Community organizing:

Souk El Khodra of Beirut

This report is bidirectional where it is used for two purposes. The first is to observe the community under study Souk El Khodra, with an identified method for information gathering of social, economic, and residential conditions. The second is to identify the problems of the Souk and give valuable solutions for organizing and developing the Souk.

N.B: The file is attached with an illustrated map of the Souk and live Photographs.

Contents
Contents. 2 Preface.3 Introducing Souk El Khodra4 The Method used for gathering information6 The Observation..8 Defining the problems.11 Problems illustration and solutions suggested.12 Conclusion and Suggestions.16 Photography.17

Preface The first step one has to take in establishing a community profile is that of proceeding much like a good journalist; walking through the area one is surveying and looking at it as though through the lenses of a sensitive camera ( Allan Twelvetrees). Souk El Khorda of Beirut iis the community I have chosen to build my report on. Thus, and for the sake of a good information gathering, I had to undergo certain procedures. First, I needed a new identity to enter the Souk as an undercover reporter. Second, I had to learn about the Souks big vendors (the most powerful and the oldest venders) so I would get significant and reliable information from them. Third, I needed to find a perfect time where the Souk is not crowded in-order to take pictures and be free to eye every corner in the Souk. This report will focus on organizing, and widening the issue of Souk El Khodra, and to label its problems and find the necessary solutions.

Introducing Souk El Khodra Souk El Khodra of Beirut is located near Madina Reyadiya near Hafez Al Assad high way (fig. 1)ii. Souk El Khodra is one of the oldest Souks in Beirut; it was established in 1948 that is 5 years after the declaration of the Lebanese independence 1943. As it is costumed in Arabic and Islamic countries, the Souks are located near the big Mosques or by the big gates of a city. In 1894, Beirut Souks were named after the merchandises they display, for example; Souk El Hariri (The Silk Market), Souk el Khodar (The vegetable Market), Souk El Sagha (The Jewelry Market) or by the name of the craft, for example; Souk El Najjareen (The Carpenters Market), Souk El Haddadeen (The Blacksmiths Market), or according to family names for example; Souk Edrees, Souk El Twaini, Souk El Itani. Unfortunately, most of these Souks no longer exist due to urbanization. On the other hand, new Souks has emerged which are more developed and evolved such as, Souk Verdun street, Souk Hamra street, and Souk Mar Elyas Street. Souk El Khodra is a public institution run by the Union of Fruits and Vegetables Vendors (fig. 2), which is run by a committee chair member Mohammad El Kaysi. The Souk is a market for all kind of fruits and vegetables, not only Lebanese products but imports from broad countries as well; Syria, Jordon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia. The most dominating vegetable is the Egyptian and the Lebanese potato, the Lebanese Tomato comes next with the slight domination of Lebanese Onion. The Souk opens daily from 1:00 am and closes at 6 pm, with the exception of Saturday noon where it closes and reopen again Monday morning 10:00 am. The Souk is well known with its wide variety of fruits and vegetables; each vendor has his own store where he displays his merchandise. Further illustration about the Souk is mentioned in the observation section.

The Method used for gathering information It is somehow impossible to enter the Souk as a reporter and obtain the information you want, hence, the vendors will not give you any information for they would think that you are from a government agency. Their worst fear is the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Health. Thus and by all means, I had to go undercover as a worker who unloads the vegetables from the pickup trucks into the stores attal. Fortunately, I had a confederate who helped through introducing me to the store owners and vendors with an undercover identity name as Mortada. Mohammad El Hammoud, my confederate and my first connection into the Souk is a pickup truck owner; his job is to transport fruits and vegetables from one place to another according to the buyer. My first step was to be part of this community and to socialize with the vendors, the store owners, the workers and most importantly the Union members. My first job was to unload a truck full of tomato into the store of Walid Amairat (fig. 3); Walid Amairat is one of the oldest vendors in the Souk his expertise are in Tomato, Potato and Onions. The second step was to locate the significant observation points where I can take pictures, notes and report the residential, economic, social condition of the Souk. (Further illustration is in the Observation). Third step, is to find the specific time, by which I can walk and move freely in the Souk without drawing any attention, after the deep research I find out that Friday 11:30 am is the perfect time to start my observation hence most the Souks vendors would be at the Mosque; Fridays Prayer.

During my undercover mission, I had to unload a pickup truck full of tomato in Malek Omairats store. We were three workers unloading the truck; Mohammad Hammoud my confederate who helped me get the job, myself and a 15 years old child! I was barely able to lift two boxes of tomato, where my partner Ahmad (15 years old) was lifting 3 to 4 boxes of tomato. Note that the box of tomato is about 15 kilos, as a result a 15 years old was lifting about 45 kilos in every round. I tried to have a conversation with Ahmad, and I knew that he is a 15 years old school dropout from a village in Syria who came to Lebanon to get money for his family. Note that for every truck Ahmad (the workers) unload will get them 5000 L.L

(Fig. 3) My first job to be familiarize with the Souks Vendors for later observation plan

