاوة
بعض القرارات التي وَقعت عليها البلديات السابقة والتي أعطت رخص للمصانع وسمحت
لها بالتوسع والتمدد الى العقارات المجاورة لها...
رئيس البلدية ألقى
المسؤولية المشتركة على البلديات السابقة وأصحاب المعامل على حد سواء ورفض ما
يسري من كلام على "الشوير دوت كوم" يحمّله مسؤولية قرارات قام باتخاذها من سبقه
على رئاسة البلدية، وأشار الى ان أصحاب المصانع لم يرضوا سوى الانتقال الى أراض
ضمن نطاق الشوير وعين السنديانة وأقر بعدم قدرة البلدية على نقل هذه المصانع،
الا انه في الوقت نفسه طالب أصحاب المصانع بتطبيق رخصهم بحذافيرها ضمن القانون
مؤكدا ان البلدية ستقوم بملاحقة المخالفات...
وفي النهاية
شـُكلت لجنة لدراسة مسألة الزونينغ تألفت من:
- المهندس إيلي
عون
- المهندس
زياد شعيا
- المهندس
نبيل بو خير
- السيد
رمزي الكاتول
- المحامي
جبرايل نصار
- المهندس
جورج نعوم مجاعص
- السيد
جورج بو رزق
- المحامي
رمزي مجاعص
- المهندس
عماد جرداق
- المهندس
إيلي حلبي
- المهندس
سميح حلبي
- الآنسة
ريما الرحباني
- السيد
توما توما
- السيد
ناجي جرداق
والمخاتير
الثلاثة: السيد سبع جرداق والسيد سامي الصايغ والسيد مخايل صوايا
برئاسة
نائب رئيس البلدية السيد حبيب مجاعص
ومن
أجل الموضوعية، ولأننا نقف على مسافة واحدة من الجميع، نخرج الى العلن ما أصرّ
عليه رئيس البلدية السابق الدكتور نبيل غصن ورئيس البلدية الحالي السيد نعيم
صوايا، بحيث طالب كل منهما، على حدة، بنشر عدد من الوثائق والمستندات الرسمية؛
فالدكتور غصن يلخـّص في الصفحات الثلاث الاولى، على الموقع أدناه، مضمون
ومحتوى هذه الوثائق الرسمية ويرى أن السيد نعيم صوايا بصفته رئيسا للبلدية يسمح
لمصنع النايلون بالعمل من دون توفر الشروط والمواصفات الواجب توفرها بحسب وزارة
الصناعة، وأن توقيع السيد نعيم صوايا على محضر وزارة الشؤون البلدية والقروية،
يجعله جزءا من المسألة ومسؤولا فيها. وبالتالي فإن الدكتور غصن يؤكد انه اذا
طبق صاحب المعمل الشروط المطلوبة منه بحسب وزارة الصناعية فإنه لن يشكل ضررا
على محيطه. ويرى غصن أنه أثناء ولايته لم يتجاوز أيا من الشروط القانونية علما
أنه وبحسب المستندات المنشورة نلاحظ أن العقارات التي أقيم عليها المعمل لم تكن
مصنفة منطقة صناعية بعد ويبرر الدكتور غصن موافقته على إنشاء المعمل على
العقار 1487، أنه يقع ضمن منطقة ملحوظة صناعية منذ زمن بعيد
Link:
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/files%20from%20Dr%20Nabil%20Ghosn/?start=all
في المقابل، يحمّل رئيس البلدية السيد نعيم صوايا الدكتور غصن المسؤولية
الكاملة لإنشاء معمل النايلون في البلدة وذلك للاعتبارات التالية:
-
تحويل
العقار 1478 (حيث أنشئ معمل النايلون) من منطقة سكنية الى منطقة صناعية
-
عدم
الاستماع الى طلبات التريث الذي طالبت بها العديد من الدوائر الرسمية البلدية
قبل اعطاء الترخيص لصاحب المعمل الى حين استكمال معاملات تصنيف المنطقة
الصناعية
وكذلك يسعى السيد صوايا الى
تقويم ما ورد على طلب السيد يوسف حبيب حبيب (صاحب المعمل) حول طلبه من البلدية
بإعادة النظر بتصنيف العقار 1478 من سكن الى صناعة من أجل الاسراع بالمعاملات
المطلوبة لإنشاء المعمل؛ ويوضح أن وصف الدكتور غصن لهذا العقار على جانبي
"ساقية" (نهر) أبو داوود غير صحيح ويوضح ان هذا العقار بعيد عن "الساقية".
ودائما بحسب رئيس البلدية وحول
حق استثمار معمل بلاط ونشر أحجار على العقار 1542، يتساءل السيد صوايا أنه
طالما أعطت وزارة الصناعة الترخيص على عقار واحد، فلماذا وافقت البلدية آنذاك
على توسيعه الى العقارين المجاورين 1543 و 1545.
Link:
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/files%20from%20Mr%20Naiim%20Sawaya
***************************
يُذكر أن "الشوير دوت كوم" وما تمثله من أبناء البلدة مقيمين ومغتربين، لم
تنتظر حتى انتهاء بناء معمل النايلون وبدء العمل فيه قبل حياذته على رخصة
إستثمار كي تبدي قلقها من الموضوع، بل هي واكبت هذه المنشأة منذ اللحظة الأولى
لدخول الجرافات إلى تلك الأرض واقتلاع أشجار اللوز ودوالي العنب وتهديم حفافي
الحجر... و"الشوير دوت كوم" آنذاك لم توفر وسيلة اتصال بالبلدية التي كان
يرأسها الدكتور نبيل غصن ومحاولة لإقناعه بخطورة الوضع إستنادا الى توضيحات من
قبل أخصائيين وخبراء يجمعهم هذا الموقع الالكتروني.
وإن هذا الموضوع على أهميته يعود اليوم الى الواجهة مع الولاية الجديدة للبلدية
التي يرأسها السيد نعيم توما صوايا مع تخطي صاحب المعمل لرخصته شأنه شأن كل
المعامل الأخرى الموجودة في البلدة...
ووسط تبادل التهم بين المسؤولين، يقف أهالي البلدة والقلق صاحب الموقف، فمن
اعتاد أن ينام على بلدة هادئة، يجد اليوم نفسه يصحو على هدير الشاحنات وأحيانا
"زعيق" الآليات الكبيرة التي تسبق طلوع الفجر...
وفي الوقت الذي يحتدم فيه الجدل حول المعامل، ومحمية "الغواب"، وايجاد أراض
لبناء منازل لأبناء البلدة، وفرص عمل... يخشى الناس أن تطغى هذه المشاكل مجتمعة
على مسألة الزونينغ، التي تعد العامود الفقري وانطلاقا منها تتخذ القرارات
المتشعبة والمتعلقة بتحديد طابع البلدة ورسم صورتها المستقبلية لا سيما
التراثية والثقافية منها، وبالتالي فإنها تعد ذات أهمية عند أبناء المنطقة
لمعرفة مصير منازلهم ومستقبل أبنائهم خصوصا وأن مسألة الزونينغ تستهدف بشكل
مباشر مدخل بلدة عين السنديانة، والمنطقة الخضراء بين الشوير وعين السنديانة
ذات الرونق المميز والنادر...
وما يضيف على قلق الناس قلقا، تصريح بعض المسؤولين عن حيازة أناس تراخيص
لمعامل لم تنشأ بعد وسرى الحديث عن وجود شركاء فعليين... صدى هذه التصاريح
تداولها الشارع وسرت شائعات عن أن الربيع المقبل سيكون موعدا لبدء بناء هذه
المصانع، وتعليقا حول الموضوع أكد رئيس البلدية أنه لن يوقع على أي ترخيص لبناء
أي معمل إضافي في البلدة...
وتبقى الأنظار والآمال مشدودة باتجاه اللجنة التي شـُكلت من أجل دراسة مسألة
الزونينغ ووضع مخطط توجيهي عام للبلدة... على أمل أن لا يأتي يوم ويُزهر فيه
ربيعنا مصانع جديدة على حساب ثروة بيئية وجنة أعطانا إياها الله مجانا... علنا
ندرك قيمتها!!!
Link:
http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x27/samar_shweir_news/Shweir%20beauty/?start=all
*******************************
If you like to read more about this
subject or post a comment, there are several pages on the BB at:
http://www.shweir.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=520&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=91ff554561ec768e28556c877589759e
Related links: BB Posts:
Industrial v. Environment
Recent posts @ Master Plan
Web Pages:
Baladieh
Mater Plan
Environment
Shweir has inadequate infrastructure to meet current needs & NO
Master Plan!
A Dynamic MASTER PLAN
must have these basic guidelines for Shweir’s Future Success…
1. The Town master plan will include tools for
promoting quality community and lifestyles. It provides citizens,
developers, planners, and leaders with a document that clearly communicates
the public's interests and expectations. It will also provide for orderly
improvement of Town resources, infrastructure and environment.
2. The
needs of the residents and employees of the Town, including youth and senior
citizens, will form the basis for the plan. Topics will include economic
development, including agricultural development, housing, tourism,
education, recreation, and the protection of natural resources.
3. The Town's goals are to promote economic growth
that enhances rather than diminishes property values, to promote
aesthetically pleasing development, and to preserve and enhance the
historic, cultural, and environmental resources of the Town.
4. The plan will help citizens communicate their
goals and priorities with respect to zoning, roads, water, sewer, electrical
and network to
guide elected officials over the next 5, 10 and 20
years.
5. How can Shweir residents enhance their lives and
capitalize on the many outstanding features of their Town, which include
beautiful and scenic countryside, a creative workforce, a bounty of
home-grown produce, an excellent Town Road system, and a fantastic view of
Sunneen to the East and the Mediterranean to the West?
Since 2001, many
caring Shweirys wrote dozens of posts on Shweir Bulletin Boards and urged
the Municipality to establish a Master Plan. In 2006, many engineers,
architects, developers, road and wastewater experts offered to volunteer
their time to work on a dynamic Master Plan. No one followed through on
these experts offers. Not even a committee. = Missed Opportunities. Other
towns are thriving while Shweir has gone backwards.
In
April 2008, Municipality announced and invited public participation for a
bold effort to address 16 important issues leading to a Master Plan.
Everyone welcomed such announcement and gave residents hope. No further
update was made. The only action taken was a submission to rezone an eco
sensitive area that is 300% the size of Shweir into Industrial & Commercial
without proper studies or public notice and input. That would be
devastating for the environment & Shweir.
Shweir desperately needs a dynamic Master Plan &
committee of QUALIFIED, Experienced & Unbiased experts.
Brief suggestions from Dr. Karim Nasser, University professor
of engineering in
Canada, Engineers Salim & Jamil Jamil Bou Saab, Samih Baaklini, George
Matar, Elie Aoun, Mike Sawaya & many others:
1.
The zoning plan should be made public by Council and invite input from,
experts, residents and public.
2. An Expert’s report should be prepared in due time based on resources,
public input and limitations to determine the realistic feasibility and cost
of needed infrastructure, effects on economy, environment, advantages,
disadvantages, proposal viability, cost of the total project and how will it
be financed.
3. Allow Industries that are necessary to serve the community to be up to 5%
of total municipal area and placed in remote location with minimal
environmental effect and away from residences & businesses.
Please share with all who love Shweir, urge council
members to oppose questionable industry expansion, mitigate & reduce current
Heavy Industry, shut down harmful industry & pursue a dynamic Plan that will
make Shweir shine
****************************
Responding to feedback
from and discussion with members of Shweir.com family, about the positive
note of the Mayor's message, we decided to take proactive steps resulting in
this letter, below sent to the Mayor and Council Members.
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 10:10 PM
Subject: FW: Official Response about Shweir's future
Sandy, Please make copies and
distribute to the Mayor and Council members.
***********************************************************
Dear Shweir Mayor Naiim Sawaya and Council Members,
Thank you for your official response and invitation to welcome working
cooperatively for a brighter Shweir.
Shweir will greatly benefit from such cooperation, sharing of ideas and as
you nicely put it, constructive criticism.
Shweir.com has a network of great talent from around the world. And when you
facilitate to tap into their resources, you will be amazed at the additional
opportunities and options that would come.
Shweir desperately needs experts who have in depth knowledge about all
aspects of Master Plans.
If we do not have such expertise, we would waste more time and opportunities
like we did since 2001.
As per your invitation, some of these experts have suggested that we
establish an advisory committee to work closely among experts from around
the world including Lebanon and Shweir and designated knowledgeable members
of Shweir elected officials.
We recommend that members of the council vote to establish such Advisory
Committee that will work closely with professionals, members of the staff of
the municipality and the citizens in order to establish a New Master Plan.
The Council would have the ultimate decision of the approval of the
recommended New Master Plan.
The Shweir.com experts will donate their valuable time and most likely
provide alternatives and resources that can be of great value to Shweir.
They may be aware of international programs or aid foundations that can
provide equipment, systems, software and hardware, or financial assistance
for clean energy, water resources, wastewater treatment, education,
economic, wireless and internet communications, etc.
We want people from around the world to look back 10 and 20 years from now
to admire and be proud of positive accomplishments of the team effort of
your administration and the Shweiry experts from around the world achieved.
We would like to know when the Council would vote on the establishment of
such an Advisory Committee, so we can proceed accordingly including the
selection of advisory members.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information.
Looking forward to your prompt and favorable response.
For the Shweir.com family,
Best regards,
Anwar
Cc: Shweir.com family
*********************************************************************
We are excited about
this opportunity and we are going to look at samples of some of the best
models, utilize applicable data and modify to reflect Shweir
charaqcteristics to achieve best Master Plan.
Here is a communication from Dr. Karim Nasser in Canada:
From: Karim W. Nasser
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: Shweir Industrial Map - REsponse from Mayor
My sincere thanks to all of you for getting to a milestone in the
negotiation with the Municipality.
For your reference and discussion I propose the following model from the
City of Saskatoon:
Municipal Planning Commission
The function of the Commission is to advise City Council with respect to all
matters pertaining to community planning and development within the
Municipality.
The Commission reports directly to Council
Number of members--13
One from City Council and twelve others
See :
www.city.saskatoon..sk.ca
I will provide you with details after my additional inquiries.
Thank you very much and God bless your continued enthusiasm and hard work,
Karim
Author |
Message |
George Matar
Site Admin
Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 408
Location: League City, Texas
|
Posted:
08 Oct 2008 11:22 am
Post subject: The Master Plan for our Shweir |
|
|
I once wrote
a song around 2001 that had the following lines:
Dow Jones falling
NASDAQ in a dive
Nothing to learn here and nothing to Teach
We're simply having a good time at Crystal Beach
Here we go agian, except this time there is no
Crystal Beach, Ike took it with him.... so what to
do now? We Got to get our mind off the economy,
because we are royally %^&^%%. So here is something
that we can interact aand come out with something
positive..... I figure if the economy keep going the
way it is, My last $4000 will be to buy two airline
tickets for me and Janice and head back to to live
in Dhour... and maybe some of you will end up doing
the same thing.... Having that in mind, and you are
aware that the Municipality is being proactive in
implementing a Master Plan for our town........ Here
is your Chance to suggest and / or recommend
improvements that YOU would like for them to include
in the Master Plan.
Rules of the Game is for you to be creative and
practical, use examples of towns that adopted ideas
and made it come true and if you can mention the
results of their work.... In otherwords don't ask
for the imposible... Just remember that the area is
very small and any thing you recommend will effect
the rest of the community.
Go ahead and shine
_________________
Mukhtar
|
|
|
The letter below was sent in 2006 to key
people at the time who can be instrumental in helping to facilitate a sound
and exciting Master Plan. These were my opinions at the time and
invited more discussion.
My
communications with Habib Moujaes March 17, 2006 about the reason the
wastewater plant that failed upon completion was quite insightful and I felt compelled
to share it with you. (See below).
In summary:
(based on Habib and Dr. Ghosn explanations).
The limited
resources Shweir has precluded its leadership from dreaming big and when
they got creative, they were personally penalized.
Yes, the Municipality and individual council members were stung and were on
the receiving end of red tape from higher authorities.
Shweir does
not have short and/or long term
Master Plan
and raw and untreated sewage and other chemicals and possibly harmful
material is being discharged from four outlets.
Other
observations from previous communications include:
Water supply
is inadequate and has to be delivered by truck weekly to each home.
Our water
springs that made Shweir famous – most are tainted, reduced to a trickle
and/or undrinkable
We lost
territory jurisdiction to neighboring towns… like al Kasouf Hotel on one end
and even the Saadeh home on the other end…
Basic
infrastructure such as Zoning, public works, environment, roads, gutters,
electricity, safety, shelter, recreation and job development need big boost.
For the past
five years, we discussed on the BB how wonderful it would be if Shweir was a
dynamic and vibrant town that is active year round.
Remember
George Matar’s posts about the
Master Plan and “A
Town for all seasons”? + many other posts…
The old souk
has fantastic potential. It remains like a jewel in the rough, hardly
discovered.
There are so
many opportunities to capitalize on if… no, WHEN we, combine our resources
and creativity and work cooperatively together.
I sincerely
believe that the key to turning things around is to have a bold vision and
allow our selves to dream big.
So here is
our chance to help our town rise above the negativities and past challenges.
Yes,
positive dreams give people hope and create excitement.
Imagine if we
were to take as many of these dreams and include the more feasible ones in a
Master
Plan (MP).
The nice
thing about a MP is that it can be amended periodically when we get more
data.
Also, the
easy items can be accomplished during the short term and the more GRAND
plans during the Long term…
The reason
that you are receiving this is because I believe that you have the
knowledge, experience, leadership qualities and genuine desire to help
your/our town.
Yes, there
are many many other persons with similar qualities. We do not intend to
leave them out. Thru your efforts via the Shweir MP, we will tap into the
vast resources we have.
As you know Shweir is famous for its
engineers, architects and builders. I am sure each one of you know of
many more people who are qualified. What is important is to find those
who are qualified, available and will be blessed by the Municipality.
We just want to help and do not wish to overstep our boundaries.
I will share with you of the people who I
personally know.
By means of
brief introduction:
Municipality: Dr. Ghosn, as 3 term Mayor, has been most
knowledgeable of most issues, a
master at politics, diplomacy and knows key people to fill in needed
roles. Before Dr. Ghosn retires, or even when he does, we very much would
appreciate and welcome his participation and guidance.
Dr. Karim
Nasser: Retired. Taught civil engineering for decades. Has many
inventions. Dozens of scholarships in his name. Just completed a book “How
I achieved my dream” which will be announced soon and will be available for
sale on Shweir.com with proceeds going to benefit Scholarship fund.
Nabil and
George Matar: Both have engineering degrees and are the most active and
vocal on Shweir.com
Shakeep &
Ziad Shaya: Accomplished Architects and are quite familiar with Shweir
building codes and guidelines.
George
Moujaes: Architect – volunteered his time to design the Shweir Library and
Community Center.
Riad
Khuneisser: Librarian at AUB and volunteered his time at the Shweir
Library and Community Center.
Samih
Baaklini: Engineer – does contract projects for roads and underground
piping in the Houston, TX area.
Suheil
Baaklini: Engineer - works for the Department of Public Works of the
City of Austin, TX Suheil could be most familiar w/MPs.
Jamil Bou
Saab: Has an architectural firm with about two dozen staff members. Also
familiar with design, plan
and community work.
Habib
Moujaes: Mechanical Engineer, entrepreneur, past member of Shweir
Council, very familiar with the Shweir issues, specs, challenges
Anwar
Kenicer: I work in commercial real estate and had
experience working on a large development project as big as Shweir that included MP and
infrastructure.
I had the best mentor in the summers during my youth at
Cinema Roxy: Khalil Salim Moujaes, Habib's dad. Need I say more?
The
following are merely recommendations. They are not cast in stone.
I welcome
your feedback, constructive criticism and whatever would a benefit to
Shweir.
I do not wish
to be presumptuous. Some of you may be overcommitted and may not have time
for this, so please tell me.
Here I will
put my ideal wish list to start with and with your feedback we can modify
accordingly.
The first
step is to establish the Shweir
Master Plan
Committee. May I suggest that to be under the umbrella of Shweir
Foundation.
We get
feedback about gathering as much information about each aspect of the MP,
pre-requisites, and assign persons (some new) who can head or study a sub
part of the MP.
I began to
appreciate the difficulty that the Municipality faced when Habib mentioned
how they were penalized for being creative and wrote:
“Our
centralized government system leaves you no room to dream.”
This has
stirred me to take some action as I am doing now. Let us dare to dream… and
imagine:
Imagine we
get someone like Mayor Ghosn and Dr. Nasser to guide us, give us tips, help
us orchestrate this project. We get great divergent view points.
Imagine that
Suheil Baaklini can guide us about best MP approach, elements, managing
issues and changes…
Imagine that
Habib Moujaes will take charge in addressing the basic infra structure
issues:
Water, Wastewater, Roads, and Electricity. Identify problems, brain storm
solutions.
Each issue can be headed by a most knowledgeable person
Imagine Oula
Aoun can continue her research dream about Old Shweir Souk
Imagine that
you know of many other great and resourceful people to join this fine team.
Imagine that
the Municipality will support such MP study project, provides critical info
and recommend most instrumental and knowledgeable key persons.
Imagine how
excited people of Shweir would be when they have a say about this evolving
MP
Imagine
support by owners of major property that is mostly vacant now that if we
spend $1 on MP, the town can benefit by $2, or $3+
Imagine…..
Imagine….
Imagine…
I can list a
dozen more dreams… and now it is Your turn to add to the list.
Attached
please find five (5) diverse Master
Plan examples that we can use
the best of each that applies.
There are
plenty more on the internet. If you find other relevant information, please
add it and share it with us.
Before I get
too carried away, I need your input, encouragement, blessings, good energy.
This is a
collective and team effort. If each of us and future volunteers did a
segment of the MP, no one will be overwhelmed.
I believe
this will be educational, fun and very rewarding for the town.
I would like
to tabulate your responses and get a consensus by the end of this week.
My apologies
for this long message.
If all move
positively, we would like to get the MP project started in early April and
have a rough draft by end of July.
Say
INSHALLAH.
Best
regards,
Anwar
*************************************************************
April 2006
Allow me to
share some great news with you.
Below, please
find the Municipality’s positive and supportive “Official Statement” and
below that are my comments.
Thank you Dr.
Ghosn for giving us the opportunity to embark on what we would like to
consider to be an undertaking that could become a success story and a model
to emulate in transforming a town.
We feel blessed
to have such open dialogue and the spirit of cooperation among caring
professionals such as this fine group.
We also are very
fortunate to have some of the most gifted minds and engineers who are in
and/or from Shweir who are excellent candidates to join us.
I had several
discussions with some of you and received worthwhile communications and
excellent suggestions and encouragement.
Some of you
recommended excellent candidates to join and help in this effort.
I am very
optimistic about this collaboration. At this momentum, the future long term
vision for Shweir can be achieved much quicker.
Our objective
is to volunteer our time to work closely and in harmony with the
Municipality, mayor, council members, public works departments, engineers
and to get as many good worthwhile suggestions from caring Shweiries and
residents.
I like what
Jamil suggested about establishing a Master Plan commission or committee
that have the authorization, endorsement and recognition of the
Municipality. Since all appear to be in agreement and are in support of the
MP and goals, may I suggest that between now and lets say the first of May,
that the Municipality would establish such a commission. During this time,
recommendations for possible candidates to be appointed would be submitted
for consideration by the Municipality. If Municipality is in agreement or
has a better alternative or time schedule, please let us know. We are
anxious to get started.
It would help
greatly if those to be considered to the commission would be familiar and
preferably experts in certain aspects of the MP. New commission members can
review existing studies like those relevant ones that have been prepared
since 1973.
Granted that
this is an overview. I welcome your suggestions. Your input and
collaborations would give us more options and better choices.
Sincerely,
Anwar
From: A G
Kenicer [mailto:kenicer@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 2:21 AM
To: 'Shweir Municipality'
Subject: RE: Considerations in support of a Master Plan
Dear
Dr. Ghosn,
Your “Official
Statement” in support of the Master Plan is like music to our ears.
Our objective
is to work in harmony with the Municipality to learn more about the studies
that have already been made.
Also, we would
like to get the perspective and vision of the Municipality, Council, and
resident and let the Commissions or Committees sanctioned by the
Municipality to collaborate with experts locally and abroad.
We look forward
to receive the wastewater information you will be sending and to learn as
much of the existing conditions and studies.
Aside from
Zoning and infrastructure issues, the MP could be expanded to include
economic development, advancement of educational opportunities This can be
expanded as we get more input from first the Municipality, Council, experts
and from the public. New and bold topics can include economic development,
(such as a chamber of commerce), educational potential (such as a university
satellite leading up to a full university), recreational facilities (such as
public parks, amphitheatre, preservation and enhancement of historical
sections like old souk in Shweir and the Tahouneh… There may be many other
worthwhile important issues to consider and evaluate. However, I will defer
such consideration to you and the experts.
Thank you for
again for your support of what could be a road map for a brighter future and
clearer vision for Shweir.
With your
permission, I will share your response with the group that we have been
communicating with.
Sincerely,
Anwar
From: Shweir Municipality [mailto:shwair@idm.net.lb]
Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 2:51 AM
To: A G Kenicer
Subject: Re: Considerations in support of a Master Plan
Official Statement
Dearest Anwar Kenicer,
Received your email of April 6 , and had full attention to
its contents dealing mainly with a master plan for shweir . It is a very
important topic to deal with and we have to clarify the master plan we are
talking about because a master plan would mean two things to me:
1- Zoning of the area of shweir
2- Projects needed for collaboration with local governmental
authorities as well as foreign aids to improve the infra structure of Shweir
inorder to have the facilities of modern civilization so that Shweir could
be an ideal place to come to .
The Zoning of the town has been a primary subject dealt with
by the municipality councils starting from 1973 until today and we feel
that we approached the final steps that a Presidential Decree would be
issued very shortly dividing the landscape of
Shweir into several zone areas , each of them
having different characteristics .
