The interest that the Lebanese woman, in The Woman's Voice, takes in development projects is proof of her sense of national responsibility, and of her feeling of the necessity of building a wakeful society, jealous of its interests and working to raise its standard so that it may live with dignity within its borders.
No wonder at this feeling, for the Lebanese woman through the ages — such as "Elissa," princess of Tyre, and "Salammbô," princess of Carthage, and others — has engraved upon the pages of ancient Lebanese history pictures of the most splendid glory, heroism, and creation that nations can boast of.
On the coast stretching between Tyre and Latakia there flourished a world civilization that was a herald spreading prosperity, and its commerce played the first role in the world then known.
The crushing of the kingdom of Tyre, the effacement of its landmarks, and the slaughter of its people at the hands of Alexander were nothing but the killing of Lebanese commerce and the clearing of the way for the Greek economy and its spread.
And the cries of "Cato" in the Senate of Rome, saying: "Rome shall not live except by the annihilation of Carthage" — these cries, which still ring in the ears of the ages, are nothing but an acknowledgment of Lebanese superiority and of the conquests of Lebanese commerce.
But now, when we are as far as can be from that ancient glory and that vanished bliss, and after we have been barred from all extension and expansion, we must rely upon our own resources within our borders, as is incumbent upon every state that imposes its will and refuses any touch upon its independence, whatever the economic and developmental pressures may be.
The number of inhabitants multiplies day after day, and the educated, conscious working hand is on the increase. If matters remain as they now are — procrastination and contentment with the existing state of things — the stan
these and those, many wide fields of work are opened.
The engineer Mr. Ibrahim Abd al-Al is one of the few Lebanese who have obtained a distinguished scientific degree in hydraulic engineering. He has a precious study of the Litani, the fruit of twenty years, which is considered an authoritative reference.
Mr. Ibrahim Abd al-Al is Director General of the Supervision of Companies and of Water and Electrical Affairs, and President of the Higher Council of the Beirut Water Authority. He is also a professor in the School of Engineering at the Jesuit University, and he has kindly written this article in reply to the following questions addressed to him by The Woman's Voice magazine.
1 — Would you explain to us briefly the importance of the Litani for Lebanon from the economic standpoint, and why did you say in your precious book on the subject: "Just as Egypt is the gift of the Nile, Lebanon can be the gift of the Litani"?
2 — Have serious measures been taken up to now to carry out the Litani project? What, in your view, are the best proposals or means for carrying it out?
3 — What part of the Litani project does the Qasimiyya project constitute?
4 — Is it true that the realization of the Litani project must necessarily yield a direct benefit to the state of Israel? And is there any means of avoiding this result?
dard of living will sink, conditions will worsen, and chaos will spread everywhere... The equipping of our natural wealth and its exploitation is the only hope, if we desire a settled life in the near future.
From agriculture and what it produces of grains, vegetables, and fruits, and what accompanies it of the raising of poultry and livestock; and from industry and what it erects of the means of development and what it creates of the goods necessary to the country — from
Water and Agriculture
The total that the sky sends down upon Lebanon in a normal year exceeds ten thousand million cubic meters of water, which is the equivalent of one million cubic meters for every kilometer of the area of Lebanese territory.
These waters constitute a basic source of wealth and explain to us the reasons for Lebanon's relative prosperity in the Arab East.
But the season of rains is confined to five months of the year, and the remaining seasons stay dry: not a cloud in the sky, and no rain falls upon the earth.
Even so, there are in Lebanese territory fourteen perennial rivers, fed by springs of abundant discharge, flowing continuously the whole year through, supplied from what the mountains have stored of the waters that fall upon them from the melting of the snows and the heavy rains of the winter season.
From this we see the need of the agricultural lands for irrigation throughout the season when the rains are withheld from them. Irrigation is the life of agriculture and the source of its growth; besides feeding the cultivated land, it gains us new land for cultivation, which increases the quantity of the crops and contributes to bringing prosperity.
Motive Power and Industry
Modern life and its quickening cannot do without motive power, and its importance for industry in particular is like the importance of the blood that runs in man's