The Observation [Friday, 11:30 pm] (Attached map of the Souk at the end of the file) Souk El Khodra has 4 gates, one on each corner, one main gate (fig. 4) and three other peripherals. When you enter the gate you will be annoyed with the awful smell of vegetables and fruit waste that are found everywhere in the Souk (fig.5). Beside the main gate, there is the first parking lot (fig. 6), where it is used in an unorganized fashion by the store owners and vendors cars. On the left you will notice a small timeworn building used as a police station. There are only 3 police members currently organizing the Souk, the chief of police Abu Hassan is always present at the main gate sitting down inefficiently drinking his coffee and smoking his cigarettes, while the other two would be roaming around the Souk. After the first parking lot, you will not miss the awful smell of urine and dump in the little cabinet that is called a bathroom (fig.7). The bathroom has 3 small cabinets, there is a man sitting beside the bathroom that get paid 500 L.L for every person who wants to use the bathroom. Thus, the Souk workers do not use the given bathroom so they wont pay 500 L.L; they go to the walls and dumpsters of the Souk and use it as a free bathroom. The second parking lot is located beside the dumpster and it used by the Transporting Trucks, their job is to transport fruits and vegetables from one place to another according to the buyer. All of the roads are in an awful condition, an average of 30 cm holes in the ground full of dirty water, vegetable and fruit wastes. The cars and pickups barley can move through it (fig. 8). The Souk is divided into Easter and Western Rows, both rows contain the stores that display the fruits and vegetables. Between the rows comes an alley (fig.9), a very tight terrible condition road (cant fit a car); they use it to dump their waste from the both side stores, or to display their merchandise. The alleys are very dangerous for strangers, thus it is full with drug dealers and

prisons breakers. You will notice at the corner of the alley, a 14 years old Syrian child delivering coffee and tea to the vendors (fig.10). What makes the peripheral roads and the alleys even close-fitted is the door steps of the stores that are being illegally rented to Syrian vendors to display their merchandises. Referring to my confederate Mohammad Hammoud , who has been working in the Souk for 3 years; the store owners rent their doorsteps for 100 to 150 $ per week. According to Mohammad Hammoud the venders are demographically divided as: Majority Minority Different nationalities and ethnicity Kurdish( Sunni) store owners/ old Vendors. Shia workers and few store owners Mostly Syrian and Palestinians

Between the alleys there is a main road that is used by the pickup trucks to unload the fruits and vegetables into the stores. According to Ali Barakat, a store owner on the second Easter row, the road is tight and in a very bad condition that can only let one pickup to pass, thus it makes a terrible traffic, where the costumers and pickup trucks have to wait till the pickup unloads its boxes (fig. 11). On the left side of the Souk, there is a parking lot used by costumers and pickup owners. The condition of this parking lot is somehow acceptable, no dumpsters are found, and the road is in a fine condition in comparison to the other roads, according to my confederate that is because this parking lot is rarely used since it is located away from the stores. Other than costumers cars and pickups, there are two bulldozers and one pickup that are used to clean the dumpster in the Souk. The Bulldozers are in a bad condition, one bulldozer is mechanically worn out, and the second does the job for the two. (Fig. 12)

The Union of Fruit and Vegetable Vendors is located outside the Souk; it is an old worn-out empty building. The chair person Mohammad El kaysi comes to check on the Souk every Monday, where he supposed to stay in his daily job in the Union building. My confederate Mohammad Hammoud states that, the dumpster pickup trucks and bulldozers who are supposed to be on the work daily, do not work but on Monday when the chairperson of the union visit. In addition, the two officers who are supposed to organize the traffic do not take their jobs seriously until the appearance of Mr. Kaysi.

10

Defining the problems A. Unorganized Parking lot B. Lack of members and organization in the Police station C. Health problems and waste in the Bathrooms D. Roads are in a very bad conditions E. Illegal door step rental in alleys F. The Eastern alley is very tight due of dumpster and doorstep rentals G. Unorganized, unhealthy dumpsters (fig.13) H. Traffic problems due to road bad condition I. Lack of tools and facilities. J. Child labor

Note: as it is noticed, the problems are the cause and effect of each others. i.e.: if problem F was solved problem G will be consequently out of the picture etc.

11

Problems illustration and solutions suggested Significant questions are asked; what seem to be visible problems or issues in the Souk? Is it a stable area? Is the area in transition, improving, deteriorating? What areas of community capacity need to be developed so that these problems or issues can be dealt with? These questions can be answered after identifying the visible problems of the Souk and working out a solution with an organized developmental plan. A. Unorganized parking lots: There are four parking lots areas in the Souk; the store owners cars area, the transporting trucks area, the pickup trucks area, and the area used for costumers. The problem with in these lots, is not because they do not have enough area, however, the problem lies in the unorganized area. There is enough parking lot area in the Souk and maybe it is more than enough. In an interview with 3 pickup owners and 2 costumers, they assert that the problem is in the way the pickups park. After reviewing the map of the souk, a solution was on hand; the four parking lot space could be joined into two big parking lots; one for the costumers and one for the trucks. A solution we discussed is to be organized as follows: The Main gate parking lot used by the Vendor and store owners should be canceled, thus is it the main problem of traffic. The Vendors can park their cars in the pickup truck area where there is enough space for them. On the other hand, the parking lot of the costumers should remain in tacked. B. Lack of members and organization in the Police station: Organizing a police station would be somehow impossible because of the political division in the station where; the chief of Police Abu Hassan is supported by Tayyar El Mustaqbal and the