I am very happy to hear that many of our people living abroad
(Emigrants) , who are very enthusiastic and specialized in several fields
that could give lots of their experience to be used in implementing a new
infra structure for the town, and then seek for financing from Local
authorities or from different international agencies that are working to
help . I am ready to support any project or projects to modify and bring our
town into better standards, because we need lots of things as well as
corresponding lots of money to be able to reach together our goal.
It's good to start putting a MP for what Shweir needs most
and then to start preparing qualified people in the fields so that we can
have their opinions and studies and then look for ways and means to execute
the projects that would be under discussion.
As for the water waste plant that we started in 1993- 94 , it
will be discussed in a separate e-mail that i will be sending to you in the
coming few days.
Best Regards,
President of Shwair - Ain sindyani Municipality
Dr. Nabil Ghosn
----- Original Message -----
From:
A G Kenicer
To:
Municipality
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 10:22 AM
Subject: Considerations in support of a Master Plan
Dear Dr. Ghosn,
Hope all is going well for you. We miss you all.
As you are aware, I sent an email inquiring about support
for the waste water project and in just a couple of days, we got all
enthusiastic and supportive responses. I will copy and paste some of the
responses below. After some discussions and excitement, the respondents
supported to work on a dynamic Master Plan, MP that will encompass short
term needs and long term visions for Shweir and its people.
A Master Plan is critical for many reasons including:
1.
It
helps identify basic infra structure needs for present and future
projection.
2.
by
collaborating with local and experts who live abroad, Shweir can greatly
benefit from their talents.
3.
For
certain costly projects, by collaborating together, we can identify dozens
of international entities that could provide assistance
4.
This way, by having knowledgeable person(s) locally, like yourself, you can
address and coordinate important and needed logistics to obtain what ever
assistance from the government to compliment foreign aid and/or assistance
from Shweiries abroad.
5.
In order to bring those
visions closer to reality, if we work via the MP, we can be ready and show
that we have a sound and well thought out plans to submit for financial aid
and resources. Of course, we will be more successful if we show that the
project is feasible and we have done our homework.
6.
I
am sure we can list dozens of other good reasons…
Although all the respondents are eager to pitch in, they are
reluctant to proceed without strong encouragement and support from the
municipality.
So far we have not heard from you on these discussions. We
do not want to lose this momentum. It would be great to encourage the
implementation of such a plan at the earliest possible time.
Dr. Ghosn, even if you may go into semi retirement soon, we
need your enthusiastic support of this critical opportunity and/or you can
recommend a key contact person in the Municipality who help us bring this MP
project closer to reality.
The responses below are a good example of eagerness of many
successful and highly qualified Shweiries to help. Perhaps the only
communication you did not see yet was from Samih Baaklini. Now I have his
permission to share it with others. As you will note, he is prepared to
allocate $5,000 to get the right format in place. Also note the correction
on Souheil Baaklini’s qualifications. He works for the water and waste
water department, rather than department of public works, for the city of
Austin, TX.
With Municipality’s endorsement, and the fact that Shweir
Foundation is now a tax exempt corporation, we can get more donations for a
comprehensive MP project since the donor would save roughly 20% to 40% on
his taxes for donating to such non profit entity.
Dr. Ghosn, we look forward to your direction and
enthusiastic favorable response. Inshallah,
J
Best regards,
Anwar
From: Samih Baaklini [mailto:sabaaklini@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 8:21 AM
To: A G Kenicer
Subject: Re: From Shweir Waste Water Mess to 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year
Master Plan
Anwar
I am all for that, a MP. I
also want to thank Habib for this valuable information. May I suggest
letting Habib finish his Waste water treatment plant. I realize we need the
money to do so, If Habib can let us know what kind of funds he is
requiring. If all looks favorable, I can allocate $5000 for this
project, maybe that will get the ball rolling.
Samih
From: Baaklini, Suheil [mailto:Suheil.Baaklini@ci.austin.tx.us]
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 8:11 AM
To: Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E.; A G Kenicer; fincorp@beirut.com
Cc: K. W. Nasser; G. Matar; Nabil Matar; Samih Baakllini (sabaakilini@sbcglobal.net);
George Moujaes; Riad Khunieser; Municipality
Subject: RE: From Shweir Waste Water Mess to 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year
Master Plan
Dear Anwar/Jamil and all;
Good morning to you all, and thanks Anwar for
including me on the list. FYI I have been very busy and disconnected from
Shweir news for a very long time. I do work for the City of Austin Water and
Wastewater Engineering Department and not in Public Works and planning.
However I do concur with Jamil and his recommendations as a good start to
gather in depth information and start the process. I will be happy to help
in any way that is appropriate and might add value.
I salute you all for keeping the imagination and
dream alive. Let us hope that commitments from the right people for the
right tasks and the right reasons remain for the long haul along with the
dollars to make it happen.
Good luck and stay in touch.
Suheil
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and
today is a gift”
From: Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E. [mailto:jbousaab@terraengineering.com]
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 10:39 AM
To: 'A G Kenicer'; fincorp@beirut.com
Cc: 'K. W. Nasser'; 'G. Matar'; 'Nabil Matar'; 'Samih Baakllini (sabaakilini@sbcglobal.net)';
Baaklini, Suheil; 'George Moujaes'; 'Riad Khunieser'; 'Municipality'
Subject: RE: From Shweir Waste Water Mess to 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 year
Master Plan
Dear all,
Anwar great start as usual! I would like to make
brief recommendation as follows:
1-
Establishing Village commissions that
should be appointed by our Municipal Government (with Shweir.com input)
1.1-
Establish Zoning and Planning Commission (up to 7 commissioners including a
chairman)
1.2-
Establish Infrastructure Commission (up to 7 commissioners including a
chairman)
2.
The volunteer commissioners should be
familiar or experts of the commission they will be serving on
3.
Objectives: A year or so of research
and analyses with recommendations of the findings and solutions for
improvements.
Ladies and gentlemen we The Shweir people built
and still building communities all over the world we have talent beyond
imaginations we can serve and improve our beloved Shweir.
Let us start
Best regards,
Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E.
Vice President
TERRA ENGINEERING, LTD.
505 North LaSalle Street 401 Main St.
Suite 250 Suite 930
Chicago, IL 60610 Peoria, IL 61606
From:
Habib Moujaes
Sent: Friday, March 17,
2006 12:42 AM
To: 'A G Kenicer'
Subject: RE: info on waste
water
The
information I gave you are not privilege to anyone. You can go ahead and
publish it and I am ready for assistance in any way I can.
Unfortunately we do not have any
Master plan or
even small plans for out
town.
Visionary
people are a rare commodity these days, especially when you are faced
with a slow and somewhat corrupt system of government, where you have to
beg officials to assist in public works projects.
It is a
dilemma your are faced with when you try to think BIG. Our centralized
government system leaves you no room to dream.
you wind
up thinking small, and making insignificant improvements that takes a
long time to impact the well being of your town.
A case in
point, Few years ago, back when I was with the city counsel (Chawki
Sawaya, Mayor), we faced a dilemma of having to spend an amount of money
to repair the municipality lighting system. The cost of the
project (Some $3000-4000) was beyond the authority of the mayor or the
counsel!!! so we divided the project into two parts each to be spent in
a fiscal month. Well we got the job done.. A month ago, and four years
later, I received a letter from the Centralized Inspection (Al Tafteesh
al markazi) in it they said they found me guilty of breaking the law and
fining me, with the rest of then city counsel men, $100 each!!
Just a
reminder, city counsels do not earn a salary for their services..
As always
you can count on me for any assistance needed.
From:
A G Kenicer
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006
1:27 AM
To: fincorp @ beirut . com
Subject: RE: info on waste
water
Dear Habib,
Thank you so
very much for your explanation.
By
identifying and acknowledging that there is a problem, at the very least, we
can find a solution to correct it.
Granted the
funds are not there now. But if we work on a short and long term
Master
Plan, identify the critical
elements of corrections needed for major infa-structure items, at least we
are prepared and take steps to raise funds, as much from government and
other possible matching funds and possibly by grants from caring Shweiries
and other people the likes of the late Hariri…
Without such
Master
Plan, we will be like a ship
without a compass, lost at sea.
A couple of
questions for you:
1. I respect
your privacy. May I have your permission to post the information about the
waste water? Do you need to check w/Dr. Ghosn first?
2. Do you
know if there is a 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years
Master
Plan for Shweir?
If so, how
can we get a copy?
If not, with
Municipality’s blessings, would you consider heading a team with some of the
engineers who volunteered to help in order to create such a
plan? This can be under the
umbrella of Shweir Foundation.
I welcome any
advice you can share.
Best regards,
Anwar
From:
Habib Moujaes
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006
6:41 AM
To: 'A G Kenicer'
Subject: RE: info on waste
water
The sewage
network of Dhour has 4 Outflows, 2 on Shweir side and 1 on the Zaroun and 1
on Bikfaya's sides.
All these
outflows dump raw sewage into the open.
The waste
treatment plant idea was to
generate water for irrigation during the summer month and to clean up the
open sewage discharges on the Shweir side.
The story
of the waste treatment plant
dates back to 1989 when the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) initiated a
program of financial assistance to villages with projects in the
agricultural sector, on the condition that a matching fund of equal
value to be provided locally.
After we
approached the agency with this project (Myself with the backing of Dr.
Nabil Ghosen), we received a positive feedback from them and we initiated a
study for the best location.
I prepared a
study to use an abandoned sewage well (owned by the municipality) near the
present HI-school in Shweir.
(I was not
aware at the time that there was any
plans for a school in that area. and since the well existed
this represented a saving of $20,000 in construction cost.
After the
initial estimate of $45,000 for the project and the approval of $22,500 gift
from the CRS we started the final designs.
As the word
got out about this project, Mrs. Rida Hammam informed us that the Hi-School
was an active project and that area was OFF LIMIT.
We then
started looking for an alternate site and discovered that the only one with
possibilities was the current location of the
plant.
We hit
another road block, this land is owned by The St John Monastery (Dair Mar
Youhanna) in Khinshara.
Dr. Nabil
negotiated with the Monastery to allow us to use part of this land and in
return they will benefit from the irrigation water for their land.
The work on
the site started with the tank's foundation, we had to blast thru solid
rocks and after a month (with unforeseen cost) we began building the tanks.
The money ran
out and a grant of $10,000 By the late P.M. Harirri allowed us to finish all
the concrete work.
We also had
to run sewer lines to the plant
(Also unforeseen in the preliminary budget). Again we ran out of money.
A local
campaign generated some $3000 with which we where able to install the
aeration Blower and the Piping.
What was
needed was $15,000 worth of mechanical equipment (Sludge return pumps,
chlorination system, Defrothing system, Catwalks, Fences, Gates, etc..) to
get the plant fully
operational.
Despite the
shortage, we started the plant
and placed it in partial operation. However since no defrothing system was
installed a large foam mass developed (Because of excess detergents in the
sewage water) and sludge buildup in the clarifier became excessive. I was
then forced to shut the plant
down.
We tried to
get money from the Municipality, however the request was turned down on the
basis that a large Sewage plant
for Shweir, Khinshara, Jouar and Bteghrein was being studied for
implementation by the Government. After waiting for a couple of years we
tried numerous visits to local officials asking for funds to finish the
station without any results.
A couple of
further attempts where made with the minister of interior (Then Michel El
Murr), again unfulfilled promises.
The
plant was then shut down for
good and lays Idle ever since.
The two
sewage line feeding the station where later connected to a new line running
down the river joining with the lines from Khinshara and Jouar.
This is a
brief History of the sewage plant,
a good Idea that never fully materialized because of lack of funds.
From:
A G Kenicer
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:21
AM
To: Habib Moujaes
Subject: info on waste water
Dear Habib,
Thanks again for your
insightful information about background of the new factory.
I am now puzzled by something
and wondered if you can help.
On several occasions I asked
about update and progress on the waste water mess.
So far I have been unable to
get any information
about the subject.
Can you please enlighten us as
to what is going on about this mess?
If you prefer to remain
anonymous, I respect that.
Please tell us what can and
should be done to fix this messy problem.
The longer anyone waits, the
more damage and the higher the cost.
Best regards,
Anwar
Author
|
Topic: Are we on the right track? |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted
02-27-2001 10:44 AM
“If you want to fix the world, start at your house”.
Now I don’t know if a wise philosopher said that, but if not
then I’ll claim it. As I was reading the latest update on the
New Bulletin Board and specifically reading The Webmaster
article reciting all the resolutions we are hoping to accomplish
to help restore our beloved town , they are great right?
I read the reply by Carmen Moujaes and was shocked, but not
exactly surprised, to notice that what she has wrote is exactly
what I observed in our town on my last visit (1995) to Dhour.
Now could somebody tell me When is it going to get better?
In Carmen’s observation she stated that other towns she visited
have been clean but not ours. Makes one wonder why these towns
succeeded where Dhour has failed! Maybe Carmen pin pointed the
problem. Should we re-evaluate what we are doing when we pushing
projects like reforestation. You tell me “Are we treating the
symptoms or should we treat the disease?” I'll leave it at that
before I say something I might regret.
Here we are thousands of miles away trading ideas on how we
should help improve the looks of the town, and there is hardly
any input or response (excluding Habib Moujaes) from the people
that are actually living there. We all better realize that our
town Environmental and construction beauty has sadly vanished.
And we should also realize that the fix is not a one time
magical treatment, specially at this time and age. The recovery
is going to be a hard one with a lot of sacrifices and
commitment for continuous, daily, improvements involving
everybody in the community, specially the people occupying the
town.
It is easy to keep postponing, but the fact is, could Dhour
Shweir afford to not act, and act now?
Now we have discussed these issues many times before in lost
articles on the bulletin board. It is a concept that should
always be kept in the forefront until the problem is totally
fixed.
I am going to propose a couple of ideas for the Baladieh
(existing or new) to adopt that will have almost an immediate
impact on the town. These can be implemented immediately, this
year. They are very inexpensive and very effective programs that
will create healthy competition among our town's people to out
do each other.
For Commercial: Impose minimum standards on the appearance
of the business, Give recognition Awards for the business that
go beyond these standards. Different awards can be given,
Cleanliness, Appearance, most improved, most attractive, etc.. A
plaque can be given to the business that they can proudly
display. Even a small brake in taxes would be beneficial to get
this program going. Remember that these are the places that
visitors see first.
Residential: Each month between May and September, Give
awards to the best landscaped home with a pretty sign planted in
the yard saying something like “Yard of the Month”.
Now what about neglected business, or yards, well I say The
Baladieh should fix it as it sees appropriate to bring it back
to the minimum standard, and here's the good part...Bill the
owner for the cost of the modification.
Here's another good one.. Cars found littering the streets or
dumping garbage on the side of roads should be confiscated and
the owner should pay a heavy fine AND clean his/her mess before
the car can be returned.
Dhour can not honestly afford not to have programs like
these. Isn't high time that Dhour Shweir come out of this
stagnant phase that’s been hanging over our heads for decades?
We should NEVER FORGET that we were THE BEST OF THE BEST in
LEBANON and we can be that proud again.
IP:
Logged |
hilda
Member |
posted
02-27-2001 05:06 PM
To me it is always a mystery that we do not get
information from Shweir itself. I can't explain it. My
understanding is the Baladieh is "bankrupt". The cost of living
is so high that people who have some means would rather spend
them on the bare necessities of daily life and beautifying the
town is not one of those especially when one thinks of more
necessary essentials.
The alarming thing to me is the failing to provide safe
drinking water even in winter, when there usually is; and the
possibility that that water be contaminated. The lack of
Baladieh funds to meet basic needs for water,for instance, if
true, is so sad. What can be next? a mal-functioning sewer
system?
Addressing various concerns like that on this web page, may
bring to light the various difficulties encountered by the
Shweireh at home. Unless we hear it somehow we will be unable to
know about it.
The silence of the shweirieh can mean so many things. It can
be that things aren't as bad, or that we are too proud to talk
about our needs, or some may think lets just forget the whole
thing, we can't change a thing anyway.
My understanding is that internet access is also expensive
and people using the net will not want to spend their time and
money elaborating on their daily problems that haunt them
choosing to try to forget for lack of ability to act....
Obtaining information as to the day to day lives of people
there is essential. I for whatever I can do cannot extract it
from anybody I know.
My final attempt at understanding the situation is to think
that people have been living in hardship for too long to
recognize the difference....Our wanting to help with little
projects revives people's hopes and interest in the town. I wish
we can use our collective talents a little more to avert disease
outbreaks and draw attention to peoples health and safety as
well.
Rabih Khoury as he comes back may be able to shed some light
on the issues that we are all concerned about.
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
02-27-2001 05:14 PM
Excellent ideas George. We have 'Tidy Town' awards
here that helped to improve the appearance of rural towns and
reduce the littering problem. And the Mahajreen could also start
the process by handing out certificates of recognition such as:
'Shweirieh bil Mahjar vote ......to be the best......for 2001'.
Or
'Shweirieh bil Majar commend......on efforts to........'
Not only would it open dialogue with residents but the process
of looking for awardees would give some insight. It also
expresses appreciation for hospitality and effort involved in
the Eid. It may include a small cash prize, or presentation
ceremony.
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-06-2001 05:33 PM
Shweir is writing to us! Yes, one by one! Jeremy
Sawaya of Dhour Shweir has just signed the guest book (welcome,
Jeremy). Before that we also have George Naim Rahbani, Najib
Kneisser, Fadi Abel Ahad and Nijad Fouad Chalhoub in Shweir, and
Sylva Awad in Dhour Shweir. Like I said, it just takes time, and
great new computers.
IP:
Logged |
Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
03-10-2001 10:08 AM
I think Shweir's problem is part of Lebanon's
problem, if the Lebanese Government doesn't make decisions to
enforce certain laws that would help the country shweir's case
will be hopeless in my opinion.
example if the government doesn't fortify the police, give
them spirit and teach them to force their respect upon people
politely by not accepting briberies and that comes form better
salaries and better police education and pride. there will
always be briberies here in the states it exists but it should
be taken to a bare minimum that way the police can do its job of
circling the town and enforcing strong tickets to those who
throw garbage out the streets, to those who speed (even though i
was one of them when i was young :-)) enforce the building laws
etc...
it is not true that baladieh is bankrupt and if so please we
would like a statement showing us how much they received and how
they were spent. we would like to see their budget, their
planing, what priorities they gave to which sect in dhour??
in addition we all know the baladieh post of president and
his members they were elcted to serve the people and i think
they shoudl all donate thei salary to the treasury. the budget
should be made public, studies should be made before the budget
to determine priorities.
this site has become a museum of old pictures and family
trees, why not make of the baladieh who is a ghost building from
the inside, why not make it a museum for old pictures and family
trees and promienet people shweir prides as their sons.
their are many people in shweir that are financially sound
and that if proper planning is done and a good plan is presented
are willing to invest, we cn invest as well if we know it is
serious and the plan has been studied.
the deputies we elect run to us every 4 years, well maybe we
shoud start from now putting a plan together and presenting it
to them and say hey, we want this and this and this or the next
election you are not going to see one vote from shweir.
eid el mughtaribin is great but has become boring, we need
new ideas, things that bring us together for example we can put
a large screen in dhour and i do mean a large screen and make an
evening deicated to shweir.com where we enter a chat room with
all these people in dhour watching and intriduce ourselves
online to them, we might meet our relatives they might see us.
we can even do it via video where we can see them and they can
see us. imagine if i were there and i meet anwar online and see
it would be nice to get to know my relatives whom i never knew i
had, it is nice to hear a story told by george online and make
all these people standing in saha laugh and remeber.
this will make them remember what a great town they live in
and give them the feeling of someone who has been far away and
that is yearning form his town.
make them interested more in computers and that way they will
need to buy them and we can avance technology in our town.
maybe we can buy several computers and place them in the
baladieh and then go buy the naahar archive since 1930 i think
and make it availble in the baladieh for a small fee that helps
maintain it, that way researchers can have a source in their hom
town for research and internet access.
much much much more i can go on forever but you need peopel
to listen back home.
Elias
IP:
Logged |
GhassanZghaib
Member |
posted
03-10-2001 09:24 PM
Hi,
I hear life is so hard back in Lebanon and in Shweir that I
don't expect things to be better than what their at now.
People are having hard times making ends meet so we shouldn't
expect them to care about how the yard looks or how clean is the
water.
I know a lot of friends and relatives who lost their jobs and
have no income whatsoever. How long can they hold? God knows.
Poverty is hitting hard, corruption too. These 2 words go always
together.
I also hear about prostitution as a way to make a living. I hope
what I hear is wrong.
I can go on and on and on....
One thing I know is we should not expect too much. I'm not
saying everybody should quit. No, I'm just saying we should be
realistic.
We all got here (Shweir.com) because we love Shweir and care
about it. This is the best thing that could happen to Shweir.
Unfortunatly, we don't see the same enthousiasm back in Shweir.
I have a lot of friends who are still back there and who could
make Shweir a better village to live in if only they had the
means and power to do it. But like I said before, they're having
hard times feeding their family, not to mention that most of
them cannot even dream of making a family.
Until the economy and the politics in Lebanon get to an
acceptable level, we won't see or hear better things than we do
now.
The best thing we can do is keep this website alive, exchange
ideas, get to know each others, come up with projects, etc...
Sorry if I sounded too blue but this is the way I feel about
Shweir and Lebanon right now.
PS: I have a crazy dream, and it's about taking every
lebanese out of Lebanon for at least 3 weeks and returning him
back there, and I assure you Lebanon will become the best
country to live in. They will all get to appreciate what they
have.
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 02:44 AM
Ghassan, is there anything we can do to help those
people that you mentioned that you know. Anything that would not
seem like charity, but would be a gift from people who have been
given more opportunities and see it as their sacred duty to
help. Like a small grant to start a business that is needed in
the village or buy equipment. The computer project was a good
start. It was a gift not a loan. What else could be done next?
We've all got families to support and can't do a lot but we
could still try. Just knowing that we care about them must
matter. It is a basic principle in international aid that it is
better to give them a way of supporting themselves that will be
self-sustaining than to impose projects that make them dependent
on others. Maybe we should be growing people instead of trees.
IP:
Logged |
hilda
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 08:20 AM
I can't agree more with Ghassan and Klee. The
problems faced by the people left behind are horrendous. We
can't do a whole lot. We can't change the government or the
country... we can just provide more of a moral support and some
support of limited projects...
I think linking up with one of the charities may be helpful.
Such a linkage can be formalized so that credit can be given to
individuals and groups as they pursue a reasonable community
based goals.
I heard that Mrs Rida Hammam was very influential in the
finding and funding of the shweir high school, lobbying
government agencies and dignitaries for the cause... She seems
to be a very dynamic lady and supporting her group/ charity
organization may be helpful.
Lots of work is needed. Resources are needed and community
cohesiveness and leadership is also needed...We, from afar, can
only do so much...or so little in this case...
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 09:03 AM
On the topic of funding, while I was searching the
word Shweir, I came across an item on Naseeb Michael Saliba born
November 3 1914, son of Michael and Maleki Saliba of Dhour
el-Shweir and Shreen, who was living in USA:
"Mr. Saliba founded N.M. Saliba Company, a General Engineering
Construction firm in 1944. He became one of the largest heavy
construction contractors throughout the 1940's and 1950's. He
was retired during the 1960's. In 1970, he got back into the
business with the formation of Tutor-Saliba Corporation. Today
Tutor-Saliba stands among the world's largest contractors with
1998 revenues over $800 million.
Mr. and Mrs. Saliba are large benefactors for many charitable
organizations throughout the United States and Lebanon
contributing over $30 million in the last fifteen years to these
organizations. Mr. Saliba has received numerous awards for his
philanthropic efforts including the Antonian Gold Medal from the
Antiochian Orthodox Church of North America, (the highest honor
that can be awarded to someone) and the Congressional Ellis
Island Medal of Honor award".
Does anyone know if he is still alive, or if he ever funded any
philanthropic projects in his family home town of Dhour El
Shweir?
I found it at
http://www.million1.com/surnames/saliba/naseeb.shtml
IP:
Logged |
Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
03-11-2001 09:09 AM
Dr Klee and Hilda and Ghassan,
What Ghassan Said is very very true and is an interpretation
of the sad situation but again as i said before and as Ghassan
Said as well, Shweir's problem is part of LEbanon's problem.
Assuming we were able to get them a loan as you suggested Dr.
Klee and helped them open a business.
first who will we give the loan to since there are more
peopel in need then there are people not in need.
second with the economy so bad who will buy from them or who
will be their clientele?? people from shweir or beirut or or or
right?? ma these are the same people who are not finding jobs
who can't feed their families thus no spending thus the business
goes down.
i also hate to be pesimistic but this is the fact back home.
another example is they did what is known as the month of
Shopping in Lebanon in Februray and they made discounts at some
places up to 70% but because there was no tourists or foreign
peple to buy it was a disaster no business.
Ghassan is form the Zgheib family let me give you an example
that just rang a bell. some members of the Zghaib family are
Class A painters i really do mean professionals i know based on
past experiences, however they only find jobs or contracts
inside Dhour or through friends that recommend them, why??
simple cause you have Syrians or Egyptians or or that will do
for much much much less, please do not get me wrong i am not
attacking the Syrians this is a fact though.
why can the foreigners do it for less?? caue they live in
abandonned buildings, the cost of living in thier countries are
cheaper then in ours, they are not taxed etc etc
this is why the economy is slow, not the only reason of
course but a big factor.
Hilda mentioned Rida Hemem, an excellent lady, brilliant and
very active and in my opinion that is the best hing we can help
out her organization and that way we reach some people that are
really really needy cause again Shweir's problem is part of
Lebanon's problem.
i have a best frined in Lebanon Assaad Sawaya who runs his
father;s store, his father is old and the business is not that
great anymore and to make things worst this guy is being drafted
into military service so he will have to leave for a year
forcing his ill father to go work again, and if they were making
money you would say its ok they have to resist but inspite of
this guy's illness you add heartache also for seeing thie
business not generate money.
we need to act upon our deputies and force them to tke
responsibility in the parliment raise these issues ad find
solutions for the country or else why do we need them. we cn
write to a great deal of them who have internet sites or even we
can sign petitiions and have the mukhtar deliver it.
what do you guys think??
