12 July 2005

Eyewitness

JDEIDET YABUSS, Syria: Gridlocked trucks and frustrated drivers on the Syrian Jdeidet Yabuss checkpoint have become the biggest news story in Lebanon. For the last six days, Syrian and Lebanese haulers have been stuck at the border, prevented from entering Syria, because of what the truckers call orders "from above." To attempt to describe the sight of more than 400 giant trucks stretched in a double line along a six-kilometer stretch of road is fruitless. The road looks like a huge campsite without tents, formed by iron and steel instead of canvas.

Bad as Jdeidet Yabuss is, the coastal Arida checkpoint in the North, where the tailback of trucks stretches for more than 30 kilometers, is even worse. 

The reason for the blockage, according to Syrian officials, is due to fears that firearms are being smuggled into Syria in large container trucks. But that claim has been met with incredulity by most Lebanese  truck drivers, who believe the real reason is to "hurt Lebanese business" following the ejection of Syrian troops from Lebanon last April.

The net result is that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of perishable agricultural goods, bound for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, are in danger of rotting away in the no-man's land between the Lebanese and Syrian borders. Some trucks are already left with tons of ruined cherries, apricots and other fruits and vegetables. The reason that more foodstuffs haven't already gone to waste is due to the fact that the truck drivers have been running their refrigeration units non-stop, which for small businesses is proving an expensive exercise.

One Lebanese driver said: "I called my boss in Saida for fuel for the refrigerator to no avail. The goods are already damaged and I am not allowed to turn back to Lebanon."

One Syrian trucker estimated his losses due to the holdup to be over $300 per day. If his goods are not delivered, he said he would sand to lose 10 times more in freight fees.

Despite his discontent, he insisted: "My country's officials do not react in this fashion. There must be a better explanation."

A Lebanese driver, sitting alongside the Syrian driver, argued that the holdup was part of an "economic war against the Lebanese trade."

The fact that Lebanon is stuck between governments at the moment has hardly helped to resolve the issue. The country's outgoing Premier Najib Mikati, who is set to be replaced in the coming days by newly appointed designate Prime Minister Fouad Siniora,  was promised yesterday by Syrian officials that the problem would be resolved "within a day or two."

Yesterday, there were rumors that some trucks were starting to move, albeit at a slow pace, at Arida. The rumors appeared to satisfy Mikati who, according to his office, left for a family holiday in Europe last night.

But where the government fears to tread, The Daily Star, on this occasion, rushes in, and your correspondent managed to sneak into the 10 kilometres of no-man's land that separates the Lebanese Masnaa and the Syrian Jdeidet Yabuss crossing points on the eastern border on the road to Damascus.

One Syrian driver, who had been stuck at the crossing for six days, said: "We were told to wait here until being allowed to cross. No one knows why we have to wait or when we will cross."

Another said that last Saturday six trucks belonging to a

well-known Syrian trading company owned by an influential businessman in Damascus were allowed to pass through without hindrance. "It upset all of us because it proved there is no credible reason for holding us here like this," he said.

Luckily, truck drivers are well equipped to withstand the delays. They always travel with ample food rations and a camping kit enabling them to cook snacks and make coffee or tea.

Mixing with the drivers, I shared several cups of tea before noticing the Syrian mukhabarat (civilian police) ordering a TV crew to switch off their cameras before escorting them back toward the Lebanese crossing point. Discretion overtook valor at that point and I left what must surely be the longest traffic jam in the world. Unless of course you happened to be in Arida.