Ghassanieh, Lebanon
- For the town in central Syria, see: Al-Ghassaniyah
Ghassanieh is a small town in Southern Lebanon with a population of about 2000 people. It is a coastal town bordered with Kawatria Al Sayyad to the east, Al Babebliah to the west, Kakyiat Sanawbar to the north west, and Khartoum to the south east. The name of the town, Ghassanieh is derived from the clan of Alghassasina. The most well known families are Fawaz, Noureddine, Hodroj, Bdeir, el roumi and Kawathrina. The elevation is about 350 m. It is 7 km from Akbyia, and 25 km from Saida.
Economy
The town of Ghassanieh was originally an industrial town manufacturing brooms and brushes for the Lebanese market. Immigration started in the 19th century and intensified during World War I with a group of young men emigrating to Latin America escaping conscription in the Ottoman empire army.
This emigration continued through the 20th century and again intensified during the 1940s and the 1950s this time to West Africa where they engaged in trade and industry.
In a second wave of immigration, many returned to Lebanon for good or partially and joined in the booming construction sector. Ghassanieh businesses were involved in construction, especially commercial and residential building in Beirut and its suburbs for more than 60 years.
The third wave of emigration was focussed mainly on education in Europe, Canada and the USA. Nowadays a large group of engineers, medical doctors, and management professionals in ISO and other international standards are involved in spreading a culture of knowledge and continuous development.
Others were involved in international investment and still residents or citizens around the world in: Argentina, Brazil, USA, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, Netherland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Namibia, Qatar, UAE, KSA, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Somalia, Jibouti, Senegal, Benin, Sudan, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Siraleone and many others.
Ghassanieh became a global village as a result of its populus ambition to grow and develop their way of life, therefore they cross all barriers to reach where their dreams can take them and came back to their village to build it and develop it.
References
- http://www.lebanonatlas.com/lebanonmajorcities/South/Ghassanieh/index.htm
- http://wikimapia.org/4202286/ar/al-ghassanieh-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9
Coordinates: 33°25′03″N 35°21′30″E / 33.4176°N 35.3584°E