Elias
IP:
Logged |
hilda
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 11:34 AM
Elias,
It seems you do have a recent experience in being in Lebanon
and can see the situation from the residents' perspectives as
well as our immigrant perspective...allow me to vote you into
the family of shwier bil mahjar and get things moving in a
positive productive way to facilitate aid/help to get to the
deserving people...If that takes letter writing and signing so
be it, if it takes support of local initiatives that will do
too. It just feels right to try to help out...
Maybe working all together will help...
IP:
Logged |
Waleed Moujaes
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 01:34 PM
Hi Elias, Hilda, Klee, Ghassan and everybody...
Elias, I think I remember you. I don't know if you know me.
You are now in Chicago!! That's great, I live in Columbus, Ohio
and I fly into Chicago few times every year. We'll try to meet
one day.
To return to our subject, I left Lebanon in 1996. During the
last 12 years in Lebanon ( from 1984 - I was 12 years old -
until the last day) I helped almost every organization in our
town, from the Scouts, Volleyball club, Music, Iss3af wa khdamat,
environment,... A lot of people used to fight us, not because of
bad intentions, but lack of education!!! In addition to the bad
economic, social and political situation in Lebanon, lack of
education is the biggest problem that Shweir faces these days.
Yes, the new generation go to school, then universities,... -
thanks to parents who even cut their food rations for them to
give their children a better education. That's why, we now have
a group ( between 18-25 years old) who are well educated and
love to serve their village. They are trying their best, but
unfortunately there is nobody to support them. Our only option
is to "ADOPT" those guys. What I mean by that is to try to
establish contacts with them, give them advise, organize them,
and let them implement small projects with our support. Forget
about the baladieh, deputies,... WHO WILL ASK WHO WHEN EVERYBODY
IS CORRUPT, AND DO NOT CARE EXCEPT HOW TO INCREASE THEIR BANK
ACCOUNTS, OR HELP THEIR GANGS!!!
Eid al Moughtaribeen this year is our best chance for all
Shweiryieh to know about us. Let us concentrate on it. Although
the baladieh is the one who organizes it, I don't have hope in
them. We need to find someone to represent us from now until
then. There is one, so let's start communicating with him to get
his feedback. What do you think Moukhtar?
Waleed
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 04:19 PM
This is a great idea Walid. Your teamwork experience
and keen ability to contribute shows up in everything you write.
Keep up the good ideas. Scouts to the rescue!
IP:
Logged |
Nabil E. Matar
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 07:39 PM
I read many excellent ideas especially from you Mukhtar, Anwar,
Hilda , Miss Carmen
Moujaes and many others, which suggested that some thing must be
done to improve
the look of our beautiful town . I must add that if we
implemented these inexpensive
suggestions to bring back the natural beauty to our town we
could also attract tourist
(msayfeen) to come back and spend the summer.
What I am leading too is that improving the look of our town
could also improve the
economy, therefore this should be a top priority of every
Shweiry especially the
hometown folks because we could all benefit.
You see, as far as I can remember, the tradition and the dream
of every Shweiry is to
travel all over the world, work hard while they are young and
save enough money.
Hoping that one day he/she could come back home and built house
or store to be use
as his/her social security plan and live his old age with
dignity.
Every year since 1993 I spend my vacation in Dhour Shweir and
every year I noticed
The Safiyeh in Dhour lasted only eight days during Eid Al
Mughtaribeen then after the
Eid, Dhour Shweir become a ghost town. I always wonder what
could be done to make
our town be alive again like what used to be during my
childhood. During those good old
summer days Dhour Shweir was the town that never sleep, Casino
Nusser, Casino
Hawie, 13 hotels, Salwa Café, Surk Café many restaurant, and
night clubs, two
Volleyball clubs three tennis courts, three movie theaters and
all kind of stores. Now, all
of these are gone.
I hate to draw this gloom picture but this is the reality of our
town and some thing
must be done to revive our beloved Dhour Shweir.
I know that the Shweirieh are proud, smart and stubborn people
and will refuse to let
our beautiful town stop being 3aroos Al Masayif.
So my friends let us continue working together mughtaribeeen and
home folks to do
what ever it takes to bring the life back to our town and sing
with Zaki Naseef (Raji3
raji3 tit’ummar day3itni)
IP:
Logged |
hilda
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 08:30 PM
Klee,
I tried to get more information about the Shweirie
philanthropist. I did not find any more info than you provided.
It would be neat if we were able to write a grant for some
projects and ask for funding from some foundation...
However, your site allowed me to search for members of
Sawaya, Touma families. Now I know that touma is a big family
and there are palestinian Toumas, Toumas from Zahle and Shweir.
But there were 392 members in the US...I have not heard of
Sawaya other than from Dhour...does anybody know of them...
I suggest you click on Ancestry.com and find missing
relatives ad family members...just like Klee did!
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-11-2001 10:24 PM
Using the 'google' search engine, I found an article
about Naseeb Michael Saliba with a photo of him receiving the
Ellis Island Medal at
http://www.neco.org/awards/recipients/saliba.html
"Mr. and Mrs. Saliba's philanthropic contributions have allowed
them to be Benefactors for many charitable organizations
throughout the United States and Lebanon including Pepperdine
University, University of Southern California, St. Francis
Medical Center in Lynwood, CA, Desert Hospital in Palm Desert,
CA. St. Jude and the Balamund University in Lebanon. Mr. Saliba
is a Trustee for many organizations including the Antiacion
Orthodox Church of North America where he has received the
Antonian Gold Medal, the highest award that can be bestowed upon
laymen by the Church.
Today Mr. Saliba enjoys his time with his many charitable
commitments throughout the United States and is Chairman of the
Board of his son's construction and engineering firm, Saliba
Corporation".
The article also says he was born in Ozark Alabama and sadly his
wife died in 1993. According to another web-page he was still
alive at the end of 1999 and living in Encino California.
He knows what it is like to start with nothing and work hard; he
is quoted as saying:
"So I began with an 11-year-old Ford sedan which doubled as a
truck, $1500 in savings, the idea of being a contractor and a
first job that wasn't as simple as it looked"
http://www.salibacorp.com/history.html and this website says
that the Saliba Corporation of which he is Chairman of the Board
was started by his grandson, Trevor M. Saliba.
Because of his devotion to the Orthodox Church, he might be
approached about funding welfare projects carried out under the
auspices of the Orthodox Church in Shweir or associated with
Balamund University.
IP:
Logged |
Webmaster
Administrator |
posted
03-12-2001 02:32 AM
Hello to all,
Thank You! This topic and discussion has been one of the most
enlightning and rewarding exchanges on Shweir.com.
Granted, we do not have the magic formula to solve all of
Shweir problems. And we do not expect to correct them in a
month, a year or even several years. However, we need to make as
many positive steps in order to reverse that downward spiral
that has taken its toll on the country and the town compounded
by the ills and trajedies of war which caused limited education,
pesimism, distrust, corruption,lack of income, lack of
opportunities and low self esteem just to name a few. How sad
that our people have been so subjected to that kind of negative
influences for so long. I would not be surprised that even when
someone tries to do some thing good for them, they would treat
it with great suspicion and mistrust. Can you imagine the trauma
to the psyche of anyone who has been subjected to that kind of
influence, let alone a town or even a country?
Reading your comments, I could not help noting so many great
observations and ideas that each of you has contributed.
Yes, most of them in Shweir have fallen on hard economic
time. That means most of them would have plenty of time to
spare.
What if we can incorporate as many of your great suggestions
and ideas about beautifying and improving our town with the help
of as many able bodied people. We can arrange to provide the
flowers, trees, hot dogs, music, garbage bags and paint from
donations and other creative eCommerce efforts. But at least, we
need to connect with as many people from Shweir by doing these
projects shoulder to shoulder and build relationships with them.
We can conduct workshops on various topics by volunteers who
have good experience about a subject that can be helpful to
them.
Our al Mukhtaar has a vision of facilitating the creation of
cottage industries that will eventually help Shweir and its
people become self sufficient year round. What if one family
specializes in canning fruits, make soap, knit sweaters or make
many other things, put on each product a nice label with a
Shweir picture that says "Made in Shweir by _______ family".
With the help of the internet, I think we can market these
products in Lebanon and througout the world. Knowing that the
people of Shweir take pride in making quality items,
they will make excellent gifts.
Just like Nabil said: Let's start to make a dent in
beautifying the town.
Now that so many of us caring Shweirieh are communicating and
mobilizing our efforts, I think that we are going to make a big
dent.
With the knowledge we are sharing, we are learning from one
another. Beautifying the town is one item on the agenda... other
examples include meeting with officials of the Baladieh, the two
societies "Al Jam3iehyat", and now I can add another item that
Elias mentioned ... to visit Asaad Sawaya and his father and see
how we can help in his store... organizing, marketing, feature
on Shweir.com of some specialty they may have.
Dr. Klee, Your suggestion and research about international
assistance is fantastic. When we are successful in connecting
with those philanthropists or foundations that identify with
Shweir and its noble objectives, they can give it the boost it
desperately needs. We need to do our homework to facilitate such
endeavor and be prepared to act upon such opportunities wisely
and responsibly.
With all the discussions over the past few months, a lot of
the Mughtaribeen who will visit Shweir (led by al Mukhtaar and
his Texas size "Raffesh") are looking forward to rolling up
their sleeves and go at it to make a difference.
What we need to do now, is make an agenda of the action items
that need to be taken from now until at least the end of the
year in order to achieve the maximum or our goals.
I am tempted to start one now, but I need some sleep.
Good night.
Anwar
IP:
Logged |
Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
03-12-2001 09:22 PM
Dear Waleed,
i am sure that when i see i will remember you also, next time
you are in Chicago look me up would love to meet you that is if
i am still in Chicago because i am kind of starting to hate the
weather here, might be moving to Arizona this summer but it
doesn't matter we will stay in touch and if i am in chicago when
you are here i would love to meet you.
Elias
IP:
Logged |
|
Author
|
Topic:
Virtual or Achievable Reality |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted
03-20-2001 04:04 PM
Lets take this scenario!! Read on but don’t answer
until you close your eyes and see what comes to your vision /
mind, then Answer it if you wish.
It is early in the morning in the middle of the winter. It is
cold, possibly 3 ft of snow piled up the night before, but you
need not worry about the roads to the capital being closed. The
Baldaieh had one or two snowplows keeping the roads clear. The
Children are still sleeping, you need not worry about the Sobia,
because the renovated house you are living in has been equipped
by a central heater (Electrical or Mazoot fired heater depending
on the house). The City free van pool will be picking you up in
front of your home in half an hour to take you to work, it is
not exactly free but it is included in your house payment, which
is much less than a small apartment in Beirut.
No need to worry about the spouse and children, Your spouse will
be able to get the kids off to school then head to open the
“Gift Shop” in the New shopping center.
Tonight will be very special because Zayna will be competing in
swimming while Fadi’s volleyball team is playing against Brumana
High School in the covered Gymnasium. Both the heated swimming
pool and the covered court are located in the “City Recreational
Center”. And you should not forget that you and several parents
volunteered to operate the concession stand tonight. After all
the proceeds will go to the School Library Fund. The center was
such a great addition to the town since it hosts all kinds of
activities through out the Year. It contains a covered swimming
pool, a weight room, two volleyball courts that can be used for
basketball or indoor soccer. This is in addition to the 4
meeting rooms that are used for babysitting during the weekday.
The membership cost is cheap compared to what the family gets
out of it, and since it is included with the house payment, it
is worth it.
After the Game the whole family will be heading to the Khoury
Family restaurant, to make the Day complete.
You just can’t wait for the spring and the summer. In the
spring the kids will start practicing for the soccer (football)
season, and of coarse you are coaching. The village has three
fields to cover inter village play as well as playing teams from
nearby villages.
Both Fadi and Zayna got part time jobs Fadi, at the movie
theatre and Zayna is a lifeguard at the Recreational Center
swimming pool. You really don’t need to worry about the kids
they have their schedule filled.
Aren’t you glad you decided to move to Dhour Shweir and make it
your hometown? This dynamic town has it all. It has made great
strides in a successful come back to modernize the past decade.
The forests are all green again, the plentyful existing Housing
has improved so much, every house has a road leading to it and
equipped to function year round. Shops, restaurants, and movie
theatres are open year round too. Since all the homes are
occupied, the opportunity to start a small business is so
lucrative, and the businesses that existed are flourishing.
The village has the best Schools in Lebanon and soon to have a
University Branch. Parks and Activities designed to keep you and
your fit and playing together. A small but good Hospital, and an
retirement home all packaged on the most beautiful spot in the
country. All this and considering the relative cost vs. living
in the capital!! Now why would you want to live anywhere else?
Now close your eyes and imagine it, is it Virtual Reality or
Potentially Achievable Reality? I’d like to think it’s the
later, we know it is not impossible.
IP:
Logged |
Webmaster
Administrator |
posted
03-20-2001 04:58 PM
Ya Mukhtaar,
Major achievements are the results of bold and clear vision,
conviction and dedication.
Had Shweir continued along the path and momentum of its glory
days... there is no question that your vision would be more of a
reality.
Yes it is still achievable especially with the great momentum
that Shweirieh are responding to this worthy cause and effort.
Anwar
IP:
Logged |
Klee
Member |
posted
03-20-2001 05:14 PM
It sounds great and it is achievable. Other small
villages in Lebanon are doing it. See the website for Hammana
village at
http://www.hammanavillage.org where they describe the
redevelopment occurring. For example, how they now pay council
rates to the Baladieh and the effort that it took to make that
happen. Then there is the Agricultural Cooperative which arose
in 1988 because it was "deemed necessary to encourage the
revival of agriculture as an income generating activity and as a
cultural heritage of the village". "The cooperative, with the
help of the Ministry of Agriculture, was able to provide at
nominal price beehives, fertilizers and insecticides...saplings
and other ornamental trees and useful seeds for vegetables". And
the Handicraft Cooperative of the Upper Metin established in
1993, which "comprises associations and individuals from 27
villages in Upper Metin. Each summer a two-month marketing
exhibition is held in Hammana, where embroidery, lace, straw
baskets and other products are sold. In 1998 the cooperative
with the help of the Pontifical Mission set up a workshop to
help village women who are seeking employment. As a first step
the cooperative is planning to manufacture school uniforms". It
IS achievable.
IP:
Logged |
hilda
Member |
posted
03-20-2001 06:37 PM
Very revealing vision by the Mukhtar coupled with a
readily available example (with a link) provided by the research
of Dr Klee. Now why aren't the Shweiries back home that
organized?
There must be a good reason lurking somewhere...
IP:
Logged |
Waleed Moujaes
Member |
posted
03-21-2001 10:20 AM
Hammana's mayor, or ex-mayor, Najib Abou Haydar was
from the only Orthodox family in that town. 90% of the people
there are Maronites, 9.99% are Druze and 0.01% are the Abou
Haydar family. With all the war and sectarian violence that
happened in that area, no one was hurt, and no home was robbed,
and MOST IMPORTANT, no one dared to cut a tree or build
illegally. Believe it or not, I went to Hammana in 1992, 2 years
after the war ended. I couldn't believe that this village is
still there. Can somebody answer my question: why??? I have one
answer and I'll bluntly say it( execuse my French!!!): He and
his team have "balls".
Ya mukhtar, you idea, although needs a lot of will, money and
resources is not impossible!!! It needs a team, and especially a
leader (mayor) who TRULY loves Shweir, wants to work for Shweir
- not his pocket, family or friends - and knows what he wants.
Waleed S. Moujaes
IP:
Logged |
Fr Dcn George
Member |
posted
03-21-2001 10:44 PM
Well said by all...
To achieve needs change in attitude and what we do. If we
keep doing what we are used to do we can't expect diffrent
results.
So, how are we going to change the man? How are we going to
become participants in the Democratic process rathar than
spectators? The answer should come from Shweir first and then we
can rally to support.
Is there some one close to the fire who wants the change?
Then it's good! If we got 10 people, then the solution is at
hand.
Until then lets' keep working on the fire until it lights up
and creates warmth.
IP:
Logged |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted
03-22-2001 09:05 AM
Thanks for all the replies, all your conclusions are
exactly what I have aimed to get from you on this article others
that I wrote.
Let us be honest, Its not the town, or the location, we have the
best there. The Key is the people and their willingness to
change, and it must be within the village itself. Change is not
going to come until a change of attitude and a conviction to
follow through is born. What the town need is a good mix of
people that are dynamic, proactive, progressive, creative,
caring, unselfish, diplomatic, politically savvy, know where the
resources are and know how to go after them. And, here’s the
hard one, Team players that no matter what the situation is they
can reach a consensus for the benefit of the village.
Wishful thinking Huh?
I am afraid we might not have the right combination / mix of
people in power at this time or at least they are not showing
it, hopefully it will change and soon.
Based on what I have been noticing the past year, and it saddens
me a lot to say that we have people with these qualities but
most are outside Dhour Shweir.
I know there are a lot of hard working people in Dhour Shweir,
what I am afraid of is these people are spending their energy
pushing,unknowingly, in the wrong direction.
Dhour Shweir Have some terrific resources scattered around the
world, and based on the people that are in constant contact with
the Shweir.com I can bet they will help bring many new and
practical Ideas for the village to adopt. All they have to do is
ask, Isn't that why we created this web-site. We have on several
occasions tried to connect with the Baladieh to no avail. Here’s
their chance to reach all the Shweirieh across the Globe, yet
they apt to stay silent. Silence must be a trait in our village
that makes me and others that I know frustrated. I am currently
experiencing that from the village educational institutes.
I cannot believe that the Baladieh does not know about their
town Web-page. I assure you they do.
Now here the confirmation to what I was saying. Don’t you think
that they should have by now invested in a computer and an
Internet connection, if neither existed, to reach all of their
people? I would have, and I am sure you would too. I would have
asked for a special page on shweir.com to bring the village news
to all the mughtaribeen, and would write in it everyday.
Wouldn’t that be the best calling card for all the village
resources (mughtaribeen) and really make them feel they belong?
The right Mix of PEOPLE, that’s what Dhour Shweir Needs.
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Shweir's Master Plan - Part I |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted
08-28-2001 12:08 PM
Yes, it is true Dhour Shweir is not recovering from
the war as fast as the rest of the country, but then again that
might be good. You see places like Mazraat Yashou3 or al
Mansourieh where they were stupidly and sadly converted into
concrete farms with no character. There are many other places
like that. In simple terms none have a long term plan for their
village, so they build chaotically. The Irony of it all is most
of the buildings are vacant, and those that are not, the
residents are exposed to high air and noise pollution from motor
vehicles. Overbuilding is counter productive and considered
backwards progress.
There are many Lebanese that seems to have this love affair of
living or building on the main roads. so they build their houses
or shops exactly on the main road, sometimes so close to the
road that you have to check for traffic before you step out.
Shweir is really in a great position at this time to learn
from other towns’ mistakes to shape up our village, so that when
the right time comes Shweir will be the village everybody looks
up to and fancy to move into.
I am planning to write a series of posting on the subject
addressing several issues. Hopefully between all of us,
Globally, we can come out with some sound recommendations /
suggestions that will help establish guidelines for a MASTER
PLAN to aid the PROPER ESTABLISHMENTS attract the right
investors to help mold our village into a Model One.
How we get there at this time is not important, lets just
concentrate for a while on being imaginative and creative. How
would you like to see Shweir in 10, 20 30, 50 years from now?
Maybe all this might end up being wishful thinking, but, go
ahead and entertain me with your opinion, surely you have one.
Are you ready to play? Here are the rules
All your input will have to be on the Bulletin Board, this
way we can track all comments
All entries are debatable
Think long term
Think out of the box, think bold use your imagination,
outrageous sometimes is what we need.
If patching the roads is what you think then this exercise is
not for you, we are talking major things
Financial, if you have investors in mind hold on to them, lets
see what we need to do first
Now, we need a theme for the village so we can build around it……
Here we Go.
Part I.
The Theme: The Perfect Village
George’s Opinion: Shweir should be rebuild as an exclusive
village designed in harmony with nature to provide all the
modern conveniences, comforts and pleasures of all people
residing in it. Meaning and in no particular order:
Parks, Playgrounds, Shopping centers, Entertainment, Reduced car
congestion, Reduced traffic in the heart of the town, Car Pool
Service, Cleaner streets, Strong police department, better
zoning and strict building codes. Schools, Library, clinic /
hospital etc.., college branch, sports facilities, health clubs,
concert hall; Sufficient water, Good Water, Garbage pick up,
Recycling, and a good reliable infrastructure.
Is this a good theme? Do you have a better one?
Next posting Part II will be a bold plan that will address:
Main Roads, Shopping centers, entertainment and parking garages.
Please I don't want to hear "lets address the more important
ones first" that will come later.
IP:
Logged |
Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
08-28-2001 04:13 PM
George,
lets all dream together shall we and remember everything
starts with a dream, a vision it might look like a long shot but
we will all do our best to make that drema a reality.
my theme, actually i have 2 of them:
1- there was a dream... it was Shweir
or
2- shweir: an on going Vision
i think we should think about how we want to position Shweir,
what we plan for shweir will depend mostly on what we really
want to achieve. do we want to position shweir to play its
traditional role of summer spot for the people of Lebanon and
the arab world and the world?? do we want more form shweir like
do we want to industrialize shweir?? or maybe make shwier the
silicone valley of Lebanon? or maybe agriculture or just basic
commercial.
this is important because if we are thinking long term the
question of education comes in how will we educate shweir how
will we convince the shweiris of our grand plan and why we think
it is beneficial for them to puruse this dream or this vision.
i would like to see Shweir as a modern village that is self
sufficient economically and to achieve that economic
independance Shweir needs to specialize in something.
there were talks when i was there that the university of
balamand which is owned by the orthodox church would open a
branch in the land under MAR Elias i think we need to
concentrate on that happeneing casue if that happens shwier is
in a different class altogether, the university will require
dorms, will require shopping malls will require theaters
restaurants health clubs forms of entertainment companies would
want to open near universities like automotive companies would
wnat to open near the univeristies, record shops etc... etc...
and once the baladieh has money in it from taxes and stuff it
would then be our duty to educate the people on the reasons for
electing this person instead of that not becaus ethis person is
my uncle i will vote for him but he can't spell for example. we
will elect competant people and we will demand to know how the
money is spent and where and we will judge them accordingly.
once moeny in the baladieh is available we can repair the
roads to industry standards with the right mix of asphalt not
one that will be worst than the original by that afternoon. we
would have a well studied tax plan that will provide the
citizens of shwier with clean streets we might even provide
garbage dumpos where by the baladieh actually has people that
drive around shweir every tuesday and saturday or whatever 2
days cleaning the garbage, we would provide clean water in
return for this tax, better education with more facilities. we
can do endless things we can sponsor children in school where by
shweir.com would pay for all their expenses provided they need
the money and they deserve it we can sponsor kids yearly and put
them through college.
i have a lot more ideas i hope i am not asking for too much.
Elias
IP:
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted
08-28-2001 04:36 PM
Elias you are on the right track, but let us focus a
little on the theme for now. Should we have Shweir stay as an
exclusive resort type village with plenty of scenary and limited
buildings, or convert it into a commercialized housing yard. I
am picking the first, once we agree on a them we'll start
addressing other issues to make them fit together. That my
friend would be part II, III, IV, etc.... I already told you
what part II will address
IP:
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hilda
Member |
posted
08-28-2001 07:01 PM
Think pristine mountain resort type village.
IP:
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Klee
Member |
posted
08-28-2001 07:32 PM
Part of the development will be driven by 'needs'.
Being outside, we can't impose the direction of development on
the village. It seems from what has been said, that there are
two needs developing among those who are living in the area:
1. the need for the elderly citizen's home. This was mentioned
months ago as a major project there. Obviously, those residents
committed to stay long-term become elderly and need
supported-residential-care. It is important for family cohesion
to keep them in the area.
2. the need for higher education facilities. If Balamund
University wishes to build a higher education facility there,
that is great news. One assumes that it educates year-round and
not seasonally due to the snow. Also one assumes that it is in
addition to the monastery, not instead of it. Shweir has a very
long history of good schooling, set up in association with
churches or missions; the standard of education in Shweir was
very high even in the mid-19th century, for both girls and boys.
The provision of tertiary education near Shweir in the Metn
would be an excellent planning decision. Not only does it mean
that young adults might remain or board in the village during
their education, if it becomes a large institution then it
brings in many other young adults for the short-term (several
years) revitalising the Metn. It also makes good use of the
church's property.
There also needs to be some opportunities for permanent
middle-aged residents and families of the village. Hopefully,
the support facilities for these institutions such as groceries,
pharmacies, stores, internet cafes and professional services
will be developed by those astute enough to recognise the
opportunity.
With regard to the physical rebuilding of Shweir, I would dearly
love to see the "heritage" character of the village redeveloped:
the beautiful stone buildings for which the masons of Shweir
were famous. There should be encouragement to build in this
form. In the Old City of Jerusalem, one must build with
limestone by law; that is why the city has a unique appearance.
Even brand new apartments are built from the stone which becomes
smooth and shiny with wear, and then looks like marble. It also
has a pleasant warm golden or white GLOW. To preserve the
heritage character of Shweir it would need the baladieh and
residents to co-operate towards this aim, with planning control,
financial encouragement or professional building guidance. It
also requires money to build or re-build a home, developers
could building apartments for students or couples. One must get
the planning rules in place before a concrete jungle develops as
it has in other places in the middle east. I find those concrete
buildings and apartment blocks VERY UGLY and unappealing too.
Some design controls should be developed for the area. Hopefully
the educational institution will be built in harmony with the
style of Mar Elias not the modern architecture of newer
buildings at Balamund. If houses and stores adhered to this
plan, the village would restore its beauty and look attractive
to those who visit. People would really want to live in such a
beautiful village.
