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STORY: LEBANON / LOCAL REFUGEE AID
TRT: 03:06
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 1-4 FEBRUARY 2016, BEKAA VALLEY, LEBANON
1-4 FEBRUARY 2016, BEKAA VALLEY, LEBANON
1. Wide shot, Mahmoud and his mother preparing his daughter Nariman for a bath.
2. Close up, Mahmoud’s mother undressing Nariman
3. Wide shot, Mahmoud speaking to Nariman
4. Close up, Mahmoud leans over to kiss his daughter
5. Tilt down, Mahmoud’s mother pouring water over Nariman
6. Various shots, Mahmoud and his mother drying Nariman
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“Despite all the hardship and the fact that we have nothing, I forgot all of it and replaced it all with happiness. I got to the hospital and felt like I didn’t care about anything else.”
8. Various shots, Mahmoud walking through the tented settlement and on the street towards Abu Yaqoub’s shop
9. Close up, Mahmoud entering Abu Yaacoub’s shop
10. Med shots, Mahmoud talking to Abu Yaacoub at the shop
11. Upsound (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub asking Mahmoud: “How is her health?”
12. Upsound (Arabic) Mahmoud saying: “She is well, thank God.”
13. Upsound (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub saying to Mahmoud: “You still didn’t bring her for a visit so I can see her.”
14. Upsound (Arabic) Mahmoud to Abu Yaacoub: “May God give you strength (thank you).”
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub, Lebanese Shopkeeper:
“No matter how much money I have and I’m comfortable, maybe one day I will be in his situation. Maybe God will send me someone better than him (to help). At the end, I do this for God’s sake.”
16. Various shots, Abu Yaacoub’s shop
17. Med shot, Women and her son enter shop
18. Close up, Costumer taking bread off the shelf
19. Various shots, Costumers at the shop
20. Upsound (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub: “give two balloons to this little girl.”
21. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub, Lebanese Shopkeeper:
“They are very kind people; we have known them for a very long time and they are good people. No matter what I give them, I will get it back later even if I have to be patient with them. They all come back and pay and if they don’t pay God will compensate me.”
22. Med shot, Young man packing goods into a bag
23. Close up, Abu Yaccoub writing an invoice
24. Close up, Abu Yaacoub
25. Rack focus, from dripping water to Mahmoud’s mother
26. Close up, Nariman
27. Close up, Mahmoud’s mother
28. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud, Syrian Refugee:
“I can’t tell you how much I have thought about this but I haven’t found an answer. I say maybe God will send me a job one day. My faith in God is great. That’s all I can say.”
29. Pan right, Mahmoud carrying his daughter
30. Tilt up, from Nariman to Mahmoud
Nariman was born four months ago. Her father, Mahmoud, remembers the night his wife gave birth to their first child very well, but the excitement of becoming a father was mixed with anxiety.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“Despite all the hardship and the fact that we have nothing, I forgot all of it and replaced it all with happiness. I got to the hospital and felt like I didn’t care about anything else.”
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) paid 75 percent of the hospital bill, but Mahmoud was still unable to pay the remaining $170 balance. He turned to one person he knew who could help.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub, Lebanese Shopkeeper:
“No matter how much money I have and I’m comfortable, maybe one day I will be in his situation. Maybe God will send me someone better than him (to help). At the end, I do this for God’s sake.”
Mahmoud fled Syria with his family to Lebanon three years ago. He has been living in debt for two years and he is not alone. A UN study in 2015 found that many Syrian refugees in Lebanon are sinking deeper into debt as time goes on. With little work opportunities, shrinking aid and rising living expenses, many Syrian refugees struggle to get by on daily basis.
Abu Yaqcoub owns a little shop neighbouring many Syrian refugees settlements in the Bekaa valley. He has become a lifeline for the inhabitants of those settlements. They mostly buy rice, flour, bread and sugar from his shop. Very few can afford to pay, yet he still gives them what they need on a tab, regardless of when or even whether they can pay him back.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Yaacoub, Lebanese Shopkeeper:
“They are very kind people; we have known them for a very long time and they are good people. No matter what I give them, I will get it back later even if I have to be patient with them. They all come back and pay and if they don’t pay God will compensate me.”
Mahmoud often thinks of the mounting debt that is piling on and wonders if he could ever repay Abu Yaacoub.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud, Syrian Refugee:
“I can’t tell you how much I have thought about this but I haven’t found an answer. I say maybe God will send me a job one day. My faith in God is great. That’s all I can say.”
For now, he is thankful for Abu Yaacoub’s generosity that helped bring his daughter into the world.