12

two other officers are from Haraket Aamal. However, a simple solution I suggested, where we mention this problem to the Unions chair-person Mohammad El Kaysi, who is supported by Tayyar El Mustaqbal as well, who can talk to the chief of police and let him organize his station and no political sensitive issue would occur hence both are from the same party. As the political sensitivity is out of our way, we can start organizing the station by getting new officer members to the Souk; two members from Haraket Amal and two from Tayar El Mustaqbal. C. Health problems and waste in the bathroom The smell of the bathrooms is intolerable, waste is every, the cabinets are in awful condition. A health inspector is needed. A petition should be claimed to the Ministry of Health to take upon this issue. Meanwhile, the main problem of the bathrooms is their 500 L.L entrance; most workers do not want to pay to go the bathroom, so they go to the alleys and the walls of the Souk, which creates another health problem. A police officer should be on guard for such situation. D. Roads are in a very bad conditions: If problem A is fixed, which is organizing the parking lots, problem D would be the next step for development. Thus, with the help of the Works Ministry, the roads can be fixed easily if there were serious complaints from the Souk members and costumers. Therefore, a program of awareness should be initiated to let the Souk vendors be aware of the major problems they have. If the roads were fixed, the pickups will easily unload its merchandises, and that will financially turn to the store owners who by that time can unload several trucks in one day.

13

E. Illegal door-steps rental in the alleys: According to eye witnesses, the municipality does not know about this illegal renting, and if they do they are being bribe to stay silent. Thus, the Finance Ministry should be aware of the problem where by their own means they can work it out with the municipality. F. The Eastern alley is very tight due of dumpster and doorstep rentals The alley has become a dumpster for the store owners, although there is a dumpster in the Souk behind the pickup trucks parking lot. It is obvious that the Souk dumpster does not fit the waste from the Souk. Therefore, a Sukleen shifts should accommodate the Souk daily to clean away the main dumpster. On the other hand, the vendors should be alerted that dumping their wastes in the alleys will negatively turn upon their business, and if they could dump into the dumpster instead of the alley they would have enough and clean healthy place to display their fruits and vegetables. G. Unorganized and unhealthy dumpster H. Traffic problems due to road bad condition If problem F is solves, then there would be no problem in G, consequently; if problem D was fixed, there wouldnt be traffic problems. I. Lack of tools and facilities: It is shown in the observation that there are only two bulldozers and one pickup truck for the dumpster. One of the bulldozers is mechanically worn-out. At least two brand new bulldozers and two new pickup trucks should be provided to the Souk in order to keep it clean. In addition, a water tank should be provided to clean up the streets of the Souk daily at 6 pm.

14

J. Child labor The United Nations and the International Labor Organization consider child labor exploitative with the UN stipulating, in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that: ..States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. Although globally there is an estimated 250 million children working Thus and by all means, the Ministry of Social affairs should visit the Souk and see not only child labor, but also the dangerous situations the child is working at (fig.10).

15

Conclusion and suggestions After the observation, identifying the problems and giving solutions, there is ought to be a suggestion given; Regardless of the 9 main problems the Souk has, one problem remains. One problem which is one of the most significant problems occur in all community development; Organization. Organization is the main problem of the Souk, with good organizing and planning the Souk will overcome its current problems. Organizing a certain community should be upon certain rules: iii 1. There should be an individual effort and will to organize and develop the Souk 2. If the organization doesnt grow it will die. 3. The most important victory is the Souk itself. 4. If youre not fighting for what you want, you dont want enough Suggestion Reorganize the Union of Fruits and Vegetables, make up a meeting with the members,( I advise to advocate new members) let there be daily shifts in the Union. Let the people be motivated by their self-interests. Let there be awareness campaigns to all members, thus it's important that, at an early stage of the development of any group, they learn to deal with conflict and confrontation.

16

iv

17

vi

vii

18

viii

ix

19

20

xi

xii

21

xiii

22

Souk El Khodra : is an Arabic Term for a Vegetable and Fruit Market, where all vendors accumulate in one place to sell their fruits and vegetables.
ii

A Satellite image by Google Maps locating Souk El Khodra. Community Organizing: http://comm-org.wisc.edu/papers97/beckwith.htm

iii

iv v

(fig. 4) The Main Gate of the Souk (fig.5) The Fruits and Vegetable waste you find on the ground vi (fig.6) The unorganized Parking Lot vii (fig.7) Bathrooms viii (fig.8) the holes in the ground shows the condition of the roads in the Souk ix (fig.9) The Alley of the Souk x ( fig. 10) a 14 years old working in the worse awful conditions. xi (fig.11) the main road Traffic problem xii (fig.12) Two bulldozers and one pickup truck used to clean the dumpster. One bulldozer is in an awful condition.
xiii

(fig. 13) unorganized, unhealthy dumpster.

23