Environment and landscaping are a later problem. These are
initial thoughts.
IP:
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
08-28-2001 11:59 PM
Dr. Klee,
great post but i would like to mention a few things maybe i
will be hated for saying this but deep down i believe some might
share my opinion.
house of the elderly to me is a big waste of money or
actually money unwisely spent reason being is there is an
elderly home in bickfaya which is minutes away from shweir why
do we need one in the heart of shweir?? (please no politics on
the bickfaya issue)
also the community in Lebanon is different than that in the
western world most families refuse to put their parents or grand
parents in elderly homes so to me it is a waste of money we can
spend this money on more needed services.
i am all for helping the elderly and i am to support the idea
if we didn't have a respectable one close by so why do we need
it?? the one in bickfaya is half empty because of reasons stated
earlier so why do we need one??
the remainder of your post sounds great.
Elias
IP:
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator |
posted
08-29-2001 12:02 AM
George, i second your opinion but as much as i adore
the village type life we would have to incorporate some sort of
modernization somewhere to drive people to Shweir maybe the idea
of the university together with preserving the heritage would be
best.
i know most of the people that built homes in shweir tried to
preserve the village type art of building i know we did when we
built our house we preserved the stone and the "armid etc...
so i am with yo all the way on the theme thing.
Elias
IP:
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Klee
Member |
posted
08-29-2001 03:30 AM
Good comments Elias. Maybe that explains why the
elderly citizens' home hasn't been built yet. Whatever is being
developed will enjoy the wheelchairs then!
IP:
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hilda
Member |
posted
08-29-2001 06:52 AM
Klee,
You have provided a very thoughtful plan for the town. It is
a great blue print for how this town can be. I do agree that we
do need our own retiremet home. And you are right to think of
the intellectual tradition that shweir had and building on
that...
My only hope is that people will see through your plan the
merits of all of it and just strive to implement it. Then maybe
one day you will go and see how your blue print from a distant
place was so right on the mark and it did help the town and it
was actually carried out..
IP:
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted
08-29-2001 07:16 AM
Wonderful thoughts, I wish we had more input but this
sis a start. Klee all your thoughts are in place and will be
addresses in upcoming parts.
I like Hilda's name of the theme: "Pristine mountain resort type
village". It coincides with mine but she's more eloquent, And I
like Klee comments on Building with Lime stone, the private
sector is doing just that.
Elias comments on the Elderly home may or may not be valid at
this time, but the wheels are turning on it, however we will
address that also in upcoming parts.
We're almost heading towards Part II. Possibly this afternoon
or tomorrow.
IP:
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Waleed Moujaes
Member |
posted
08-30-2001 08:57 AM
I totally agree with Elias about the Elderly House,
especially after I heard about the budget: $4 millions!!! Guys,
what is this for??? Is it the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong or
Belagio in Las Vegas??? How many elderly people who need it will
be in Shweir at any time, 100, ... out of who, at least 75%
won't accept that their parents be sent to elderly houses. Who
will manage it? We are Lebanese, not Westerners. Please do not
misunderstand me. I am not offending anybody, but these are
customs which will never disappear... I challenge anybody who
reads SHWEIR.COM, or anybody on the committee for the Elderly
House to say it bluntly that he/she agrees on sending their
parents or grand parents to any Elderly House of any sort.
According to the number ($4 millions), this might be an
entertainment center where anybody including us, will be looking
forward to going to, but this is not the time. Why should we pay
this amount for our elderly when the young generation is leaving
our town????!!!! If whoever is very optimistic about raising
this amount of money, why don't you invest it in a productive
program? For example, a hospital who everybody can benefit from,
could be used from pregnancy (before birth) until the last day
of any Shweiry's life.
Hope that we do not waste our time and money...
Waleed Shehadeh Moujaes
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Author
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Topic: Shweir's Master Plan - Part II - The Center
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted
08-29-2001 01:43 PM
Houston is such a dynamic city that does not know
what the phrase “Can not be done” means. Other than being the
home base for NASA . Houston, in the 60’s built what was known
as the world’s 8th wonder, the Astrodome. What is so special
about it? This baseball / American football stadium with
astroturf, was built under a dome with a capacity to seat
55,000+ people to enjoy a game in an air-conditioned atmosphere.
This year they are surpassing that. A new giant stadium to seat
80,000 people with a “Retractable Roof” so people can enjoy the
games with or without direct sunlight depending on the climate.
Shweir can not afford to go that far, but my point is in the
first sentence above.
Brumana, a town that is less than 10 Km southwest of Dhour
Shweir is doing great, restaurants, sidewalk cafés, shopping
etc.. It attracts investors and people from all over. I like
Brumana, but we can do better. Same goes for Bikfaya. Brumana
took the major road and built some nice restaurant across the
street from each other, the view? What View, it does not exist.
Now Dhour Shweir, Close your eyes and picture this, scratch
that. Read, then close your eyes or let your imagination flow
while reading.
The topography of Dhour Shweir can allow us to do some great
things without compromising the scenery.
Take a look at the front page picture of the Saha, we will be
taking about the landscape to the left of the street from the
Church forward.
The Giant Dhour Shweir Center (GDSC).
The landscape we are talking about has a sheer slope located
between two parallel roads, an upper (which you see in the
picture) previously known as Farris Mushriq Blvd. and a lower
currently a dirt road. Here’s the proposal: A multi level center
with the top level roof located at the same elevation as the
upper road, all those that visited Dhour Shweir know that
looking to the left there is a spectacular view of Sanin,
arguably unequaled.
The Roof will be a very wide sidewalk built with soft red and
gray bricks to match the roofs of the villas in the town.
Strategically located flowerbeds and benches for people to
enjoy.
Few sidewalk cafés with kitchens located on the first sub
level.
Stairs every 100 yards that lead to the lower levels
2-3 ramps that will lead to a parking garage on the lowest
level, with access from the lower road too.
The guard railings at the end opposite from the road are
located between arches made of lime stone reminiscing of the
arches built by our forefathers. The same could be made to the
side next to the road.
A tiny amphitheater located between two sidewalk cafés for
performs to entertain the people.
What’s under the roof, here is what an architect will drool
over. The stretch from The Saha to the Fowar is long and can
accommodate so many different businesses. Here what I imagine.
First Sub Level towards Sanin will be reserved for businesses
that require a view, say restaurants, covered cafés, food courts
etc…
The slope of the land would make it Idea for multi screen movie
theaters, easily three. Add a multi level health spa with weight
room and other exercise machines, a tempered swimming pool at
the bottom level and 2-3 racquetball courts. A bookstore with a
small reading area and coffee shop. And why not a Library?
And let’s not forget one of the most important additions…. The
parking garage, possibly occupying most of bottom level.
The remainder will be stores of what ever you can think of
stores scattered around aquariums ranging from clothing, shoes,
art galleries, Gift shops, records and video stores, Hilwayat,
Pharmacy, arts and crafts appliances, etc.. Can you see it???
So why a center like this?
First it will clean our main street and heart of the village
that looks right now like the old Crantina district.
Second, it will give the summer rental an important point of
interest and entertainment to come to our village AND it will
give some of them reason to stay all year around (Yeah we’ll
discuss schools later).
Third, it is covered so there is no reason not operate it year
around (see second reason).
Forth it will take a huge load off the cars that currently are
parked on the tiny sidewalks.
Fifth, it will free up spaces in other parts of the village to
really do some beautification projects
Sixth, everything in one place
Seventh, it will bring constant revenues to the village.
Eighth, Keeping up with our theme I believe it is or will be
built in Harmony with nature
What do you think? Good?
Technically, it can easily be done. Financially, multi investor
will be needed. Real estate, if owners don’t get greedy maybe a
fair settlement with possibly some shares in the complex might
do it.
Your input or do you have
I skipped the Roads, so that will be Part III
IP:
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Klee
Member |
posted
08-29-2001 06:40 PM
My initial reaction is that it sounds BIG. Very nice
but maybe too big except for in ten years down the track. And
power-hungry...where does the electricity come from in Shweir?
We don't want the development to "turn off the lights of
California" as they say. Also, are sub-levels (such as car
parks) practical in a place that gets snow and water that will
melt and run down there? Maybe it needs to have parking in an
above-ground design.
Practically, the aim is to grow into such a centre in modules
somehow, maybe as a shopping-village on the flat, adding new
sections as the economy needs them and can support them. Great
ideas though.
IP:
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted
08-30-2001 07:20 AM
Yes it is big, and yes it can be built in sections, I
am sure that is probably what would happen... If completed in 10
years, it would be fantastic. Remember we are talking about long
term ideas and how do we want the village to be like.
In my vision, I am reserving the top levels for businesses that
require a view, the old village and Sanin are so visible from
there.
Parking in lower levels makes a lot of sense due to the Lower
road. Ice should not be a problem, it is covered parking. Up and
Down ramps if designed well will have good drainage, worst case
scenario, hot pipes could be imbedded in concrete to prevent
freezing.
Electricity, is government controlled, and now the village have
semi reliable diesel generators.
Technically it all can easily be done. Commercially, it makes
a whole lot of sense, Economically, the village needs it.
Financially, That's the big monster. Hopefully somebody $$$$$ is
reading this and see the potential in it.
IP:
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Author
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Topic:
Development of the Ghwab!!! |
Waleed Moujaes
Member
Member # 17
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posted
11-02-2001 03:33 PM
I was just chatting with
our friend George Samaha in Shweir. Our topic was the
environment and how we can improve our ghwab. I am sure he
discussed this idea with George M, Anwar, Mike, Nabil AK,...
Since nobody opened this subject, and we have been discussing
some ideas to make money for the last few days, I feel it is the
time to open it: "Development of the Ghwab".
The idea is simple, and it depends on the following:
1- Cleaning the Ghwab from all the andool, dead trees and
haysh. Those could be crushed and pressed to be used in
chimneys.
2- Cut the low oak branches and make charcoal which could be
sold.
3- Harvest the pine nuts and sell them (after giving the owners
a percentage).
4- Plant various kinds of plants, flowers. Distribute seeds of
za3tar, as3een, lawanda,... and any other kind which attract
bees. Having lots of bees will help the few existing orchards of
apples, cherries,... to produce more fruits.
5- We'll have a great national park with a small investment.
6- We'll protect our ghwab from fires, diseases,... we'll have
healthy plants.
7- It will be a good source of income.
8- The ghwab, as you may know or have heard, was full of water
springs. Those could be dug again. There are lots of small
valleys, and a dam, for example could be built in Ain Al Hanoot).
It could be used to store water, and then pump it up to Burj
Dahdooh for usage in the dry season of Sep, Oct and Nov.
Obstacles that I think about:
1- Someone in the baladieh counsil should be pro-active and,
at least, read thsi article and adopt it.
2- 99% is private land.
Solution: The baladieh is the one who should take the
initiative, and be involved legally to have the owner's
approval. Whoever is not in Shweir anymore will never ask, and
whoever is there, shouldn't have a problem since we will clean
their lands, and they will have some pine nuts (if pine trees
still exist in their lands).
3- A small investment to buy 2-3 machines for crushing the
wood, hiring some labor, hiring a manager.
4- Media campain to explain the advantages.
In few years, the baladieh should lobby the government to buy
all this land and transform it into a national park.
Some of you might think I am crazy, or dreaming. I agree, but
honestly, and with open hearts, IS IT IMPOSSIBLE???? I
personally, don't think so!!!
Waleed
Posts: 306 | From:
Columbus, OH | Registered: Feb 2001 | IP:
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
11-03-2001 02:45 PM
Waleed,
These are great ideas and you are right that in order for
such worthwhile ideas to be implemented, we need the support and
initiative of of our local municipality and a cohesive plan to
keep such plan as an ongoing project...
I would like to add the following suggestion to your list...
To add flowers in strategic areas along roads and alleyways and
footpaths in Dhour, Shweir and Ain Al Sindyani something hardy
that survives the winter snow like regular and trailing
geraniums and seasonal or annuals to add color... that way,
people can see them, enjoy them and note that there is a fresh
look or a transformation taking place...
Along that effort, picking up of discarded rubbish by the
roadways and pathways would be tremendous boost to the
beautification and improvemetn of our environment...
Again, the key is our municipality...
As George mentioned in earlier communications, the community
would have volunteers such as Keshafeh and SSSR and students to
"adopt" some projects and we can have competition on who can
make the best impact... What a wonderful and uplifting feeling
that would give to our town the psyche of its people...
Anwar
Posts: 508 | From:
San Francisco, California USA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
11-08-2001 05:38 PM
Every once in a while a
good topic in The BB that benefit our home town goes unnoticed.
This is one
of them. Thank you Walid for bringing a subject like that. My
friend, you are not crazy nor you are
dreaming. In my book you are a great Shweiry with vision and NO
YOUR VISION IS NOT
IMPOSSIBLE. All great thing in the worlds started with vision
and your vision is very much
achievable. All what's needed is guys/girls like you working
together as a team to make what is
impossible possible.
Sho Ya Shabab, furjona bra3itcon. No body has any thing to say
about this subject. Ghassan, Elias
Habib, Hilda, Hana, Victoria, George, James, Lama, Isis, Klee,
Gari and all the young Shweirieh back
home including you Elusive and Andre where are you, say some
thing people
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Groves, Texas USA | Registered: Feb 2001 | IP:
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elusive
Member
Member # 74
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posted
11-08-2001 08:35 PM
Yes! Whenever a tree is
planted in any area in Lebanon, it makes the country a more
enjoyable place to live.
I remember the days when I would drive from Beirut to Bikfaya
daily and enjoy the beautiful scenery; but I was shocked when I
went back 17 yrs. later to see what man has done to destroy all
that beauty!
Now since I am not sure where Ghwab is (I may have an idea),
although I am certain that I've left some footprints there, it
is always a great idea to re-plant. Those pine trees are
something to behold. Perhaps this area could also be made a
protected area, along the line of Horj Ehden, if feasible.
Whatever you do, Shweiriyeh, don't let your beautiful village
get cluttered with lots of concrete dwellings like what happened
between Bikfaya and Zalqa, or Jounie where the once beautiful
forest has virtually lost ground to haphazardly built houses!
Thanx Nabil for reviving this topic and encouraging people to
write, Shweiris and non-Shweiris alike. Beautifying any village
in Lebanon should not only be of interest to its regular
inhabitants, but also to any Lebanese. After all, we are all in
the same boat.
Posts: 102 | From:
Herndon, VA | Registered: Oct 2001 | IP:
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GhassanZghaib
Member
Member # 10
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posted
11-08-2001 09:17 PM
Guys, great ideas can only
come from great minds and spirits.
I don't know what to add but if I was back in town and had a
position of Mayor, School director, teacher, baladieh member,
anyone I would organize a yearly campaign to plant trees. I'm
sure this has been discussed in the BB, but the way I see it is
we have to get the youth at schools and outside schools to
participate. It should become a yearly event like the Emmigrants
festival. The schools can organize a weekend camping in the
place were trees could be planted, so can the SSNP and Scouts.
The baladieh should work harder to get the attention of the
government (buy the trees and have baladieh workers help plant
them). The government should work harder on protecting the trees
(strange but i really feel like I'm crazy now
).
When Marie was born, we received a coupon from an organization
which allowed us to get a tree and plant it in the backyard. We
got another tree when Caroline was born. These trees were
donated by the municipality and an organization managed by
volunteers took on charge the rest of the work. The person
behind this idea is a LEBANESE WOMAN. If we're able to do such
great things in here and elsewhere, I don't see why we couldn't
do it back in Lebanon?
Amazing how I was able to write so much words and not once
the word DIAPER was mentioned.
Posts: 584 | From:
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
11-09-2001 07:08 AM
Elusive and Ghassan, thanks
for responding fast to my massage. Now how about the rest of
guys/girls.
Posts: 566 | From:
Groves, Texas USA | Registered: Feb 2001 | IP:
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andre aquilar
Member
Member # 78
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posted
11-09-2001 03:09 PM
O.K. Messrs Matar, here is
what I think :
Mr Moujaes' post "Development of El-Ghwab" is wonderful.
It would be helpful if the obstacles could be addressed
first,provided these can be resolved, then when and how the
Ghwab can be cleand up and beautified will become an easy task.
I will take the obstacles in the order that Mr Moujaes has
tabulated them :
1- From my experience, the only way to get an 'official body' to
act is if you take action ahead of it, as, when they see that
things are starting to move they will jump on the band wagon and
will try their utmost to help,probably for the credit it might
beget, and that is fine, this happens worldwide..! after all we
want to eat the pinenuts not kill the Natour..!
2- The 99% private ownership is by far the biggest
hurdle..But it can be tackled, if a legal way could be found to
allay the owners fears that once the Ghwab are "horticulturally
developed" the governement will not, at a later date, slap a
National Reserve title on it( with a very small price tag) thus
rendering it completely usless for the owners or their issue, as
has happend (I am told)in Hursh Ihden.
This I presume could be tackled by the Municipality in the form
of irrevocable certificates(?) to the owners stating that if
they concent to the clearing and grubbing,then they would be
guaranteed that no injunction of any sort will be exercised on
their plots without their tacit approval. I am sure that a good
Shwiery lawyer will volunteer to look at this aspect in a more
professional manner.
The owners, on their part will also pledge that no building
activity will take place on the cleared lands for a minimum
period of three to five years. (to be negotiated).
A small commitee of local residents can be created to approach
the owners to explain all this and to show them,honestly,that if
the Ghwab are beautified then there is a serious chance their
real estate value might be enhanced,the commitee will also take
into account what aprehensions, or grievances they might have,
and try to come back to them with convincing arguments...this
normally might get a positive response.
When this is done and work is on its way, then perhaps the
governement could be approached, with the concent of the owners,
to slap a Compulsary Purchase Order with the Right Price that
will not be too unfair to the owners. Or, get a wealthy
individual to buy it outright, and call the Reserve after
him...!!! it has been done before... the Yafet Library, etc.
We can in parallel employ the good offices of our Maten
politicians, who on numerous occasions have encouraged us to
come to them with our problems and our dreams ???!!
3- The initial investment will not be that small,but it will not
be huge either, and there are many ways to attract donations.
Beside the donations that will be given by individuals like you
and me, (You will receive my donation without any disclosure on
my part...lol !!), Businesses, at home and abroad could be
approached to sponsor this project on the premise, for example,
that a big board will be placed at the entrance of the Ghwab
highlighting the names of those businesses that made
contributions provided that these contributions are not less
than X dollars, where X is not too prohibitive to swallow..!
We can call trees after the names of the children of the
individual donators by nailing plaques with their names on the
trees,that will make it fun for both children and parents.
A serious and efficient coordinator is essential.
4- A media campaign is a must, but who should this campaign
be beamed at? I ask becuase I do not know..What I am trying to
say is : do you envisage this to be a 'local' effort with
Mugtaribeen, or a 'national' effort ?
If a local effort then the campaign will not be too costly,i.e.
meetings at the Municipality, introducing the idea in the sunday
sermons,on this website, together with posters showing the Ghwab
as it is now, And as you invisage it would look like, i.e. a "
Now and Future" poster etc, also talking to the Newspapers
during the cleaning period to come,take pictures, interview the
scouts and other volunteers as they are working, ...newspapers
love action and they will bend over backwards to publish a story
like that.
If on the other hand you envisage a national effort then I do
not know...??
I am sure the thoughts mentioned above could be absolute bunkum,
so let us have more thoughts.
As to what to do in/with the Ghwab I have other thoughts that
are similar and compatible with the ideas posted.. but for fear
of being to lengthy I will post them at a later date.
In any event,I genuinely think that this idea is neither crazy
nor farfetched, it is exiting, vigorous and with a little bit of
goodwill and effort it could just work.
My compliments Mr Moujaes.
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elusive
Member
Member # 74
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posted
11-09-2001 04:25 PM
Yes mukhtar, the Ghwab
turned ou to be where I imagined it to be, but did not know its
name. Thanks for the enlightnment.
I just read Andre's reply; he seems to know what he's talking
about, with plenty of good ideas. However, I believe that the
development of Ghwab, should be a local undertaking rather than
governmental (too much bureaucracy!). I concur with Andre that
perhaps a few real wealthy Shweiris could underwrite most of the
tab, as well as donations from other Shweiris, locals and
immigrants. Perhaps a nature center could also be included in
the development, similar to what we see here in the US.
As for building on cleared lands, I don't think it would be a
good idea. This parcel of land should be strictly a nature
reserve. Any construction of homes should be around the
perimeter.
Just one word about Ain el Assis, which I saw last summer and
left me dumbfounded upon seeing two monstrous-looking buildings
(or is it one?) almost choking the Ain!!!
Perhaps the Baladieh can buy them out and destroy them? Is it
feasible?
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andre aquilar
Member
Member # 78
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posted
11-09-2001 05:17 PM
Mr Elusive,
The idea is not to build on cleared land, which is why it would
be helpfull if we could get the owners to pledge (legally) not
to build for a period of time, as hopefully by then a solution
might be offered.
As you quite rightly said, Ain-el-Assis is a case in point, the
children of Shweir are going to inherit this ghastly
mess,therefore both Ghwab and the Ain are intimately connected,
that is why one has to make sure not to repeat the Ain fiasco in
the Ghwab.
It is said that hindsight always has 20/20 vision, now that we
can see, it is crucial that we do not duplicate.
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Klee
Member
Member # 14
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posted
11-10-2001 06:08 AM
Why about a 'SHWEIR
ENVIRONMENTAL GIFT FUND' as part of the Shweir Foundation? It
would have 'tax-deductable gift recipient' status for those in
America, and maybe internationally.
Set a price per tree, US$5 or US$10.
Print nice colored picture certificates (like the photos of the
villege from the web-site, or tree/valley scenes) with a space
where the name or details can be typed or inscribed in beautiful
Arabic and English.
Set a minimum for a tree certificate, say two trees.
Set a minimum number of trees for special, more elaborate
certificates for a 'grove', or a 'garden'.
Hanging in my study for over ten years is a large framed
certificate inscribed:
'A garden of 100 trees has been planted in memory of the
Abotomey families 1887-1987 on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of their arrival in Australia from Mount Lebanon, by
their great-granddaughter Klee....."Their descendants are as
numerous as the stars" '.
This garden of trees is part of the extensive forests planted
around Jerusalem and throughout the Galilee that draw rain to
the Middle East.
We have other tree certificates to record special occasions such
as marriage (the Golden Book of Marriage), and received as gifts
of honour, for example, tree certificates to honour the birth of
a child.
In all cases, these donations plant trees, build dams, and
rejuvenate land with desert-watering and planting. We have
visited some of the areas, travelling through forests and
dry-land planting projects. This is a normal way of life for my
family.
If Shweir needs a fund to restore and develop the environment,
an environmental gift fund would be the way to go.
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Michael
Member
Member # 76
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posted
11-10-2001 12:04 PM
Wisely said Andre
& the best part
is “the only way to get an 'official body' to act is if you take
action ahead of it “.
This is the essence of our problem in Lebanon, we wait for the
Government, Municipality, FORIGNERS or even a Messiah to come
and do our job,,,, .Walid & Nabil Bou Kheir know very well how
the Environmental group started and the peak of its giving was
freely initiated by shweirieh shabaab. We planted Al-Ghuwab
around 2000 trees, we did it once & we can do it again, check
the pictures in the Environment section
http://www.shweir.com/environment.htm
at the bottom of the page were we are all gathered Scouts,
Isaaf, friends from Beirut, SSNP’s you name it they all came to
help. I won’t say this whole campaign was easy for it took a lot
of time to prepare and coordinate with all the groups in shweir
+ passing by each grocery store asking for a simple donation
like a shovel or a Maawal or even a Mankoushi for the guys.
By the way I am a true believer that if theres a will there’s
a way & what the guys Nabil, Elie, George and Anwar did this
summer is a solid proof that the shwerieh blood is genuine &
active.
Dr. Klee hats are high
, I love the
idea; lets open a box for shweir environment donation, like $2
or $5 what ever for a pine tree or a californian tree Anwar
brought with him and each new born shweireh abroad will have his
tree planted back home & WILL be obliged to visit every summer
to check his property.
Anwar I guess the procedure is not complicated cause we can post
all the new born in year 2001-2002 on the website, get their
name and donation for next year “ Shweir New Born Tree
Campaign”.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea, we are even encouraging reproduction
among shweirieh.
Li Shweir
Mike
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james
Member
Member # 56
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posted
11-10-2001 03:06 PM
Why don’t we start a
donation to buy the needed trees? As a member of this bb I would
be more than happy to do that. Someone from Dhour can make a
study on how many trees are needed to reforest the Gwab and the
cost of each tree. This way we have an idea of what is needed
and how much we can afford to donate for this noble cause. There
is nothing better than the smell of pine trees as you arrive in
Dhour. I have been away almost thirty years and I still remember
that smell like I remember my Teta Affifi’s manaeesh she used to
make and bake at the local bakery every Sunday morning.
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andre aquilar
Member
Member # 78
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posted
11-11-2001 12:30 PM
Mr Moujaes,
You asked how I was related to Shweir, this I will tell you :
A few months ago while having lunch with a far cousin
(Shweiriyeh I must add) she asked me, with a glint in her eye,
whether I had heard of shweir.com.
That evening I logged on, and surfed it with lukewarm interest.
I went back every now and then simply because I recognized some
of the names, nothing special, just curiosity.
It dawned on me after a while that there IS something special
about this website.
Now, Mr Moujaes, let me ask you this :
How many villagers in Lebanon, do you know, have gone to the
lengths and trouble the organizers of this website,(and
contributors), have gone to,in an effort to create something
meaningful with which to help their village ? A thankless task,
one must admit, but they still did it.
How many people do you know, have "shaken" their backsides and
actually worked to produce collectively, something significant
to aid the needy, the invalid, the schools, etc, always rushing
to thank others but never themselves ?
How many individuals or groups, do you know, who made it their
aim to highlight, with pride, the achievements of others but
never their own ?
