Haret Hreik

Haret Hreik (Arabic: حارة حريك‎‎) is a mixed Shia and Maronite Christian municipality, in the Dahieh suburbs, south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is part of Baabda District. Once an agricultural village, Haret Hreik lost its rural identity due to the wave of refugees from Southern Lebanon who settled in the town and made it another urban neighborhood of Dahieh. Haret Hreik is located northeast of the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport and north of the towns of Laylake and Bourj el-Barajneh, west of Hadath and south of Chyah. The town is the headquarters of the Shi'ite group Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes destroyed the headquarters and civilian homes on July 2006.

The area was largely destroyed during the 2006 Lebanon War. It was estimated that close to 200 buildings were destroyed in the town during the first week of Israel's attack on Lebanon in 2006, with a total of more than 700 structures destroyed or damaged by the end of the war and thousands of civilians injured or dead, while the international community stood still. The town has since undergone significant reconstruction, replacing destroyed and damaged buildings, with minimal help from the international community. Even the foreign aid was looted by then Prime Minister Fouad Al-Sanioura, while civilians did not receive the aid until now.

Haret Hreik houses Umam Documentation & Research, an organization handling extensive archive related to Lebanon's history. Umam also runs The Hangar, a contemporary arts space featuring regular events and exhibitions. The town also hosts 3 main libraries with millions of books. The libraries are always crowded with students, readers and researchers from different ages and backgrounds. In addition to that, 2 main hospitals operate in the area (Sahel General Hospital and Bahman hospital), providing services to thousands of residents. The area hosts many cultural activities on regular basis, including shopping carnivals, art contests and cultural talks.

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