How many people do you know, who, day-in-day-out take the time
to brainstorm, and continuously encourage one another to find
ways to improve, in a small way perhaps, the environment and
therefore try to give quality-life to their village ?
It is said that curiosity killed the cat(!!) well in my case
it created much interest.
I am not normally given to flattery and praise, what I said is
neither of either, it is merely an observation on my part.
As to your other inquiry, I ask you humbly to let me retain
my space, it is not to puzzle or to intrigue..it is just me.
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
11-12-2001 08:55 AM
Andre, On behalf of all of
us behind the seen... THANK YOU.
And Elusive, or should I say Uncle "B" yes somebody did put 2+2
together but Out of respect we are expecting you to introduce
yourself. Complimenting James is also a give away. In regards to
Miss Lebanon, you know now that you didn't have to send us the
information via a beautiful and talented Shweiry. Am I on the
right track????
I just Heard Another plane went down in New York!!!!!!!! I must
check that, will get back to this subject later
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
11-12-2001 09:48 AM
Thank you all for your
responds to my request to participate in this topic especially
Elusive and Andre. My friends your input to this subject is
great, that doesn’t mean that the input of James Klee and the
others was less impressive. Now we got all these great ideas.
Next step will be is how we can put them in to action. Therefore
my friends, I suggest that the environment Champion Mike Sawaya
take these ideas, brain storm them with his volunteer group
(Nabil bou Khayer, George Samaha, etc.) maybe utilizing other
Shweirieh expert in this field and come out with an achievable
plan that we all participate in it. One more, I used My brother
Najib and I used to work in the Green Plan (Al mushroo3 Al
Ukhdar) To my knowledge The president of the plan Mr. Samir Abou
Joudi’s mother is from Shweir, I wonder how much he and the
Green Plan can help in this project.
God blesses you all and thanks
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elusive
Member
Member # 74
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posted
11-12-2001 10:58 AM
Not bad, Ya Mukhtar. Your
math was not too bad for an engineer. But, my guess is that the
2+2 math took a lot longer than solving the problem of Lebanon's
economy by the Italian experts!
Now, I am intrigued. Did you figure this out after I mentioned
that my full name was somewhere on the website or before?
Anyway, I had no idea that one of my own would innocently give
me away. The
irony of all this, is that she never figured me out (provided
she had been perusing the bb)!!!
However, it
took Jimmy, with all his 'smartness', many hints to finally
figure me out!
James hasn't killed me yet for "exposing" his taste for
expensive cars, but am sure I'll be hearing from him soon.
As for introducing myself, I am trying to figure out a way to
make a smooth transition from being "elusive" to being "me".
It was fun while it lasted.
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
11-12-2001 12:03 PM
I Guess you all heard about
the plane crashing by now, all indication point towards a
mechanical Failure.
No Mr. B, it was few weeks ago, right after Habib asked you
whether your wife first name intials starterd with. Then I asked
you if you first name name started with the letter B, and you
thought it was unfair. The Fact is this.....I read every alpha
or numerical character that is entered on this webpage.
Your forwarded email and request at the time was honorable
(although, I don't know why you didn't do it yourself)and
indicated good intentions. Go Ahead and Make a splash and
announce youself to everybody, I am sure the admiration will not
dissipate. But this subject is for another BB.
Andre, I love the way you took the bull by the horn and
immediately started to tackle the issues. Please consider
youself among family here.
We really are on a good track with the environmental issue,
as you all have know by now that George Samaha and Nabil Abi
Kheir are up to their elbow with Red wood trees and germinating
thousands of red wood seeds, Nabil is also bringing 300 new
Snawbar trees to the village. Now come the task of finding homes
for all these.
The Ghwab is one great possibility, and issues that were
brought by you all most likely should be addressed. Converting
The Ghwab to a Park should be more than a dream (Would somebody
in Shweir Inform the Baladieh and have them at least read and
possibly join us on this subject).
I see more than reforestation of Ghawb, a well planned park
with trails and picnic areas, like Anwar suggested last year,and
a small complex that is built in Harmony with the Ghwab could
bring great revenues to the village. I'll share my crazy Idea
with you Possibly this afternoon
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
11-12-2001 01:10 PM
The discussion of this
topic has been a very intriguing one... it started with Waleed
Moujaes discussing Environment with George Samaha. We got some
great feedback from around the globe and evolved to unraveling
the mystery of "Elusive"'s identity... sort of...
Elusive, if you may recall many moons ago, I asked if your
wife's name started with a choice of three letters which you
confirmed and George followed up with asking if your first name
started with a "B"... so we knew all along who you were, but as
George said, out of courtesy we kept that secret, we gave you
space to unveil your identity when you were ready...
You mentioned that your objective for using a pseudonym was
to see if others close to you recognized who you are... It is
ironic to note that at one point you did not recognize the
postings of someone that you knew very well when you asked
"...who is that James anyway?" You found out about James by
clicking on the "?" next to the date of his post, followed some
links... and what a surprise...
Elusive/Andre thank you for enriching our BB with your in depth
high caliber discussions and intrigue... the Shweir.com courtesy
still stands for you to officially unveil your self when you are
ready... I think enough hints have been dropped for those who
know you to add 2+2 if they are reading the BB... On the other
hand, those who do not know you are very curious and perhaps are
on the edge of their seats to find out your identity.
Pesonally I do not mind pseudonyms so long as writers do not
abuse the priviledge or do not adhere to the Mission Statement.
Although politics and religion were discussed in other Elusive
postings/debates, albeit pushing the limit, they were more on an
educational level rather than promoting one over the other...
overall, it has been a positive, educational, and suspenseful
experience...
Now where were we... back to the main topic "Environment" ...
Thanks Waleed for starting the topic... and to all who shared
many good ideas about it... It is amazing that between the time
I read the last elusive post and had a chance to write this two
more entries were posted...
Great feedback...
Andre, welcome aboard and thanks for the kind words... with
the caliber of talent we are continually adding to the
shweir.com family, there is no question that we will achieve or
even bypass many worthy goals.
Anwar
[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited
11-12-2001).]
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elusive
Member
Member # 74
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posted
11-12-2001 02:02 PM
Anwar,
When I asked "Who is James anyway?", I knew who he was. The
reason for having asked this question was sort of a "Tadleel"
(misleading) mechanism, although no one knew at the time my
connection to James! He came into the picture much later.
The other reason, by clicking on his name, one gets nothing out
of it, and I, more or less, wanted him to identify himself in a
better way because he happens to be a real Shweiri, and many of
you know his family very well. Only recently, due to a hint from
me, Nabil discovered that his father was an old friend of his!
As far as the religion topic goes; Elias initiated the thread
and I was only replying to his questions--although I wondered
whether such topics were permissible. I figured Elias would
know.
But thanx for your courtesy in not unveiling my ID (not that it
would have caused the skies to fall!) because I wanted to do it
myself in the proper time.
Again, if and when I do, don't expect any earthquakes, volcano
eruptions, or any other natural upheavels to occur, because most
of you don't know me anyway. Many might even say, "Fakkarna al
Basha, Basha, bass tili' al Basha zalami!"
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
11-12-2001 02:14 PM
Anwar,
This is exactly what I was trying to say. we need to collect all
these great ideas, turning them all to a group of volunteers. I
suggested the environment champs work on that project with the
help of valunteers. present their final to the owners of the
proparties and the Baladieh in a town meeting and once aproved
we all join hands and start working on the implementation.
My friends,Good ideas are meaningful if implemented and
meaningless if not .
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andre aquilar
Member
Member # 78
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posted
11-12-2001 02:18 PM
Mr Matar,
Like you and the Webmaster, I see trails and steps constructed
from the branches of the trees taken during clearing, after
treating them with special oils to preserve them, (oil not too
expensive, but plenty is needed !).
In the Picnic Areas I see benches and tables done from the same
materials.., I see Bar B.Q.s designed by volunteer Shweiry
architects, (or garden designers) constructed of stone quarried
from the Ghwab itself (a must), topped with the necessary steel
or iron grills made by a local blacksmith either free or at
cost, is there a blacksmith in Shwier ? I can't remember. I
presume there is one in Bterghreen, but that might not come free
! ( I am only kidding !)
Next to the Picnic Areas I see small playgrounds for children,
spartan in nature, i.e. thick ropes with old tyres attached,
hanging from trees in the vicinity, seesaws, again made from
tree barks, sandpits etc. This will cost very little as all
materials are indigenous to the Ghwab or the environs, and if
designed with taste it would look brilliant. If you want to go a
touch upmarket, then perhaps some slides, for the little ones,
small tree houses (not 3erzals). again the cost is minimal.
When I visited Germany some time back, I saw in one similar
forest a "LIFE TRAIL"", this is more like an army obstacle
course, but much shorter and a great deal easier, designed for
the over forties(!!), consisting of nine or ten obstacles (maybe
more) : logs on the ground to jog over, bar-fix between two
trees to stretch on, small parapets to jump from, other logs of
differing weights to lift, a rope hanging from a tree spanning
over a shallow but wide ditch, etc. At the beginning of the
course there is a plaque specifying how long each age group
should take to finish the course, i.e. to do it at a certain
pace is to get the maximum benefit, on every obstacle there is
yet another plaque specifying how long it should take to do that
obstacle, I saw seventy-year olds and forty-year olds doing it.
There was a BIG plaque at the end of the course stating that a
Life Insurance Company sponsored and paid for it !!! I worked it
out, it will cost a pittance, BUT it will cost a lot less if
American Life in Beirut is approached to sponsor it..!?
What keeps bothering is the legality of it all, perhaps someone
from Shweir could check how Horsh Ihden and the Cedars of
M3asser el Chouf became National Reserves ?
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
11-12-2001 04:18 PM
These are all excellent
ideas. the key is what is the best approach to implement them...
To promote making the private land as a national reserve and
deprive the owners from ownership benefits will not work...
We need to come up with a formula of mutual benefit... the
way it is right now is that most of that private land is not
well maintained and it is for most part unaccessible.
It is important to devise a plan that shows a good benefit to
the private property owners for them to support our approach for
the environment. That plan should include a workable and
comfortable balance between preservation and development or
utiliazation of the land...
without such balance, we will remain polarized and only talking
about it years from now... and little is done to the land...
Although I advocate the protection of our environment, we
need to recognize and alleviate the concerns of the private
property owners to gain their support. I spent ten years working
on a 3600 acre development project in California. I learned a
lot about respecting considerations from both or all sides.
I do not know about the best means and incentives when it
comes to national preserves or local municipality and laws, I
hope someone more familiar with those issues can step in and
pave the way...
Anwar
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Author
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Topic: Shweir Master Plan III - The Ghwab |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted 11-13-2001
01:22 PM
Excellent Ideas by all, but here is another vision.
Since we are throwing Ideas on Parkenizing (New Word) the Ghwab, let us
get a little more aggressive with our Ideas. I am talking in addition to
planting trees and making playgrounds and picnic areas, theses are all
wonderful and a must as a minimum. The Ghwab is large enough that in
addition to all that we have proposed we can even make a business
without damaging the environment.
Wouldn't you like to see a Hamlet performed in Shweir?
The Idea hit me while I was in Lebanon this past summer, and please,
correct me if I am wrong here because it is based on what I think the
Maten al Shemally doesn't have.
The Landscape of the Ghwab specially the area below Elias Nasr
Kheneisser's House could be an Ideal place for a first class “quality”
Amphitheater. Call it, what else…”The Ghwab”. Yes, a 5,000 - 8,000 seat
outdoor Theater that specializes in "quality" entertainment for about
10-12 weeks a year, at good “affordable” prices.
People pay $75-$100 and more to go to Baalbeck to see a good
performance, or Beit Dein. Lets face it the people are not there to see
the ruins but to see good performers. So why not Shweir? we are more
centrally located. Beirut is only 40 minutes away, so is Jounieh, even
Zahleh is about 30 minutes away.
I am talking about a top notch Amphitheater with Sanin as a backdrop,
that will attract top stars and performers from not only Lebanon but
also international. We can have plays, drama, comedy, symphony, dance,
song, you name it but insist on top quality, maybe host Miss Lebanon one
year, you’re getting the Idea
With a good sound system we don’t have to have loud speakers
projecting sound to Faraya. Additionally This will not be a food
establishment facility, only drinks, coffee and appetizer eaten at
designated areas only.
This type of business will need volunteers, we have the scouts, the
Isaaf, the Charity organizations, the Nawbeh, etc… They can alternate
days with part of the sales going directly to their organization. Say $1
per sold ticket.
Need a lot of help from the Baladieh to organize the traffic and keep
the are clean and in order, again they would get part of the money: Say
$2 per sold ticket. Money from this will go directly into major
modification to the Village, like roads, Planting flowers, project that
will help promote Shweir as the mountain village of Choice. (Okay, I
agree Parking will be an obstacle, but that’s what parking garages are
for, at $3 per vehicle, it will pay for itself in a couple of years)
Again selling quality memorabilia, T shirts, etc.. will generate
additional revenues for the village
I know some of you will say there are more important issues to
tackle, but lets face it we are proposing so many parallel issues, why
not this one? This one seems to help in so many ways, it will be a
profitable venture.
Nabil will say we can not achieve this, I am saying this is an idea
for somebody that want to invest , "ADOPT" and help employ several of
the Local Shweirieh. here is a simple split of Revenues...
Employees $1
Baladieh $2
Alternating Volunteers(E.g. Scouts or Isaaf) $1
Entertainers $ 6-8
Advertisement $2
At this brake down, an average ticket of $20 will provide the “Owners”
with $6 per ticket. Just think if the tickets are more say $40 or $50.
And or sold out concerts
You can work the numbers on an average 3000 tickets a night (I think
we can do better) three nights + a week for 10-12 weeks.
Employees $ 90,000
Baladieh $180,000
Alternating Volunteers(Example Scouts or Isaaf, etc) $90,000
Entertainers $ 720,000
Advertisement $180,000
At an average ticket of $20 the “Owners” with $540,000
Not to mention the business the restaurants get. Everybody benefit from
this
We can sell season tickets, membership, etc…..
Am I Crazy, or this is money we can do without?
A successful project like this one can place Shweir back into the
lime light and in a very short time. I can see it happening, Could you?
I tell you , if I had the Money I would have taken this project on,
if Shweir.com had the money I would have lobbied to invest in such a
project. Maybe several of us can get together and have a joint
partnership, or better yet a project such as this should belong to
Shweir. We need a stearing comittee to get this off and going.
Who’s crazy now!?!
ps Have you read Shweir Master Plan I & II?
IP:
Logged |
George Matar
Administrator |
posted 11-14-2001
05:12 PM
OOOOOUUUUUCCCCHHHHHH!?!?!?!
Nobody has a comment?
Not even...You're Nuts? or Ya Mukhtar, you've lost it? or
Brom aa Jinbak a tani haida H2lim Shaytani?
IP:
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elusive
Member |
posted 11-14-2001
08:20 PM
Allow me Ya Mukhtar to be the 1st to tell you why I think (my
opinion) no one has commented on this plan yet. I believe it is rather
complicated, albeit very ambitious, (it figures, coming from an
engineer), and needs to be mulled over thoroughly. Moroever, people are
still thinking about the Ghwab (Part 1?), and how the plan could be
implemented. It's not over yet, and to jump to this phase now could be
counterproductive. I could be wrong, but that's my opinion.
Here are some questions for you concerning the Ghwab. Who will be
presenting the Ghawb issue/plan to the baladieh? Will it be a person or
a committee from Shweirieh bil Mahjar? And who will present all those
wonderful ideas discussed ion this bb? Of course I do not suggest naming
people here and now, but it is something to think about.
Have you received any input yet from the locals yet? Do they participate
in this forum? Do most have access to the Internet, or only very few? We
all realize how tough things are in Shweir with respect to owning
computers, availability of electricity, Internet subscriptions, etc...
My suggestion is to focus on one issue now, get it all wrapped up, and
then go on to the next.
Not to worry though, Nabil will definitely revive this plan if it
falters.
[This message has been edited by elusive (edited 11-15-2001).]
IP:
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted 11-15-2001
07:29 AM
Right on all points Ya Elusive. However this series of
Articles "Shweir Master Plan xx...) are intended to set some guidelines
how we / I would like to Shweir not next year but say 10-20 years. The
previous two articles are extremely aggressive too. I am doing this in
hopes that there is somebody out there with good financial support that
might see a mutual benefit to self as well as the village (we have
plenty of them in our own village).... Or maybe a good strong and solid
Baladieh might adopt some of these ideas or modify and implement them.
Call it wishful thinking on my part.
I can tell you this, personally I am not for duct taping or doctoring
the symptoms of the village I am totally for going after the disease.
There has been no major complexes built in Shweir other than bare
necessities. As far as I can remember we have not built anything new
since the Radio City . We had at one time 3 Movie Theaters, a Couple of
Casinos, night clubs, a dozen Hotels… I can keep on and on. We are down
to almost none, except the newly built Dhour Shweir Hotel (My Hat’s off
to the Abdel Ahads). I have a feeling we lost our Shweiry sense of
outdoing all and we have lost the creativity for attracting visitors to
our village…… I’d like to get these invaluable qualities back, even if
its only on the BB.
As far as communicating with the local Shweirieh, it is slow but it
is improving.
PS: I am a strong Advocate of setting achievable goals. These are the
ones I write on the General Topics.
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elusive
Member |
posted 11-15-2001
04:40 PM
Let me just comment on your reply in a practical way. Like I
said, your vision for the Ghwab down the road is worth looking into;
however, I think from a pragmatic standpoint, first things first.
1.I hate to go that pathway again, but there is no escaping it: the
presence of the "brethren" must be addressed first. Let's face it, as
long as they remain, no matter what you do, visitors and summer renters
are not going to flock back to Shweir. Let's not kid ourselves. Nobody
feels comfortable if they THINK they will be harrassed, even if
harrasment does not exist. When I visited Shweir last summer, some
locals mentioned this fact of life. And, 2 km is nor far enough, either.
They must redeploy at least 5 kilometers away from Mrouj, perhaps even
midway between Mrouj and Tarshish.
2. If my memory serves me right, Shweir was a pretty good place for
visitors: lots of restaurants/cafes, Hawi, La fourmie, etc... The
village was buzzing with visitors all summer long. That's what Shweir
needs to have back, which translates into lots of dineros for the
locals. You can open all the cafes, hotels, and what not if you want to,
but if people can't feel comfortable, such places will not thrive. Have
you visited Qlay'aat lately?
Summarily, all those plans and future projects are great, but you
must first put the horse before the carriage. Put confidence back into
Shweir as a viable place for summer visitors, and you'll see what
happens. Even in winter, you'll get lots of people from Bikfaya since it
has grown a lot in the last 10 years.
I don't have a clue how No.1 could be addressed, but somebody there must
know.
I am aware of the sensitivity and difficulty of the situation there; you
might accept it, but you can't ignore it. Good Luck!
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted 11-15-2001
05:38 PM
We are singing the same song. Again I have to say, your point
is well taken, And not forgotten either. Who to address it and when is a
different topic....... Not to mention that the probability of them
staying forever is very likely, Scary thought but realistic... Should
the Shweirieh fold their tents and leave? Absolutely not, I think we are
smart enough to be able to swim with the tide for a while. But then
again I repeat this is a separate issue.
The Fact my masked friend is Shweir does not have a master plan, at
least not that I know of, and without one in hand at the time we start
building we will fall into the same pit as Mazraat Yashouaa and Deek al
Mehdi..... Like you saw yourself the pretty hills were converted into
ugly and congested concrete piles. To add insult to injury when I saw
them this summer they were half empty too, who would want to raise a
family or live in places like that?
Again I say what I am hoping to achieve out of this series of
articles is a blue print of how we would like to see Shweir in the
future.
But as you can see I am the only one playing. I guess nobody is
interested in a "Master Plan for Shweir"..... Maybe I was born a little
ahead of my time
Here's my prediction.... Slowly but surely we will find people in
Shweir building choatically towards the Ghwab, the Mtull, Jweezi, why?
Because they are there. Mark my words not long from now there is going
to be a new villa on the Mtull, and then a slew of others. Then one
building will rise in the heart of Ghwab, and Voila 100 next to it.
Who's going to stop it? And based on what? A Plan? Once we lose these
precious lanscapes we basically lost Shweir
The Disasters we see on the road between Beirut and Bikfaya happened
because of poor and thoughtless, or lack of, long range planning. Lets
not make the same mistake. Lets take this period of occupation to draw a
well designed Master Plan for our Shweir so we will not get overwhelmed
when the time comes. And then we can work within the frame of that
Master Plan..... Remember I am an Engineer. God, where are the
Architects.
I'll Go Back to the original question: Should Shweir have an
Amphitheater in its Master Plan?
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elusive
Member |
posted 11-15-2001
06:59 PM
You're absolutely right Mukhatar in foreseeing what you just
mentioned. If, like you say, there is no master plan, we could all see
the same chaos between Zalqa and Bikfaya take effect in Shweir. God
forbid.
More power to you. Hopefully, the local Shweiris are reading this stuff!
IP:
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Salim Khonaisser
Member |
posted 11-15-2001
11:09 PM
George, I believe in "If you build it, they will come".
I am convinced that Shweiree's are people of vision and action, not
followers or spectators, but leaders and opportunists. Some of my
relatives are investing in the village. The Dhour Shweir Hotel is one
good example. My cousin built it and although they tell me business is
slower than expected they are very optimistic. They love their village
and they took that first step and others watched and some were probably
inspired to do the same, to invest in their village.
Since my trip to Lebanon in 98 I've opened my own business and hope
that soon I will be able to do the same as they and many others did, to
invest in Dhour Shweir.
One of my goals is to be more proactive for the benefit of our
village. I have lived in Canada for most of my life, not having been to
Lebanon for about 25 years. Dhour Shweir changed my life for the better.
I owe it something back.
IP:
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Klee
Member |
posted 11-15-2001
11:43 PM
Salim, your family are an inspiration. I wish them great
prosperity for their faith and investment in Shweir.
IP:
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Nabil E. Matar
Member |
posted 11-16-2001
01:58 PM
Ya Mukhtar, I don’t know why you drag my name in to this
debate, but I think that what a brother for. Any, here my ten cents
opinion:
The idea is great if you could find a wealthy sponsor
Bad location because the area below Elias Nasr Kheneisser's House has
a sharp slope and no parking spaces
If we are serious and not just ink on paper (hiber Ala Warak) we need
to gather all the ideas, study each and every one, see if it can be
achieved and what does it take to implement. Then find out who will do
it, how and when can be done.
And last but not least and before we do any thing we need to sell the
idea to the Balabieh (if there is one), and the owners of the
properties. Then of course get rid of the Switzerland tourists.
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George Matar
Administrator |
posted 11-19-2001
08:05 AM
Nabil that was straight to the point. Yes these are all
ideas, at this time, nothing more.
The area I am talking about is like you said it is sloped, that's why I
picked it, sloped requires less work for that type of theater. All that
needs to be done is a Mudraj type seats. Do you notice how sloped
football stadiums are?
As for the money, I don't think it will be ae expensive, but that would
be the next phase, if the idea is sellable. |
Author
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Topic:
Suggestions - New Master Plan For Shweir |
Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
03-18-2002 03:27 PM
Congratualtions to the new
leadership at the Baladieh. We wish them great success. We, the
Mughtaribeen are very pleased to note the two of the new council
members (Habib Moujaes and Salim Sawaya) communicated with us
and asked for suggestions. That is wonderful.
Many of the Mughtaribeen have made suggestions in the past. I
invite as many of you to share your suggestions here. I will
start with some important topics that others has introduced
before for discussion as follows:
1. New Master Plan for 2, 5, 10 and even 20 year plans.
2. Please read BB topic: "Is Shweir in Lebanon?" and take
positive steps to remedy that.
3. Infra Structure: Roads, water, wastewater, drainage,
electric, reclamation of wastewater, signage...
4. Environment & Beautification
5. Educational and Recreation
Many of us Mughtaribeen can share some innovative new ideas
to improve the town. example: Samih Baaklini does road
construction in Texas, Walid Khayrallah in Canada has a Phd. in
horticulture, that is study of plants and trees... and Souheil
Baaklini works for I believe Austin Department of Public Works
where they address procedures and plans for Water and
utilities... there are dozens if not hundreds of engineers in
the specializing in all kinds of construction and experts in
information technology like Elias Nasr Khonaisser and Rabih
Khoury...
I believe the great majority of these people would be glad to
share helpful information to help Shweir become more innovative
and methods to save on cost.
The important thing is to have good communication with
Baladieh and for them to take bold steps to utilize these
resources.
The New Baladieh has taken the first step to ask for our
suggestion. Now it is our/your turn to respond.
Anwar
[This message has been edited by George Matar (edited
03-19-2002).]
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
03-19-2002 07:43 AM
There are so many ideas
that were discussed on this forum over the past 20 months.
There are also some bold ideas that were brought up on the
Mukhtar's Corner with some good feed back, Titled Shweir Master
Plan (there are three Threads)this series of articles halted
after the 9/11 incident. Also there are couple of dozen
responding to the Ghwab and its development.
With the new Search engine the web page has I bet we can find
all of the articles.
We are still not sure whether the Baladieh Members are
viewing / reading the BB!!
[This message has been edited by George Matar (edited
03-19-2002).]
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
03-23-2005 05:44 PM
Three years later... Shweir
and Lebanon are embarking on some New Beginnings.
As such, there has been many valuable posts that are worthy of
being revisited.
For the benefit of our new members/readers, and especially for
the benefit of the Shweir leadership, I am bringing this and
similar topics to the forefront.
Let us put politics and other differences aside and make best
effort to reach out, work as a team, learn how to forgive,
extend olive branches to our neighboring towns and focus on a
brighter future.
Anwar
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HILDA T
Member
Member # 195
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posted
03-23-2005 07:11 PM
Best wishes for new
beginnings!
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posted
05-12-2005 01:51 AM
Some posts are worth
reviewing...
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Author
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Topic: Dreams
for Shweir |
waleed
Member
Member # 118
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posted
05-15-2002 04:01 PM
DREAMS FOR SHWEIR
Let us never forget that our People was blessed with glory
during its long history and that we Phoenicians left our mark on
History from the third Millenium BC to 64-63 BC, when the cities
of Phoenicia were joined to the Roman Empire, an Empire to which
this same People gave several emperors and scholars…
Dwelling on the past is not my purpose, but a deep sadness grips
my heart when I visit Lebanon and my dear hometown Shweir. Like
it or not we are in a period of stagnation resembling the 3Asr
al Inhitat of the Ottoman Empire! And you know better than I do
what are the reasons for this situation! However, my goal is not
political and I will not elaborate. My only goal is the
prosperity of this village. This is still a reachable goal, in
spite of almost insuperable obstacles.
To make of this village into a shining beacon we need three
things:
1. Money
2. Probity
3. skills
And we have the three of them.
Don’t be surprised and read on:
Above all we cannot rely on our state, which is corrupt,
broke, apathetic, unstable and has lost its energy. We are
second worldwide for foreign debt behind Zimbabwe. I remember
the financial contribution of the State for the last
Almoghtarebeen – nil. Without the goodwill of the people in the
village that celebration would have failed.
A close collaboration between the people of the Mahjar and
the people in the country is essential to success. Speaking of
probity, we have beyond reproach: we are united after 27 years
of war, in spite of all the differences and oceans separating
us.
The skills and know-how are there in our youth that master
all fields, be it medicine, agriculture, management, computer,
commerce, sports, etc… and in the experience of our elders.
As for money here is my proposal:
Our people are exhausted, dried up. Our foreign debt exceeds 30
billion dollars. So ???! Rely on the State? Impossible. Al
Baladyeh and Al Moktar do all they can with the meager
allowances from the State.
Ya ahl al shweir al tayebeen !
Ya ahl al ghorbeh !
People of good will only have the Diaspora !
Other nationalities manage better than we do ? Why ? In
whichever country they find themselves, they join forces to make
their home country improve.
Ahl shweir fi al mahjar, you spread over the whole-inhabited
universe.
If each productive force abroad provides a small percentage
of their salary – I’m not speaking of large amounts – we could
do marvels for Shweir.
Love with words is not very effective. “No pain, no gain”. A
sacrifice is necessary. The people of the mahjar should vote on
a contribution, possibly dependent on salary. With 500 devoted
people contributing 50 $ a month, it amounts to 25'000 $ a
month, 300'000 $ a year. This allows several projects to be
started, relying as much as possible on equipment offered at
production price and on voluntary work.
Here are some possible projects for Shweir :
We could improve existing structures such as Nadi Moussika
al Shweir and charitable organizations …
Create a local museum to store the memory of the village,
history, geology, ancient photographs, ancient artifacts…
Develop a library with a meeting room, a conference room and
archives
Set up a technical school (we could begin with simple topics
such as Cooking, iron-working, carpentry)
Organize conference along the year on themes such as
agriculture, health,…
Create a tourism board (because just waiting for tourists to
come is not sufficient). We have to contact the tourists where
they are. Print information leaflets about Shweir (presenting
its location, hotels, restaurants, and events…) and distribute
them in Gulf Countries, Europe, USA, in short – where the Shweir
people are – to promote our village abroad.
Create a village plan with street names (where is the Nagib
and Fares Mushek street ? and Antoun Saade ? , Salwa Nassar ? ,
Assad Rostum ?, Mansur Jurdak ?, Daoud Mojahes ?, Carslow ? ,
Kabalan Gergis Dahdouh ?, Michail Sawaya ?, Elia Hawi ?, …)
Create a non-political radio station that could broadcast a
few hours per day …
Create an open-air botanical garden
Create a natural preserve (Al Ghouab) in our woods, where
animals, which have vanished form our region, could stars coming
back.
Create a tree nursery for our most precious pinus PINEA (
snawbar), threatened by fires, diseases and snowfalls, and for
Genista Hispanica (Al Lezzan) which enrich the soil in nitrogen
for the pine trees.
Establish a small zoo with local domestic animals for
children. We could begin with goats, sheep, horses, birds, hens
and rabbits.
Create a “village house”, a common space open to all, for
instance for family reunions, that would be rented by the
municipality to those who want to use it.
Any of these projects could begin very humble and small, and
grow larger with time.
Ya ahl Shweir flood Al Baladyeh with your ideas !
3Asr al Inhitat intra inchAllah !
I want to ask the Mayor, the members of the Baladyeh and the
Mokhtar of the Mohjar, to join forces and open an account to
canalise the financial strength of the Mahjar, and to create a
commission to manage and use this enormous potential for the
good of Shweir.
Allah Maakon !
My congratulations for the elections to M.Ghosn and the new
members of the Baladyeh specially to Simon ,Jamil and Jack…
Walid Abi Kheir
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posted
05-15-2002 05:46 PM
Walid,
Welcome to your town's BB.
Great suggestions overall... the key is to adopt the projects
that are feasible and make them a reality. With the smell of
success on the easy ones, we can lift our horizon to more
challenging ones.
A great example is then Habeeb, Nabil and George decided to
send three ambulance strechers to Shweir... they did the
research, negotiated best prices, built the box and shipped
them.
Last week, they arrived at the Port of Beirut and Habib
Moujaes is in the process of picking them up.
OK, who wants to adopt a project?
Anwar
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Victoria
Member
Member # 26
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posted
05-15-2002 06:49 PM
WOW, How wonderful to hear
ALL, music to my ears.
The problem is major revamp of ATTITUDES and general GOODWILL
for SHWEIR COMMUNITY specifically and LEBANESE COMMUNITY in
general.
Next, Comes productivity with respect for the common community
A lot can be accomplished without getting stuck on a lot of
burried hatchets.
One small example: my parents wanted to cut an asphalt road to
reach their building. All of a sudden, it became an awfully
complicated situation loaded with politics from the neighbor on
the left and that wife's respected doctor neighbor on the right.
After long negotiations, The baladieh began breaking The long 50
steps and 2 days later the wife of the doctor-neighbor on the
right got an order to stop the project. 30 years later, I
believe the 50 long steps are still broken down, the doctor
died, (God rest his soul), who knows were all of the neighbors
are, and...etc...etc...etc...
Am I willing to forget all that and try again? of course. Is it
difficult? you bet.
Fortunately, The Shweirieh that live in Shweir have to get their
act together for a better Shweir and MOVE ON into better and
greater things.
Moghtaribin are also helping.
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Habeeb M. Nacol
Member
Member # 15
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posted
05-15-2002 08:24 PM
Abu el Will,
I was getting so tired of hearing about Syria, Syria, Syria.
I am so happy about you opening a discussion about Shweir,
Shweir, Shweir. Nothing against political parties; however times
the way they are, our city should be our focal point.
Personally, as part of the Shweir.com,I feel that it is too
far and difficult to exert much influence on the various
entities that are functioning in Shweir. however, if we take on
a project at a time and do our utmost to make it a reality, this
could be very effecive in galvanizing our people in Shweir to
move foreward. I have a feeling that once things get rolling,
there is no stopping.
I would like to sugest that we can begin by our sponsoring
something that is concrete and unique-- a new Library. I am
certain that we can buy and ship books on regular basis. There
are so many wonderful bargains out there that we can take
advantage of. As time progresses, I am certain that the
Baladieh, or any of the jan3iat can house and organize a full
fledged library. With that in place, in the future there will be
work shops, tutoring classes, summer schools etc. etc.
How about some input on this idea. I know that there are so
many silent people out there that visit this sight on a regular
basis--what do you think? I incerely believe that little by
little we can have the best library if not the only library in
the Matn. This can give the impetus to improve the quality of
life in the dai3a. It will be all worth this, or we can inspire
just one child is reach for the stars.
Dreams for Shweir? Most definitely ya Waleed, but it is from
dreams that great things evolve. Thank you for a heck of a
thread.
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator
Member # 21
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posted
05-15-2002 10:05 PM
Abu El Wil,
Welcome tot he site and great ideas all of them, i am
particularly interested in the Museum, Library as i have been an
advocate of these two ideas for a long time and would prefer
them over the DAR EL 3AJAZE project.
first thing is to agree on a project then we start working
towards making it a reality.
a project i would really be interested in is re building
Antoun Saadeh's house into a library where his books and studies
can be found and researched and studied.
the library can also be in the baladieh since we have plenty
of room.
Elias
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
05-16-2002 06:18 PM
Yeslam Hal Tim Ya Abou Al
Wil and welcome to our web site. This topic is not new to the
BB, what’s new is a new member who believe like many of us that
the Shweirieh have all the tools necessary to make our beloved
town 3aroos al masayeft. My friend as long as we have in Shweir
people who care Shweir will never die. I think all it takes is
to agree all on a project and start working to achieve it. Last
year we started on an idea of establishing a library, we even
took with us to Shweir some books to start the project. Many
librarians there Like my friend Riad Khunieser and Mrs. Samy
Sawaya volunteered their time and effort to establish such a
project, unfortunately the obstacle is finding a place, I hope
with the new baladieh this year we could achieve that. Guys and
girls I am willing to be part of this effort to push this
project forward, how about you all? Walid mentioned many very
important ideas that benefit our town, all we need is actual
participation of many Shweirieh so we could convert these ideas
to realities and not leave them like they say Hibr 3ala warak.
God bless you ya Abou Al wil, I would appreciate it if you could
tell us little bit about your self.
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posted
05-17-2002 02:03 AM
A library will be
terrific...
We already have dozens of books that the Mughtaribeen brought
with them last summer and they (the books) are waiting for a
nice home...
We need to find an ideal setting that is centrally located,
does not require much in upkeep yet provides the best return on
the resources invested in order to make it a viable project.
From such a library, we can have one staff person to monitor
the books, write articles for Shweir.com, scan photos, take
messages, relay info to people in town who are not as fortunate
to have a computer and even give classes in using the computer
and the internet... by doing so, any revenue generated would
help keep the operating costs down to a manageable level...
When there is a will there is a way... lets think positive
and find the most creative and best way to achieve this great
goal.
Anwar
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Habeeb M. Nacol
Member
Member # 15
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posted
05-17-2002 07:25 AM
Anwar,
I am glad that you endorse the idea, You give everything that
you touch a certain flare as well as class.
While we are talking or "dreaming", the public library in Port
Arthur, Texas, (that is the city where essentially I grew up)
was full of historic items, photos, local artistic articles such
as paintings, artifacts and ceramics. They even have a gift shop
and a section for videos where one can enjoy an old movie or a
cartoon for the kids. Also it had many decorative things that
were donated to make the place aesthetically pleasing. The point
is a Library can also be not just a repository for books, but
also a mini museum-- a historical, educational, and cultural
center if you will. It might take us ten years to get where we
want to be in the execution of such a project but it is doable.
But it is going to take a big effort, unity, tenacity, and most
importantly participation and cooperation from the Maghreb as
well as from the dai3a.
BTW "Shweir Mughtarebeen Memorial Library"
Does that sound good or what? I don't know about you all but I
love to dream.
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator
Member # 21
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posted
05-17-2002 08:41 AM
3ammo Habeeb,
there is nothing wrong with dreaming, if you don't dream you
might as well be dead. It is not an impossible dream and if we
cannot realize something as simple as a library, in my opinion
it is a problem.
I don't think participation will be an issue, i can assure
you that the people of Shweir once they see that the library
project has taken off and that we are putting an effort in
making this a reality you will see how without even advertising
people will come and donate a book or a piece for decorative
purposes, people will donate old stuff they want preserved and
shared. Eveything will fall into place trust me.
If we can get it off the ground by deciding on a location and
starting everything will fall into place.
i can donate a few PC, some books, old pics we have. Someone
else might donate a TV, another a VCR, another a Stereo, others
books etc... all of these will not cost much for us individually
and it will grow everyone will be in on it.
We can even have a weekly or monthly newspaper whereby many
of the stories that were told on this BB and thousands others
can be published and shared with others and in turn preserved.
We have to help ourselves with small projects why not make
this Library the center for the whole area.
PCs with Internet access fee based of course at a minimal
cost. Research facility for those wanting to research. we can
even have a gift shop with Shwier made products maybe then the
Eshop can have a central repository.
Maybe even a small version of a KINKOS in it.
etc................
all we need is to start,
IF WE BUILD IT THEY WILL COME
Elias
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posted
05-17-2002 12:45 PM
You are correct and his
statue is the one that is infront of the Baladieh in Dhour...
My Cousin Riad is a librarian and works at the AUB... here is
what he wrote and is posted in the "Did you Know...?" web page:
http://www.shweir.com/did_you_know.htm
As you know The American University of Beirut has, may be,
the best library available in the region. This "libary is
dedicated to the memory of Nami Jafet and presented by his wife
and sons to the American University of Beirut 5 May 1952".
So the library is called JAFET MEMORIAL LIBRARY. The department
in the library where the archives are stored and served is the
Archives & Special collection Department. A file under the name
of the late Raymond S. Ghosn has the documents ,(which I gave to
Joe to scan and sent to you), you posted and others which Joe
couldn"t scan.
I am sure you remember and of course you have pictures of the
Baladieh and the man standing infront of it. This man is the
same man, the well known "Al Mouialim Nami Jafet". Jafet build
the Baladieh and the library at AUB who became world-wide known,
and Jafet is one of them.
I am sure you and Shwier.com. are making it your job to mention,
praise and make us proud of all the Shwierieh who are well known
in defferent fields at defferent times, Jafet is one of them and
Ghosn of course and many many others.
Riad
yesterday he sent to me some interesting pictures from that
library icluding one of a mock up of the protestant college in
Beirut, Syria... check it out at
http://www.shweir.com/photos.htm
Thanks Barnie for bringing up the subject and thanks Riad for
the info...
Anwar
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Waleed Moujaes
Member
Member # 17
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posted
05-17-2002 03:06 PM
A very important and
extremely simple, non-expensive idea is a partnerhip and
friendship cooperation agreement between the Municipality of
Shweir, and other municipalities in Europe. This would help us
with financing special projects (let us say environmental,
educational,...). It would lead to exchange of visits not only
between officials, but also among the population, especially
teenagers and fresh graduates. It could generate some income
from visits to our town, scholarships into colleges and schools
in Europe,... They call it "Twin Towns Agreement".
I am sure we all agree that Shweir has a special natural
beauty. We just need foreigners to come and visit, and if they
feel the spirit of cooperation, they will help.
There are many examples in Lebanon. There is one between Beit
Eddin and Tuscany (I think). Another one is between Mokhtara and
a Swiss town. I think Saidon has one with Marseille,...
Waleed
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
05-18-2002 11:59 AM
I know there are many ideas
down there to improve our town, let us take one project at a
time. As I mentioned before, last year we started the idea of
establishing a library. The obstacle was finding the ideal
place, so my friends let us continue building on that. For a
start, we need to convince the baladieh or any societies there
to work with us to provide the place, then the rest like books,
computers, videos, scanners and volunteers to run the place etc.
will be easy to accomplished.
Guys I am not much of a debater on the BB, I am more of a doer.
This summer during my visit to Lebanon I will address this
subject with the Baladieh. Any volunteers to work with me on
that?
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Mikhael
Member
Member # 115
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posted
05-19-2002 01:13 PM
Hay guys I am sure we can
perform better than this.
International Mukhtar gave us a couple of examples and I’m
gona remind u all what we did concerning the donation of
computers to the school last year. This was a simple task and we
collected like $ 500 from our shweireh in Saudia only…. I bet we
have thousands out there that are fortunate and can invest on
any project stated by Waleed & is studied properly and returns
benefits to our town.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when Anwar brought with him some
Californian Trees and seeds. Aboul Wil I dream of a forest full
of Red wood Trees, can we accomplish that???
I always remind you haw the environment club started in
Shweir, with only 3 people to end with around 30 colleges
educated devoted shweireh. Well not really ended cause I am
still.
Well people, we can accomplish anything we set our minds too,
have some faith and courage and please stand up.
Masha allah everyone on this forum is smart, has dreams,
educated and works in large companies and I wonder why can’t we
shape up committees and brainstorm on each topic and form a team
a plan, blueprint, prep reparation, implementation, go-live (
sounds pretty much a SAP Roadmap).
I am going to step forward and declare in front of you all
taking responsibility for the environment plan & set a blueprint
for the coming year. What to do, what to achieve.
Next I will be delighted to be part of any team that’s will
show courage and take responsibility for the Library or
Technical School. These two Ideas I love & they need a lot of
discussion sessions (do I know a place to do that
. Waleed yalla,
Elias, everyone Do we have vision without guts? I was going ot
say another word
My reply sound pretty much a challenge cause I am fed up from
people who ‘beyalkho’
(no offence).
Lil Shweir
Mike
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator
Member # 21
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posted
05-20-2002 01:23 AM
Miko,
yareit, i have been a long time advocate of the Library on
this forum, if you read back through the archives when everyone
was cheering the dar el 3ajaze i was recommending the Library.
i am very very interested in being part or even leading the
library project whatever it takes, we need not be challenged i
have been chanting this for the longest time now and i am happy
everyone finally agrees.
well i have stepped forward who will join me.
Elias
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Nabil E. Matar
Member
Member # 11
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posted
05-20-2002 10:32 AM
I am glad to see that
Habib, Lulloos, Mike would like to activily participate in the
Library project. Is any of you are going to be there during Eid
Al Mughtaribeen, so we could meet with home folks and come as
Habib mentioned with an implementation plan. I am sorry if I was
misunderstood Ya Lulloos. I do agree with you that there is no
need to challenge each other. This project is dear to my hard
and if we don’t start the action I am afraid every body will
forget and the project become like I mentioned before Hibr 3ala
warak.
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Webmaster
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Member # 5
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posted
03-23-2005 05:30 PM
Three years later... Shweir
and Lebanon are embarking on some New Beginnings.
As such, there has been many valuable posts that are worthy of
being revisited.
For the benefit of our new members/readers, and especially for
the benefit of the Shweir leadership, I am bringing this and
similar topics to the forefront.
Let us put politics and other differences aside and make best
effort to reach out, work as a team, learn how to forgive,
extend olive branches to our neighboring towns and focus on a
brighter future.
Anwar
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Author
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Topic:
Commentary on the Shweir Zoning Topic |
George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
05-19-2003 09:59 AM
Folks, all the positive
signs are there and can not be ignored. Maybe the answer is to
continue on the ideas and path that we have set for our beloved
town. Deep in my heart, I believe we have turned around and the
road to recovery has started, these are Baby steps but are in
the right direction.
What we are worried about right now is for somebody to come,
intercept and change those plans for us. Here is where we need
to be the strongest. The City COuncil need to be fully aware
that there is a global force behind them as long as their
decisions continue focused on the benefit of our birth place,
and I believe they are.
I've been saying all along that Shweir needs a Master Plan,
maybe the Council can draft one or take the Tanzeem al Madany's
plan and modify it to suit the Town's image.
Folks, Saadeh's principles, The Democrats, the Republican, The
Catholics, The Orthodox, THe Maronites, The Muslims, The Jews,
The Druse etc. etc. etc. will always be there and we just have
to live with that... I think of them as ingredients and spices.
On their own they are unappitizing and hard to digest but
together and in a balanced amount they'll make a great dish of
Tabuli
.
A special response: Shweir.com is nothing more than a vehicle
and where it is going is steered by non other than Shwierieh
that can recognize the difference of unity vs. not. Is it
Americanized? Maybe, but it is also Saudized, New Zealanderized,
Abu Dhaianized, Australianized, and Globalized (are all these
actual words
). The Point is, if we can adopt the best of each adopted
Country and apply it to Shweir, would that make us lose our
Identity, or would it make us better and Stronger and more
capable of contributing what is best for our birth place? The
best example I can Give you is Saaded himself, he, like us, was
a Mughtrib and lived the situation in LEbanon as well as outside
of it. The difference is he wanted to fix the whole middle east,
we just want to concentrate on Shweir.
On this Site, Shweir is Paramount, how would we want it to be 5,
10, 25, 100 years from now is what this Thread, no this web page
should concentrate on...... Shweir needs a "A Plan" before it is
too late, any volunteers?
[ 05-19-2003, 01:29 PM: Message edited by: George Matar ]
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
05-21-2003 09:25 AM
It is beyond my mental
ability why can't we concentrate on a single issue?
When you feel you needed to deviate, why don't you start a new
Topic? You want to deviate from the Zoning subject? You all are
welomed to comment on this one or start a new one....It's easy.
We all have so much to offer yet we can not seem focus when it
comes to a good subject. Folks lets not waste the energy on
things that show us divided, We are so much better than that.
I am also not to crazy with bringing Shweir.com into the mix, if
any of you feel that the direction of Shweir.com should be
altered, Hey we are all ears, and we are very flexible as long
as its mission continues towards purely benefiting Shweir and
is, with all due respect, unifluenced by religious or political
affiliations.
One Shwier for all
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Author
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Topic: Editorial
# 2 - A Master Plan is Needed |
George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
06-25-2002 10:48 AM
Okay, so we are proposing
so many nice things to improve life in our village, yet it seems
to me that all these are fragments that are definitely
dissipating with time. I would have said three primary reasons,
but I will stick to two reasons why we are failing or will
eventually fail.
1. The lack of a formal master plan. Without one, ideas are like
falling into the middle of the Atlantic ocean, lots of splashes,
some ripples, and back to calm. There is no ship to take them to
shore
2. The Lack of consistent means to fund any project. So far we
have been depending on good Samaritans to pitch in a little.
I believe that all of our collective efforts should be
concentrated on persuading the newly elected Village council to
formulate such a plan. A Master plan that addresses, accommodate
and trap ideas like the Library, the development of the Ghwab,
the roads, the Schools, the entertainment, the summer rentals,
the infrastructure, and above all the prevention of
unattractive, and irresponsible construction that is defacing
the landscape.
The plan can not be complete without finding the right
investors, and the later can not be found if we can not properly
sell the village as the right place to invest in. What we also
need is a good educational program built around the Master Plan
to help those that will be approaching and persuading the
potential Investors.
We will be making a huge mistake if we can not visualize how the
Village will look like the next 20-50 years. There must be a
huge push for this plan as well as scheduling a realistic
timetable how and when to implement it. There are times to
brainstorm and there are times to put the results to action.
Like many of you, I strongly believe that the village should
stop patching things up here and there, it is time for a
revolutionary and visionary thinking, and it has to start with
the Newly elected Council. But let be known that the council
will not be alone, there is a large pool of talent that they can
tap into, all they need to do is just ask. A Committee made up
of several talented Council members and several adviser locals,
as well as Mughtaribeen, should be formed to specifically
address this delicate issue, and the sooner the better. It is
time to move
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
06-25-2002 12:54 PM
George, Ya Mukhtar bil
Mahjar... I second your proposal.
Is there an excutive or administrative assistant in Baladieh who
is assigned to compile as many of these important information,
suggestions, ideas, print them, make copies for the council
members and deliver them a reasonable time before they are
discussed at an official meeting. This way, they will have a
chance to read, review, make comments, prepare their thoughts
and ask relevant questions.
During the meeting, they can accomplish a lot more. On some of
the Board of Directors that I participate on, we have "Action
items" that we review their progress until the project is
completed. this way, no important project that is assigned an
action item number will fall through the cracks and everyone
will come prepared to give an update on the projects they are in
charge of...
Also, by informing the people of the agendas for the meetings
and some of the achivements, the residents and even Mughtaribeen
will feel a more sense of belonging and working together as a
team and chear our council on....
Lets hear from a representative of Shweir Council.
Anwar
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Abu Jihad
Member
Member # 90
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posted
07-09-2002 07:31 AM
Tried to find a thread
which fits this post and is relevant to it, I settled on this
one, since it is the most recent.
With all the ideas and projects that have been discussed and
re-discussed over the last year or so for the improvement of
Shweir, and continue to pop up sporadically, here's a quote
which, I believe, would be an incentive to all those who thought
or might think that some of the ideas are far-fetched,
unworkable, or even absurd. I am sure George would love it
:
"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope
for it."
Albert Einstein
[ 07-09-2002, 07:32 AM: Message edited by: B. Hatem ]
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
07-12-2002 01:27 AM
Update about Old Souk
(Market)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Oula Aoun"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 12:33 PM
Hi Anwar, how is every thing, and how is the dear team?
I have some good news: we r organizing a special 'shweir night'.
The place is the 'DAR' OF SAYDEH church; we will tell some old
story of shweir, and a friend of mine who have a very beautiful
voice will sing some of the most beautiful songs of Feiruz, and
we will play soft music. AND, we will clean the old souk and
organize it , to make it a place of exposition; we will expose
many paintings of some friends of mine and some artists from
shweir, and i think we can expose in 'La voute' also.
So, I think it will be a great night. We didn't fix the date
yet, but we will try to do it before the festival. I hope you
can enjoy it,
Regards.
Oula
*****************
Hello Oula, Your email just made my day and I am sure it will
make a better day for those who will read it.
The "dear team" is alive and well... no, FANTASTIC, specially
when they hear of wonderful news like you shared above... this
is like the beginning of a beautiful dream... at times, for us
mughtaribeen, we can cheer for the achievements that you and all
the participants accomplish and the rewards of the great
camaraderie and stronger community as a result.
May that become a common theme that will continue and pick up
momentum... These are the kind of news that prompt more and more
of Mughtaribeen to come to visit more often and bring their
families and friends.
Please send some pictures and frequent reports so we can share
in your joy and the greater success and renovation of a great
old town.
I will post this on the Shweir Bulletin Board under an
appropriate topic and also on the Shweir Photos section where we
have info about old Souk.
Many thanks again to you and those who took and are taking part
in this very important endeavor.
Anwar
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Soulaima Houcheime
Member
Member # 127
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posted
07-12-2002 10:51 AM
In fact i had an idea about
a little thing maybe it will help .
It happened when i was discussing a subject with my daughter
Maya and we arrived at a conclusion "HOW TO MAKE DHOUR EL SHWEIR
MORE BEAUTIFULL FOR VISITORS"...Maybe we need help from the
baladiyeh too and it takes a little effort from each one the
idea is to take a theme about how we need to improve first the
wiew of the main streets for example : the town of lavander or
the towm of Jasmin and plant in front of each shop or each
balcony on all the Dhour or Shweir streets 2 or three main kind
of plants that could live in summer and winter too like Ortansia
also but show every person coming or going from this town the
nice picture it demands a small effort from the people from the
new generation and from the baladiye and NOT SO EXPENSIVE ALSO
.Each one has to Zeyin Iddam mahallo bi kil el shawere3 and also
make the scouts or new generations participate in following the
maintenance and this is the most important part. make it DAY3ETT
EL WARD OR YASMIN
I SHOULD TELL OUR IDEA ,MAYA AND ME, before now to prepare la
3id el mughtaribin. keep it DHOUR as DHOUR the most beautifull
Dayea bill 3ALAM . I hope the idea somebody can understood it
with respect to everybody .What counts is the commun work where
each one helps and work with LOVE for the benefit of our town .
They can do it like a competition and could give a price for the
most beatifull Hayy in town !!!
the community needs some meetings together in baladieh or any
hall could expect almost 100 or 50.. persones interested in a
community work not only the young ones because they are already
motivated to accomplish something , all the families all the old
,the ladies ,and let them talk and share each other idea about
how to improve the commununity work
if this help why not do it but "aim for the same one target".
[ 07-25-2002, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: Soulaima
Houcheime ]
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Webmaster
Administrator
Member # 5
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posted
03-23-2005 05:33 PM
Three years later... Shweir
and Lebanon are embarking on some New Beginnings.
As such, there has been many valuable posts that are worthy of
being revisited.
For the benefit of our new members/readers, and especially for
the benefit of the Shweir leadership, I am bringing this and
similar topics to the forefront.
Let us put politics and other differences aside and make best
effort to reach out, work as a team, learn how to forgive,
extend olive branches to our neighboring towns and focus on a
brighter future.
Anwar
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Anwar
Member
Member # 327
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posted
02-04-2006 01:51 AM
Ditto again...
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
02-04-2006 12:23 PM
Wow, I wrote that four
years ago, I must have been inspired (still am) but as I
mentioned in that four year old post, the proposal was just one
of those "ideas that fell into the middle of the Atlantic ocean,
lots of splashes, some ripples, and back to calm. There is no
ship to take them to shore" and we still have not found a ship.
Just think if a plan was drafted then where would we be four
years later.
As it stands now, Four Years Wasted
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Author
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Topic: Shweir-
The visit and Editorial |
George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
08-30-2001 09:59 AM
Returning to Lebanon and
specifically to Shweir after so many years, you just can’t help
but have your critique eyes screwed on. Please and I want to
emphasize that I definitely NOT SAYING that all I saw was
negative. The environment is making a good comeback, private
homes or villas are spectacular, the people of Shweir socially
are warm, generous, fun to be with, and you can easily fall in
love with, and yes you cry when you leave them. They are the
best
Here in this article I am addressing what newcomers or
visitor might encounter, and at the same time praying that I
will not be misunderstood. Furthermore, I am praying even harder
that this might initialize a rectification phase for our Shweir.
Here I go.
What the village, or the Baladieh, intends for you to see and
what you actually observe are 180 degrees apart. And they sure
made it easy for you to spot.
The bad roads, the war torn buildings, the exposed garbage
dumps, the busted sidewalks (tre’toirs ?) that are used for
parking cars and trucks, the double and triple parking on the
main strip, the ruins, the bullet holes in the Neimeh Yafeth
Statue, The ignored boulevard that was the envy of every town is
looking like a tornado has just passed through it, the haunted
Hotel Canary with all its windows busted, or the once fabulous
Kasoof Hotel that was hit by “MAGICAL BOMBS” that stripped
everything but the structure, the once busy La Formie is on the
ground, Cinema Florida, the empty and closed shops, all theses
and plethora of other devastation that you could see just by
driving through the main road.
It really does not take a genius to conclude that 12 years after
the war this village has no master plan to improve its situation
or position among the Elite Mountain Resort Towns.
Then you talk to the people and it gets more complicated, No
two would agree on anything, all you hear is “it can’t be done
because xxxxx” or “we couldn’t agree due to xxxxxx” or “Can you
believe he did this or She is planning on that?”. These
conversations by themselves re-inforce the feeling that even if
there is a master plan for the village it is going to take a
miracle to implement it
You go find a secluded place like Sarfad, you sit down put
your elbows on you knees and your head in you hands and fight
the urge to cry for our village. The serenity of the Sarfad for
one reason or another prevents you from crying and magically
gives you an up lift in your spirits.
Feeling refreshed you head back to the Saha to find few
energetic youth volunteers working so frantically to make sure
all the final preparations are ready for tonight’s activities.
You Sit down and chat with them. Due to the age difference you
say something like “Into Wolad Meen?” (Who are you parents?) And
they return”: Ana bint Halabi, Ana Ibn Sawaya, Ana Ibn Rahbani,
Ana Ibn Baaklini, Ana Bint Moujaes, Ana Bint Khneisser, Nihna
min beit Kurban, or Samaha etc… And you listen to them and your
heart gets bigger and bigger, your earlier frown is turning into
a big smile that makes it very hard to hide the huge split
between your front teeth. This blend of young Shweirieh are
working together so hard with extremely limited capacity and
funds to make our beloved town look good at least for a day…..
You nod your head and think: “There is hope, and I am looking at
it, OUR YOUTH”
Shweir reminds me of a story that my grand mother Milia told
me when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I think it is fitting for
the situation:
Fee Mara B’ Hal Zamman…. Once upon time a flock of pigeons
were flying freely in a forest when all of a sudden they were
trapped in a Hunter’s Giant Net. They panicked and,
independently, they started flapping their wings and flying in
all directions until they were exhausted, but got nowhere . They
stopped to rest and found comfort in resting with their own
color. So they formed into groups, White, Black, Gray, Spotted.
After they rested each group decided to fly in the direction
that they thought was right, and so they did, the White pointed
to the East, The Black to the West, the Gray picked the North
and the Spotted South. A lot of wind forces were created but as
you can conclude they cancelled each other and no result was
achieved. Exhausted again they stopped but now fear began to set
in that they were trapped in the this net forever and they are
doomed because the hunter will be coming soon.
A spotted Pigeon gathered its strength and flew to a location
where all can see it:
“Hey, We have tried to fly from here independently and we
failed, we tried in separate groups, and again we failed. Why
don’t we all line up and fly in the same direction together and
see what happens.”
They all found the spotted one’s words to be very wise, “What
have we got to lose?” They said.
They gathered their strength, lined up and 1, 2, 3 off they went
carrying the net with them and left an impressive trail of dust
behind them
Need I say lived happily ever after?
Okay, we are not pigeons, and over the ages we have been
claiming and we definitely have proven we are intellectuals, now
lets start proving we are intelligent too by working together
for one goal, SHWEIR. Everything we have been doing so far has
been a treatment for the symptoms, let us begin to treat the
disease. Shweir does not need its streets patched up, it needs
new streets. Shweir does not need haunted hotels, it needs new
Hotels (Thank you Abdel Lahads for your elegant Dhour Shweir
Hotel). Our youth need a college in Shweir, Jobs in Shweir,
Entertainment in Shweir, Hospitals in Shweir, Heated homes for
year around living in Shweir so we won’t lose our homes or our
Youth.
Professional working from their homes is definitely coming.
Shweir should get very well prepared for it. Other wise the
Number of Mughtaribeen is going to keep on growing.
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Victoria
Member
Member # 26
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posted
08-30-2001 10:27 AM
Ya Mukhtar Shweir bil
ghorbeh,
This is a feeling that I feel personally every time I go to
Shweir. The number one excuse is the war. Unfortunately, the war
has been over for a decade, specifically 11 years.
Every Shweireh has to get excited about Shweir and then maybe
that excitement will attract others.
The youth are motivated as you mentioned.
What will motivate the baladieh, the elders,
all individuals to take steps toward renovation and improvement?
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George Matar
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted
08-30-2001 12:45 PM
Ya Ghassan for once in my
life I tried to be totally serious, I guess I failed.
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GhassanZghaib
Member
Member # 10
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posted
08-30-2001 01:13 PM
I tried to post the
following before anyone else, but I guess I'm the one who failed
I couldn't keep mysel any longer
Now before anyone starts shooting at me I have to say the
following:
I honestly share your thoughts. I really believe that no matter
how bad it gets, time will come when it'll be better, thanks for
the fine Young and not so Young people who still believe in
Shweir. It saddens me of course to look from a distance and only
see division and mistrust (Shweir doesn't need 2 sports clubs, 2
mayors, 2 music bands, 2 whatever, etc...). They should create
only one instance of 'ANYTHING' and exchange ideas within the
instance. Unfortunatly this is not always the case.
To cut a long story short, I believe the young generation is
doing fine. I also believe that those emmigrants who decide to
return, will make things better, especially that they know what
they missed when they left.
Now my ending of the 'Pigeons Story'.
...The pigeons were so exasperated to quit the net that they
faught with all the might they got. Some were strong enough to
drill a hole in the net and were able to fly through the hole,
unfortunatly leaving less pigeons inside the net to fight. Since
the net was too big, not all the pigeons could find the hole to
escape. So they decided to stay and marry and give birth to
other pigeons and raise the numbers of those trapped inside, so
sometime the number of pigeons will become high enough to have
the net overthrown. The pigeons who where able to escape were so
attached to the others, that one day, after realising that it
takes more than one hand to play Derbakeh, they decided to
return and help the old friends and relatives escape their
misery. And every pigeon lived happily ever after.
Now, what about the Hunter???.
It turned out that the hunter was a Lebanese, who was still
shopping 20 different color cellulars for his 20 different color
suits. Not to mention that he was caught in the traffic driving
from one cellular shop to another.
Posts: 713 | From:
Laval, Quebec, Canada | Registered: Oct 2000 |
IP:
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Elias Khonaisser
Administrator
Member # 21
|
posted
08-30-2001 02:36 PM
Ya Mukhtar,
let me be the bad person and say it.
do you really blame shwier for not snapping out of the war
years??
Victoria said the war is over my question to you ya mukhtar
form what you saw was it really over????
would you like me to say out loud why shweir is still in the
war days?? why no tourisits are interested in visiting shwier??
what is wrong with shweir?? let me ask you this what is there in
shweir that brummana and bickfaya doesn't have?? when you find
the answer you will understand why shweir is still oliving the
war days cause shwier is one big MILITARY Complex the thing that
makes you cry is on the news when they say X withdrew several
thousand soldiers they say they were withdrawn to the Dhour El
Shweir area.
i can go on and on but i think you get the point. ya mukhtar
you can't do economics without politics it doesn't work.
and the worst thing is if you mention this subject
OBJECTIVELY the consequences are what you saw in front of the
justice palace when you were there.
now for the love of Christ how can you build a country that
way??
i adore shweir but shweir's problems aren't only related to
shweir itself and the people in shweir ya mukhtar me and you
know them well they can't agree with you on anything even if you
are right they will not agree with you cause then you take
credit for it.
ya mukhtar the people are a sweet people but very hard to
deal with, the only reason we are agreeing so much on this forum
is because we are outside of shweir. once inside of shweir you
will be infected by its politics and get nothing done.
i will give you an example:
my father donated to the baladieh an electrical generator
which was BRAND NEW all it needed was some maintenance and fuel
and boum you can light half the village, it was really huge cost
a lot of money.
what did they do with it?? up until i left it was collecting
dust.
there is no grand plan on what we can do and they can agree
on nothing we elect the baladieh and 2 montsh later no two
people in the baladieh talk with each other and hey now we want
re election cause we want this person as the headof the
baladieh.
the same goes for the sporting club who has changed members
more than any club in the world and it still doesn't work.
solution?? solution has to come from us, they will accept our
solutions simply because we are outsiders outside of shwier
everyone will agree to our plans cause no locals were in it and
no one can take credit exceot us and that is fine with them.
but again any project you will want to go ahead with and
attract investors to will require work.
what will you do with the army?? it is not enough to take
them out of kassouf what happens after yourebuild kassouf?? a
lady is swimming and the soldiers on the other building are all
on the roof watching??
see it is hard.
hope i wasn't too negative but someone had to say it as it
is.
Elias
Posts: 1082 | From:
Chicago, IL | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP:
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Suheil Baaklini
Member
Member # 55
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posted
08-31-2001 11:38 AM
George,as always I love to
see you and the family in Austin. The pictures were great. Come
here often.
You brough up a very copmlex, difficult concern about Shweir and
our hertitage in general. It is great that some are helping,
small contributions are always welcome and helpful, but as you
said, these are treating the symptoms. May be a clear and
focused definition of the problem would help focus the efforts
on the right solution. I do not think that the problem is roads
and lack of businesses in the area and garbage collection. I
hate to say this but it our relationships with each other as a
team. How much do we realy know, trust and believe in each
other. I agree and applaud all the repondantds points and their
views and encourage more Shweireh to join in as you keep
repeating and pleading. I am so sorry and appologise for not
being active, but my good excuse is the usual work and family.
Posts: 12 | From:
Austin, Texas, US | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP:
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GhassanZghaib
Member
Member # 10
|
posted
08-31-2001 12:15 PM
Now isn't this an
achievement??? We have a new ACTIVE MEMBER !!! (or should we
hope so)
Welcome Suheil, all the active members have work and family,
actually, yesterday I was scanning the posts and couldn't
comment for lots of reasons:
1. I was holding Caroline.
2. I was speechless for what was said on George's forum.
3. My mind was racing back and forth for what should or could be
done. Who's good and who's bad. Where did everybody go wrong.
4. Net's and Pigeons...
I'm sure we all steel some time at work (lunch hour) or at
Home. Try doing the same, at least at home (I don't pray before
I go to sleep, so I use this time to check the BB, try doing the
same , unless YOU
REALLY PRAY BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP).
I agree with what you and Hilda mentioned.
My opinion is we have to work more on educating the people.
People back there still believe that wearing a seat belt while
driving is a DUMB thing to do. I'm sure some got over it, but my
feeling is they're still a minority. Once everybody learns that
Shweir can only survive as a community and not as individuals
everything will get better.
PS: I have to mention that from now on we all should watch for
'MAXWELL SMARTS'.
Posts: 713 | From:
Laval, Quebec, Canada | Registered: Oct 2000 |
IP:
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Tony Moujaes
Member
Member # 24
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posted
09-02-2001 07:00 PM
Good Lord people!!! You
need to chill out because no matter how mad you get nothing
would solve the problem or the problems that are embedded in the
"old country", like I call it.
It is easy to propose solutions, but the truth will always be
that it not that simple to carry them on.
Nevertheless what matters the most is the intention, and
obviously everyone on the BB got good intentions for the good
"old country".
Best regards from Abbout
Posts: 151 | From:
Texas, USA | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP:
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Suheil Baaklini
Member
Member # 55
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posted
09-10-2001 02:27 PM
Ya Ghassan, ahlan feek. you
are right it does not take much, but habits die hard, that is
why I am learning a new one. Keep checking the BB.
It is always nice to hear from old friends.
Posts: 12 | From:
Austin, Texas, US | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP:
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Paul Woodfield
Member
Member # 58
|
posted
09-13-2001 02:58 AM
Hi George
Its good to see such a discussion going on. Coming from a
purely naiive view, as it was my first visit to Shweir in August
I found that the people in Shweir have adapted well to their
surroundings, maybe to well.
This visit for me was overwelming because I didn't actually
notice the surroundings so much, but the people and the
hospitality I did notice. You don't get that as much in the
western countries unless you put effort in, such as holding an
events or functions.
Having been there now I'm able to imagine what it could be
like. I hope whatever move forward goes on in reconstruction,
doesn't compromise the nature of the people.
Paul
Posts: 31 | From:
Auckland, New Zealand | Registered: Sep 2001 | IP:
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Hilda
Member
Member # 124
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posted
09-13-2001 06:09 AM
...One thing I would like
to make clear...I do not believe that improving the living
conditions of Shweir will change the people's hospitality...The
people have been like that for ages and will continue to be
so....
Posts: 168 | From:
USA | Registered: May 2002 | IP:
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SAMPLE
MASTER PLANS
Following are sample Master Plans that are diverse,
educational and informative.
Some items may not apply. We can take the examples of
those that apply and fine tune them to come up with best applicable Master Plan
for Shweir.
There is a wealth of information out there and you may come
up with even more applicable data. If so, please share it with us so we can
include same in the overall plan.
Samples are below:
Sample 1
From:
http://www.co.wayne.ny.us/Departments/planningdept/MasterPlanInfoRegister.htm
WAYNE COUNTY, NY, MASTER PLAN
Sponsored by the Wayne County Planning Department under the direction of
the Wayne County Board of Supervisors
How can Wayne County residents enhance their lives and capitalize on the
many outstanding features of their County, which include beautiful countryside,
a disciplined workforce, a bounty of home-grown produce, an excellent County
Road system, and a long shoreline along one of the world's largest lakes? The
Wayne County Planning Department wants to encourage interested citizens to help
write a new County comprehensive plan. The land use plan will help guide elected
officials and County employees over the next ten years.
All interested citizens were
invited and encouraged to participate.
Your participation is crucial to the success of this project!
What is a master plan?
A MASTER PLAN IS A BLUEPRINT FOR THE COUNTY'S FUTURE. It provides
citizens, developers, planners, and community leaders with a document that
clearly communicates the public's interests and expectations. A master plan
provides some technical assistance to rural municipalities that do not currently
have updated land use plans and ordinances. Towns and villages that already have
updated master plans will also benefit: the County master plan will include
tools for promoting quality neighborhoods and lifestyles. It will also provide
for orderly improvement of County resources, such as roads and bridges and
parks. The needs of the residents and employees of the County, including youth
and senior citizens, will form the basis for the plan. Topics will include
economic development, including agricultural development, housing, tourism,
education, recreation, and the protection of natural resources.
The County's goals are to promote economic growth that enhances rather than
diminishes property values, to promote aesthetically pleasing development, and
to preserve and enhance the historic, cultural, and environmental resources of
the County. The plan will help the County secure more grant money from the State
and Federal government, and will help citizens communicate their goals and
priorities with respect to water, sewer, and transportation improvements.
Here is an example of a County
master plan:
http://www.orangecountygov.com
How can citizens participate in
the planning?
Consider joining a committee!
Practically every week for the next year, a citizen committee will meet to
assess current conditions and to discuss goals, ideas, and implementation
strategies. Committee meetings are open to anyone in Wayne County and
surrounding municipalities, anytime. Attendance at previous meetings, although
useful, is not required. No special skills are necessary to participate and, in
fact, everyone's participation is crucial to the success of the project.
The consultant has organized four committees comprised of interested citizens
from all walks of life: The Natural Resources Committee will meet every first
Monday evening of the month, the Social Resources Committee will meet every
second Monday evening, the Economic Resources Committee will meet every fourth
Thursday, and the Legal Resources Committee will meet the third Tuesday
evenings, except for July and August. Please confirm meeting times (7 pm) and
places, especially during the summer. Citizens may email Cynthia Hill, Wayne
County Master Plan Consultant, at
chill@co.wayne.ny.us or call (315) 946-5919
SAMPLE 2
GENERAL (MASTER) PLAN
APEX COUNTY
The purpose of this document is to serve as an example to those unfamiliar
with the components of a simple General Plan. It is not intended to be used as
the basis for an Apex City or County plan. Those responsible for the development
of those plans should rely on proposals submitted by members of the Apex
community.
PART ONE: ANALYSIS OF
ISSUES FACING THE COMMUNITY
1. POPULATION
The total population of the county is expected to increase significantly over
the next twenty-five years. It is expected that over a quarter of a million
additional residents will live in the region. A proportional amount of these
will settle in APEX. The expected net population increase for the area will be
in the range of 72%.
Issues surrounding population growth and urbanization:
a. There is little accomplishment in the face of today's urban expansion, to
properly mesh growth with land use and zoning.
b. The county faces considerable difficulties in coordination and control of
the growth pattern on a wide enough basis to be truly effective. The present
trends in growth are uncoordinated, costly, and in the foreseeable future will
lead to inadequate safeguards to health and welfare of county residents, as well
as ultimate decay and urban blight.
c. The existence of widespread, incompatible
land development, inadequate balance of housing types, congestion and the in
accessibility of proper recreational facilities, jobs, and educational
opportunities are bound to compound on the county as well as on a regional basis
unless concerted effort is devoted to cooperation and coordination among all
levels of political jurisdiction.
2. TRANSPORTATION
Over the next twenty-five years, there will be significant changes in both
the form, the needs, and the intensity of the transportation requirements for
APEX County.
Issues and problems surrounding transportation planning:
a. The present network of streets and highways, airports, rail facilities and
bus routes has not been considered in a comprehensive manner. The inter-meshing
of the various options in terms of mass transit, mixed media travel
(car-bus-destination), etc. with the existing growth of automobile use in the
suburban localities has not been considered or allowed for.
b. All the region's residents do not have equal opportunity to travel to all
points of the county or the region. Significant numbers of the population do not
have adequate accessibility to jobs, schools, parks, shops and medical
facilities.
c. The present system of transportation fails to afford the highest degree of
safety possible to pedestrian and vehicular traffic movements.
d. Inadequate allowances for transportation-land
use relationships have contributed substantially to the region's present traffic
problems. Consideration has not been given to turning movements, on-street
parking in strip commercial areas, the blighting effect of major traffic
arteries, or local residential service streets used for high volume traffic.
3. HOUSING
The growth in the net population of the county, along with the changes in the
distribution, type, and age-income of these county residents will increasingly
compound the already drastic needs for the provision of adequate and varied
housing options. A substantial demand for new housing will probably follow the
increase in per capita incomes and a marked increase in young persons reaching
marriageable age. Significant amounts of this housing will probably be built in
the fringes of existing urban areas. The single-family house will likely remain
a preferred housing choice. However, the presence of more young adult and senior
citizens in our society, individual financial limitations, and increasing land
and development costs will increase the demand for townhouses, apartments and
other forms of multiple unit development.
Additional acreage will be needed to satisfy the
new land demands generated by an expanding population and increasing economic
activities. In addition to expected higher residential densities, it can be
expected that proportionate increases will occur in commercial and industrial
acreages to meet the needs of this expanding economic activity.
4. EMPLOYMENT
Improved technology and automation are expected to increase the productive
efficiency of workers and reduce the proportion of industrial jobs to total jobs
available in the future. The non-manufacturing segments of the economy will
experience an increase in employment.
Trends indicate that higher disposable incomes will be available for each
family in the future. Increased future incomes will tend to change consumer
buying habits. Family expenditures for such basics as food and clothing are
likely to decrease proportionately while the amount of income devoted to medical
care, travel, recreation, housing, transportation and education will probably
increase.
Issues in reference to housing, employment and family income:
a. As the press of certain growth creates the demand for shelter, there is
neither an adequate balance of housing types, a variety of densities, nor an
integration of the housing supply for all economic levels.
b. Within the county, at both the urban and non-urban levels, there is the
occurrence of blight, obsolescence and deterioration of structures which creates
undesirable health, safety and general welfare conditions.
c. There is little or no coordination between industrial and commercial
employment developments and the placement of prime residential zoning. Access to
recreational facilities is equally restricted for residents of certain areas.
d. Changes in income patterns, age distribution, housing type preference have
not been considered in the future planned for APEX County.
e. The location of residential areas presently does little to ease the burden
on the roadways created by the heavy and unorganized commuter pattern; work
travel trips made by county residents represent 16.6% of all the average weekday
vehicular trips in APEX County. A majority of these trips are made during peak
traffic periods when congestion is greatest.
f. As employment facilities grow and new ones
are added, employment in the smaller centers of the region is expected to
increase. Even though employment growth in the smaller centers of the area is
anticipated, the central community will continue to be the largest center of
employment. This will hold true as reduced travel times between the regional
centers will stimulate residential growth in these communities.
5. EDUCATION
The demands of new and different technology will require higher levels of
formal education; the average number of school years completed will continue to
increase and college enrollment rates will increase sharply. An expected
increase in the number of young children will require expanded primary
educational facilities. The new skills needed for an "information age" will
demand additional adult vocational skills and training.
Issues and problems facing education planning:
a. In the face of ever-increasing technology and in an era of specialization,
it becomes increasingly important that all levels of education be provided
within the physical and economic reach of all the citizens of APEX County.
b. There is not adequate awareness of the need and responsibility to finance
special technological schools to keep in step with the changes in all fields of
endeavor, or to meet the upcoming needs in manpower for the county.
c. A growing need for a junior college to
provide the services mentioned above.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
The quality of the environment in APEX County should be one of the highest
considerations in a master plan. The pollution of our environment has gone on
unchecked since the formation of this community, and it still is continuing as
our growth increases further. The quality of our air and water need an immediate
improvement. If we wait any longer there may be no way to improve our air and
water beyond unacceptable levels.
Issues and problems facing environmental quality planning:
a. The question of how much growth the county can tolerate without going over
the county's carrying capacity of people and pollution must be confronted and
answered. It is proposed that growth (people, industry, etc.) not go beyond 4%
per year.
b. Industries in APEX County must come into acceptable air and water quality
standards.
c. New industries coming to APEX County are necessary for new jobs and
improvement of the tax base, but they must be of a non-polluting type.
d. Environmental Impact Reports should be filed for all new substantial
projects (public and private) and then approved by the responsible local agency.
e. A pattern of controlled growth, pollution
clean up and environmental quality maintenance should be implemented
immediately.
PART TWO: A MASTER PLAN FOR
APEX COUNTY
As changes occur in county characteristics, the
pressures and needs for rational planning of a comprehensive nature, that will
take into account and distribute natural resources and optimize the human
benefits, becomes even more critical. This plan is an attempt to do just that;
begin to exert a concerted effort towards coordinating all aspects of county and
regional level planning.
1. PLAN PURPOSES
a. To help guide the changes occurring throughout the region
b. To make change truly progress
c. To prepare the total county for dealing with the existing and future
problems of a rapidly growing region
d. To help solve the crucial problems created by
population growth
2. GOALS FOR APEX COUNTY
a. A broad range of employment opportunities
b. Efficient and economical use of land
c. Renewal of obsolete areas
d. Orderly growth and development
e. Preservation of open space and expansion of recreational opportunities
f. Efficient transportation of people and goods
3. PLANNING POLICIES
a. Economy and efficiency in providing adequate, healthful and accessible
community services
b. Encouragement of aesthetic and social amenities
c. Transportation facilities with provision for adequate access to all points
of the county
d. Provisions for future parks and open space in keeping with population and
age group changes, leisure time availability, mobility characteristics
e. Natural resources be utilized for their best use
f. Sewage systems of the region be integrated with a comprehensive water
management program to insure a high standard of performance and maintenance of
health standards
g. Availability of a wide range of housing types within sound neighborhood
developments
h. Consideration of long range political and
economic ramifications of regional growth and change
4. THE PLAN
a. Open Space and Parks
The primary parks and recreational system will follow the course of the river
through APEX County. The scope of this park system should be a narrow band
through the AA's 5, 8 and 10, with larger full size parks in AA's 27, 14 and 11.
b. Transportation
1. Long range planning required for the conflict free construction of the St.
Joseph's Connector (East-West). This should be done in conjunction with the
housing development in AA's 13 (South) and 23 (North/East).
2. Increase governmental involvement in mass transit, particularly at
present, the elaboration of bus line coverage to the Suburb and AA's 13, 23, 24,
22, and 27.
3. Eventual blocking off of access to central areas in AA's 8, 4, 6, and 7 to
form pedestrian only malls, with all service facilities such as parking, mass
transit access from all points in the county, etc.
4. The creation of another international airport within the next five years.
This should then be linked with an expansion of convention and tourist
attracting facilities. A tentative location would be South-Western AA 14. Easy
access to Lake Tamny makes this area ideally suited to recreational development.
5. Arterial connectors between existing interstate freeways and the South of
AA 27, the center of AA 22 and the North-West of AA 23; these should be designed
with carrying capacities at the "heavy-truck" level, to handle future industrial
development.
c. Housing
1. The blight gradually threatening the city core should receive concerted
study at a regional level. Future residential growth should be channeled towards
AA's 13 (South), 23 (North), 24 (All) and in the northern section of the county,
AA's 28 (South-East), and 25 (All).
2. The creation of a "Housing Authority" to handle the socioeconomic
implications of displacement and relocation.
3. Future industrial growth to occur in "park" form, coordinated with rail
right-of-ways, the highway construction that would encourage the location of new
medium to heavy industry in AA's 22 (Center), 23 (North-West) and 27 (South).
Infrastructure needs for water, power, sewers, etc., should be initiated
immediately through appropriate capital projects.
4. A belt of R-1, R-2 and R-3 housing should be encouraged at the boundary of
AA's 13 and 23 in view of handling increases to the county population as well as
displacement. From the core area, density should be stringently held down and
the planting of rapid-growth trees encouraged.
5. As existing facilities are vacated or condemned in the center city, new
construction should be limited to M-1 and density criteria stringently enforced.
Further study is required to establish the above mentioned "Density Criterion."
These should be a high priority item on future planning needs.
d. Education
1. The shift in patterns of educational needs demands a realignment of
resources. Future planning for education should emphasize creation of a
decentralized network of small sized junior college level institutions.
2. Long range studies should be made to match expected job required skills to
expected job market.
e. Rezoning Restrictions
To control growth, the following rezoning restrictions should be adopted:
Maximum
Allowable Acres to be Rezoned Per Year
(NOTE: These
restrictions may be overridden by a 2/3 vote of both the County Planning
Commission and the County Board of Supervisors.)
AA |
To Single
Residential |
To Multiple
Residential |
To Commercial |
To Industrial |
14 |
3 acres |
|
NONE |
1 acre |
15 |
|
5 acres |
|
|
16 |
|
NONE |
|
|
20 |
|
3 acres |
|
|
21 |
3 acres |
|
NONE |
|
22 |
3 acres |
|
NONE |
|
23 |
|
NONE |
|
|
24 |
|
5 acres |
|
|
25 |
|
NONE |
|
|
26 |
5 acres |
|
NONE |
|
27 |
3 acres |
|
NONE |
|
28 |
|
5 acres |
|
|
29 |
NONE |
|
5 acres |
|
PART THREE: IMPLEMENTATION - "A
PLAN FOR ACTION"
In order to aid implementation, we encourage the rapid development of a
"Council of Governments" to mediate between political jurisdictions. A full
survey should be made of all options for the future funding of these proposed
developments, including the soliciting of increased private sector participation
such as "Project Cost Sharing" by Industry and Developers. Infrastructure costs
should be equally borne by all affected parties
SAMPLE 3
IT /
e-Government Strategic Planning
From:
http://www.thirdwavecorp.com/L2SampleProjects.aspx?d=2
City of
Austin / e-Government Strategic Plan (2001)
ThirdWave was retained to develop the City of Austin
e-Government Strategic Plan. A first of its kind to be developed in the
United States. ThirdWave's specific role entails the development of an
e-Government Plan. The scope of work includes management interviews, a
detailed review of the City's current e-Government abilities, its
mission and operations, and the identification of requirements for the
City and its customers. These deliverables will be used as the standards
for the development and deployment of an unprecedented e-government
strategic plan for the City of Austin. The project scope addresses the
following e-government issues:
Phase 1 Identify E-Government Goals
1.
Review Background Documentation
2.
Management & Elected Official
Interviews
3.
Hold E-Government Focus Group
Sessions
4.
Hold E-Government Sessions to
Establish Objectives
5.
Establish Criteria to Evaluate
E-Government Priorities
6.
Identify E-Government Services and
Information
7.
Identify Measure & Targets to Assess
Progress in Achieving E-Government
8.
Draft Phase I Report, E-Government
Goals for the City of Austin
Phase 2 Assess Capabilities to Meet E-Government
Goals
1.
Identify Best Practices for both
Public & Private Sectors
2.
Assess and Project Customers /
Constituents Ability to Remotely Access
3.
Identify Alternatives for Providing
Services and Information to those without Internet Access
4.
Assess the City's Current Ability to
Meet the E-Government Goals
5.
Draft Phase II Report: Findings,
Options & Recommendations
Phase 3 Provide Implementation Plan
1.
Develop Prioritized Inventory of
E-Government Services and Information
2.
Detail Organizational Structure and
Processes that will Optimize the Implementation of E-Government
3.
Identify & Recommend Alternative
Methods to Implement Priorities
4.
Identify "Back-end" System Changes to
Implement Priorities
5.
Outline Internet Standards to Ensure
City Website presents a Common Look and Feel
6.
Provide Cost Estimates of
Implementing E-Government Priorities
7.
Develop an Implementation Schedule
8.
Deliver Draft Phase III Report:
Implementation Plan
9.
Deliver Final Report presenting
Results from all Phases
The document will serve as a performance management
checklist of prerequisites that will result in the most responsive and
successful e-government model possible.
|
County of
Stanislaus IT / e-Government Strategic Plan (2000)
ThirdWave was retained to develop an ITSP for one of
the most progressive counties in the US. With an annual base budget for
FY 1999-2000 of $596 Million, Stanislaus County has 4000 employees and
35 departments dispersed across one of the largest counties in the
state. This project developed a game plan for investing $50 Million into
IT over the next 4 years. The following is a list of tasks carried out
on the project.
Phase 1 Audit & Assessment County's Current IT
1.
Inventory Existing County Information
Technologies
2.
Review Existing Information
Technology Data
3.
Compile Organizational Information
4.
Management Interviews - 35 Directors
5.
Hold Rapid Workflow Process Modeling
SessionsTM
o
35 Department Sessions
o
10 Enterprise-wide Sessions
6.
Prepare Enterprise-wide End User
Requirements
7.
Prepare Final Summary of Requirements
Findings
Phase 2 Develop IT Strategies and Policies
1.
Develop IT Strategies & Policy
Recommendations
2.
Develop Detailed Cost Estimate
3.
Develop Cost / Benefit Analysis
4.
Produce IT Strategy & Policies
5.
Develop ITSP Master Schedule
6.
Prepare & Provide Executive
Presentation
7.
Project Coordination & Management
The County's ITSP was heavily reliant on an
e-government vision and strategy.
|
State of
California e-Government Service Delivery Strategy (2000)
ThirdWave
was retained as a sub-consultant to develop the State's e-government
service delivery strategy. ThirdWave's specific role entailed the
development of e-government Metrics. The scope of work included a
management interviews, a detailed review of DOIT's current website, its
mission and operations, and the identification of requirements for DOIT
and its customers. These deliverables will be used as the standards for
the development and deployment of an unprecedented e-government strategy
for the State of California, which will take the state's departments and
agencies on-line. The project deliverables included criteria DOIT could
also use to measure the success of e-government products and services
provided by the state's agencies. The metrics contained three parts:
1.
Functional Service Delivery Metrics,
used to gauge success in providing services delivery applications to
DOIT's diverse customer set.
2.
Site Design Metrics, used to ensure
sound site ergonomics.
3.
Site Content Metrics, providing
guidelines for the information to be published in the DOIT site.
The
document will serve as a performance management checklist of
prerequisites that will result in the most responsive and successful
e-government model possible.
Footnote:
As a
result of the work carried out by ThirdWave, Roy Hernandez (the
president of ThirdWave), was selected to sit on the State of
California's Local e-government Advisory Board (LEAF), and the Califoria
IT Commission, both prestigious think tanks assigned to advise the
Governor of California on the implementation of the e-government
initiatives of the State.
|
City of
Pasadena e-Government / e-Commerce Strategic Plan (1999)
As part
of our ongoing strategic relationship with the City, ThirdWave was
retained to investigate and validate the process of deploying web
enabled e-commerce technologies to implement online bill payment
capabilities at the City. The results of the study entailed
comprehensive e-commerce recommendations and an accompanying conceptual
design, including the proposed system architecture, implementation plan
and corresponding cost estimate.
1.
Project Initiation
2.
Analysis of Existing Web Environment
o
Analyze Existing Web IT Environment
o
Identify and Investigate Related
Applications
3.
Define Departmental Requirements
o
Hold Requirements Definitions
Meetings
o
Develop End User Requirements
Definition Document
o
Develop Systems Requirements Document
4.
Research Best IT Solutions
5.
Final E-Commerce
Recommendations/Conceptual Design
|
City of Las
Vegas Information Technology Strategic Plan (1999)
ThirdWave
was retained to carry out a comprehensive applications analysis to
develop a Strategic Vision and Implementation Plan. (From this initial
analysis ThirdWave was retained to conduct the implementation of the
ITSP as well.) This project addressed the following information
technology issues:
1.
Establishing an enterprise-wide
systems inventory of where the City stood with regards to their
information technology
2.
Evaluating networking /
communications issues for intradepartmental communications, including
implementation of enterprise-wide e-mail system
3.
Assessing hardware, software, and
peripheral standards and identifying systems integration issues and
opportunities
4.
Examining methods for upgrading
customer service
5.
Investigating methods for
establishing a one-stop center
6.
Assessing the use and support of
several key applications, such as document imaging and retrieval, and
geographic information systems
7.
Identifying global opportunities for
increasing efficiencies by eliminating redundant work and / or provide
methods of leveraging existing information
8.
Producing an End User Needs Analysis
9.
Articulating the Strategic
Information Systems Vision and Implementation Plan
10.
Developing a request for proposal
that the city used to Implement the Information Systems Strategy
ThirdWave
developed the Virtual City model, the country's first published citywide
e-government project. ThirdWave was subsequently retained to carry out
the four year - $10 million IT Master Plan implementation.
|
Rand Corporation IT Strategic Plan (1999)
Brief
Description:
ThirdWave was retained as a sub-consultant to HOK
Consulting (the prime), one of the premier Architectural/Planning firms
in the world, to participate in the development of a Master Plan for the
new RAND Corporation World Headquarters building to be built in Santa
Monica. As a major undertaking for RAND (a company with an department of
60 IT experts), ThirdWave was tasked to develop the IT component of the
Master Plan. Working as part of the HOK RAND Corp Headquarters design
team, our scope of work included the following tasks:
1.
Kickoff Meeting
2.
Information Technology Assessment
o
Rapid Workflow Process Modeling
SessionsTM
o
Space Analysis: review data gathered
by HOK
o
IT Needs Assessment and Analysis
3.
Develop IT Master Plan
4.
Formulate Cost Projetions
5.
Identify Efficiency Gains
6.
Present IT Master Plan to RAND
Executive Council
|
City of
Corona Information Systems Master Plan (1998)
ThirdWave
was retained to develop a comprehensive Information Systems Master Plan
(ISMP) to act as management's principal working document for the next
several years. This four-month project addressed the following IT
issues:
-
Needs assessment,
identifying departmental/user application needs, existing databases,
software/hardware standards, data communication options, and
associated priorities
-
Implementation
Costs, determining onetime and recurring costs for hardware,
software, training, installation, communications, maintenance and
support necessary to proceed with findings of the study. An emphasis
was placed on identifying opportunities for a financial return on
investment
-
Master Plan,
developed 3-5 year MIS Strategy and Implementation Plan,
establishing the overall vision and direction for the City's
Information Systems. The Master Implementation Plan provides a
logical, phased and manageable schedule of implementation activities
The Scope
of work includes the following:
1.
Conduct Orientation & Planning
Sessions
o
Orientation Meeting
o
Planning Sessions
2.
Perform City Wide Needs Assessment
o
Management Interviews
o
Rapid Workflow Process Modeling
SessionsTM
o
City Wide Needs Assessment Findings
3.
Prioritize Systems Needs and
Requirements
4.
Provide Project Progress/Status
Reports
5.
Identify Alternate Information
Systems Solutions
6.
Review Staffing and Educational Needs
o
MIS Staffing
o
Training Requirements
7.
Develop Detailed Master Plan
o
Develop Detailed Cost Estimate
o
Prepare Cost/Benefit Analysis
o
Prepare Detailed Master Plan &
Schedule
8.
Plan and Administer the Execution of
Project Activities
9.
Present Final Master Plan: Steering
Committee City Council
|
City of San
Jose IT Strategic Plan, New City Hall (1998)
Brief Description:
ThirdWave
was retained by HOK Consulting, one of the premier
Architectural/Planning firms in the world, to participate in the
development of a Master Plan for the new City Hall to be built for the
capital of Silicon Valley. As a major undertaking for the City,
ThirdWave was tasked to develop the IT Component of the Master Plan, in
which we were to think of how the government work place might function
50 years in the future!Working as part of the HOK City Hall design team,
our scope of work included the following tasks:
1.
Conduct Orientation and Planning
Sessions
2.
Perform City Wide Needs Assessment
o
Management Visioneering Interviews
o
Hold Rapid Workflow Modeling
SessionsTM
o
Document Summary of Findings
3.
Prioritize Systems Needs &
Requirements
4.
Provide Status Reporting to City's
Executive Committee
5.
Identify Strategic Information
Systems Solutions
6.
Review Staffing and Educational Needs
7.
Develop 3 Year Detailed Master Plan
o
Develop Cost Estimate
o
Prepare Detailed Master Plan and
Schedule
8.
Plan and Administer the Execution of
All Project Activities
9.
Present Final Master Plan to Steering
Committee and City Council
|
City of Los
Angeles Strategic CADD Strategy (1988)
Brief Description:
Carried
out Enterprise-wide information technology analysis for 23 divisions in
the Bureau of Engineering, Department of Public Works:
-
Architectural
Division:
Facilities management/architectural design
-
Central District:
Street and storm drain design
-
City Administrative
Officer:
Financial and budgeting issues
-
Design
Research/Standards Div:
Construction tech. Stds.
-
Hyperion Engineering
Division:
Wastewater systems design
-
Information Services
Department: Citywide MIS issues
-
Land Development &
Mapping Div:
Cadastral design/mapping
-
Project Management
Division:
Planned capital Improvements
-
Survey Division:
Civil and survey function, design and drafting
-
Structural Division:
Structural and bridge design and analysis
-
Valley District:
Street and storm drain design and drafting
-
Wastewater
Engineering Systems Div:
Wastewater design
-
Wastewater Program
Management Div:
Const. management
-
West Los Angeles
District:
Mapping, street, storm drain/sewer
-
Harbor District:
Mapping, street, storm drain and sewer design
-
Hyperion
Construction Division:
Wastewater Const. Mgmt.
-
Tillman Construction
Division:
Wastewater Const. Mgmt.
-
Assessment Division:
Real estate assessment
-
Real Estate
Division:
Real estate acquisition
-
Construction
Division:
Cost estimating, change order processing for public works
-
Survey District
Offices:
Valley, West LA, Pipertech, Harbor district engineering
The
project scope included carrying out the following tasks:
1.
Strategic Information Technology
Requirements Study
2.
Develop Bureau/Citywide IT Strategy &
Request for Proposal
3.
Evaluation & Selection Phase
|
SAMPLE 4
From:
http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/planning/mp/mp.htm
Mission Statement:
The
purpose of the Division of Master Planning is to plan comprehensively all
aspects of land, environment, economy, and transportation affecting the future
character, composition, and viability of Bergen County. The objective of Master
Planning is to effectively and comprehensively think and plan in a matter that
is consistent with sound regional planning principals.
Duties and
Responsibilities:
1)
Development and Creation of the County Master Plan
The
primary intent of the Division of Master Planning is to develop and
create a new Master Plan for the County of Bergen. The division will pursue
intergovernmental coordination with all 70 municipalities to ensure that the
County Master Plan as well as each municipality’s master plan is generally
consistent with each other. Moreover, the County Master Plan will provide
municipalities with a regional framework for their local planning process. The
development of the County Master Plan will also include an extensive public
outreach component (for example, public meetings and hearings) to ensure that
there is sufficient public discussion and feedback. Lastly, the County Master
Plan will be fully in accordance with the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law as
well as consistent with the goals and objectives of the New Jersey State
Development and Redevelopment Plan. The Master Plan will be comprised of nine
(9) elements or sub-plans as shown below:
A) Land Use Plan
B) Transportation Plan
C) Environmental Plan
D) Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Plan
E) Housing Plan
F) Utilities Plan
G) Economic Redevelopment Plan
H) Community Facilities Plan
I) Demographic and
Data Profile
Along
with preparing and developing a new Master Plan, the County will develop of a
new Official County Map, which will show and delineate all Municipal
and County Boundaries, County Streets and Roads, Right-of-Way, Viaducts,
Culverts, Bridges, Waterways and Waterbodies, Forest Areas, Parks and Open Space
Areas and other public ways or facilities within the County.
County Master Plan
Background
Bergen
County’s last Master Plan was written and formally adopted on December
10, 1962 and amended March 14, 1966 (the oldest in the State of New Jersey). In
1968, Bergen County initiated the County Comprehensive Plan program,
which studied and developed recommendations on the present and future needs for
basic County facilities. Each report would study and review a particular element
of the Master Plan and was published in the form of a County Report. Department
records showed that there have been 26 reports published from 1969 (Report 1,
Physical Characteristics) to 1975 (Report 26, Open Space and Recreation
Inventory). However, since 1975 the only documents that are somewhat related to
county master planning, have been several Cross Acceptance reports to the State
Planning Commission written in 1989 and 1998. These reports were required as
part of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan
(SDRP, 2000).
2) Maintain Municipal Master Plan Files
The Division will catalog and maintain all existing and
future Master Plans and associated amendments for the 70 municipalities and
regional agencies (New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Palisades Interstate
Park Commission) within the County in accordance with the New Jersey Municipal
Land Use Law.
3) Intergovernmental Master Plan Coordination
The
Division will pursue extensive intergovernmental coordination with all 70
municipalities and regional agencies to ensure that the County Master Plan is
generally consistent with each other. In addition, the Division of Master
Planning will assist the Division of Regional Planning and Transportation
with the Cross-Acceptance and Plan Endorsement process in order to ensure that
the State Plan is updated and consistent with all levels of local governmental
master planning.
4) Regional Contribution Agreements
In
accordance with the New Jersey Fair Housing Act and COAH (Council On Affordable
Housing) Regulations, all inter-county municipal housing agreements and
applications involving Regional Contribution Agreements will be reviewed by the
Division of Master Planning and the County Planning Board for
approval.
RCA list in Bergen County
Substantive Rules of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing: Chapter 6
www.state.nj.us/dca/coah/593files/chapter6.shtml
5) Environmental and Stormwater
County Policies and Review
Based upon NJDEP’s (New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection) New Stormwater Regulations, the County has been
designated as the “Review Agency” to formally review Municipal Stormwater Plans
and Ordinances.
**Meeting Announcement**
As a follow-up to the Bergen County Municipal Stormwater
Workshop which was held on September 9, the County will hold its first
Sector Stormwater Management Meeting on October 14, 2004 at 10:00 AM for
municipalities within the Central Bergen and Southwest Bergen Sectors.
View Bergen County Sector Map
Meeting Location: |
Dept. of Planning & Economic Development
One Bergen County Plaza, 4th Floor
Hackensack, NJ 07601 |
Contact Person: |
Peter Kortright (201-336-6430) |
Central Bergen |
Southwest Bergen |
Bogota
Elmwood Park
Fair Lawn
Garfield
Hackensack
Lodi
Maywood
New Milford
Oradell
Paramus
River Edge
Rochelle Park
Saddle Brook
Teaneck |
Cliffside Park
Edgewater
Fairview
Fort Lee
Leonia
Palisades Park
Ridgefield
Ridgefield Park |
The County is also partnering with NJDEP on the
Watershed Management Area policies and initiatives (Watershed Areas 3, 4
and 5). The Division of Master Planning will assist the
Division of Land Use and Development Review in their review of site plans
and subdivisions that involve the impact of development proposals on County
roads and/or drainage facilities.
Visit:
www.state.nj.us/dep/watershedmgt/bureaus.htm
SAMPLE 5
From:
http://www.cabq.gov/wastewater/masterplan.html
Wastewater
Master Plan
A Plan
for Success
This page describes master planning efforts now underway at the Wastewater
Utility Division. It tells about the areas and alternatives the Master Plan
project team is considering and gives you the opportunity to comment via email.
Watch this page and the Tours & Events page for new information on the Master
Plan as it develops.
Why a Master Plan?
Master Plan Activities
What Are the Issues?
Some Examples
How You Can Participate
Why a Master Plan?
Wastewater facilities such as sewers, odor control stations, pumps and treatment
plants are very expensive to build, but last a long time. Long-term planning is
important, because–for example–putting the right size of pipe into the ground to
serve customer needs for the next 20 to 40 years is much less expensive that
replacing a pipe that is too small every few years. Engineers anticipate that
all of the improvements that will be needed to meet growing demand over the
20-year planning period will cost an estimated $250 million.
The Master Plan
forecasts long-term needs and how to meet them in the least costly and most
environmentally sensitive ways. It looks at the technologies available and where
people and businesses will locate over the next 20 years. And it looks at which
areas the City may serve in the future and how much wastewater those areas are
likely to create.
Albuquerque
has been working to develop and update its long-range wastewater plans for some
time. The current effort is the third phase of planning that has taken place
over the past seven years. The Division has placed high priority on working with
Bernalillo County to extend service to the North and South Valley areas in order
to protect our underground water supply from contamination.
Master Plan Activities
The Master Plan is being prepared over a period of about 27 months. Here's the
schedule.
To devise a sound Master Plan, the Wastewater Utility Division is carrying out
several tasks, including:
Updating wastewater flow projections on
the basis of city and county growth forecasts.
Creating computer simulations of how
the sewer system and various treatment facilities could handle flows.
Studying current and future water
quality requirements.
Talking with the public.
Developing alternative ways to treat
wastewater and reclaim and recycle resources.
Evaluating alternative plans.
Recommending solutions and an
implementation timeline.
What are the Issues?
Some of the big questions to be answered in formulating the Master Plan revolve
around issues such as:
How to accommodate new wastewater flows
that will come from a larger population, including a great deal of growth on the
West Side.
How to ensure that new wastewater
systems will meet future treatment needs and that water quality standards will
be maintained.
Finding economically feasible ways to
reclaim and recycle as many resources as possible–including water, biosolids,
methane gas and heat.
Whether to add new or "satellite"
treatment plants in other areas of the system or keep all treatment at the
Southside site.
Continuing to ensure the safety of
wastewater employees, the public and the environment.
Ensuring the most competitive, high
quality service to customers.
Some Examples
The Master Plan will study innovative concepts that represent departures from
the conventional approach to wastewater treatment.
One example is
the Plan's focus on the potential for locating one or more relatively small
satellite treatment facilities farther north (at higher elevations) in the
system. These plants would intercept wastewater flows that now move by gravity
to the Southside Plant. Some or all of the water reclaimed at these plants might
be recycled for use as irrigation water at parks and other large turf areas.
Capturing this wastewater at higher elevations in the system might eliminate the
need for expansion at the Southside Plant.
As growth
continues, areas now served by individual septic systems may need to change
their wastewater disposal practices to protect the quality of underground water
supplies and the environment. Complex agreements and payment arrangements might
be needed to connect such areas to the centralized system or to provide some
other solution.
The biosolids
that are a byproduct of the wastewater treatment system might be reclaimed on a
larger scale for use as a fertilizer or soil amendment. Albuquerque's wastewater
contains very few heavy metals or other contaminants, which means that the
resulting product is of very high quality. A composting facility already
recycles some biosolids and might be expanded.
If the standards
restricting discharge of waters to the river become considerably more stringent,
the water leaving the plant may have to approach drinking water quality to be
discharged to the Rio Grande. Perhaps this clean, reclaimed water could be
better used by customers for irrigation or other purposes.
How You Can Participate
The Master Plan team welcomes your comments at any time during the project. A
public hearing will be held once a recommended plan has been formulated.
Check
Tours & Events for updates on meeting locations and times or call 873-7068
or 873-7040 for information