Between 1914 and 1918, requisitions in Lebanon disrupted household labour, displacement and resources. The Ottoman army collects property and mobilizes men in the territories that will form the present country. But Beirut and Mount Lebanon do not belong to the same regime. Beyond famine, this difference allows us to understand a war lived in workshops, schools, homes and on roads.
Requisitions in Lebanon: War enters the economy
The mobilization began before the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict in autumn 1914. As early as August, military readiness imposed its needs on provincial governments. The command in Damascus is demanding supplies and transport animals. Requests go through the governors and then through the local officials responsible for collecting the goods.
This administrative chain reaches both Beirut and Mount Lebanon. It turns civilian resources into military assets. For an owner, losing a beast of money does not only mean losing a good. This can also remove a means of transporting a crop or ensuring delivery. The levy thus affects the ability to work as much as the available reserves.
Requisitions are not limited to foodstuffs. A circular of 5 September 1914 thus concerns the lands of foreign institutions. The war effort also affects the space occupied by civilian settlements. It obliges those responsible to defend their premises and negotiate the conditions of their activity.
Two territories, two situations facing recruitment
In 1914, Lebanon within its present borders does not yet exist. Beirut belongs to an Ottoman vilayet distinct from the Mount Lebanon moutasarifat. The latter has a special regime, established in the 19th century. Its inhabitants benefit from a military exemption combined with a specific tax contribution.
The war reduced the autonomy of the mountain, and the Ottoman authorities formally repealed the protocols governing it in July 1915. However, the general exemption from military service remains. It would therefore be incorrect to write that all the men of Mount Lebanon undergo a conscription identical to that of the inhabitants of Beirut.
The difference does not protect the mountain from other military requirements. Claims and exceptional justice apply to them. Men are also seeking refuge in Mount Lebanon to escape the liftings carried out elsewhere. Place of origin, residence and administrative status count. The mobilization stories must therefore specify which population they speak of, rather than retroactively project a uniform experience throughout Lebanese territory.
Students and doctors face the needs of the army
In Beirut, Syrian Protestant College, a future university in the United States, offers a precise departure observatory. His students come from several regions. Many possess Ottoman citizenship. The army calls students and former students, while medical graduates serve as doctors or health assistants.
Assignments can take them away from their training city. Others work in the region’s military facilities. Doctor Amin Abu Fadil tells Rayak about his work. He must arrange care in the hospital and at the station, with a charge that goes well beyond the ordinary day.
These trajectories show another dimension of mobilization. It moves skills that civilians themselves need. It also suspends studies and career projects. The presence of a former student from Beirut in military service, however, is not sufficient to establish the rules applied to all the inhabitants of the mountain. Individual files and the functions performed remain essential to understanding these paths.
Getting a stay becomes an essential step
In the course of the war, requests for waiver or postponement take more place in academic life. Students and employees solicit Howard Bliss, president of the college. They hope that his relations with the authorities will delay their departure.
In particular, Bliss defends the usefulness of services to the population. Teaching, caring and maintaining the college’s activities are also important contributions in a proven city. Several members of the institution obtain temporary deferrals or exemptions on this basis.
A stay, however, leaves the future uncertain. It allows an activity to continue for a while, without guaranteeing that the threat of a departure will disappear. Mobilization is therefore not only measured by the number of men actually incorporated. It also weighs on those waiting for an answer, pursuing training or seeking to keep their jobs. Institutional negotiations become part of their daily lives.
Lack of coal is transforming urban life
The war disrupts the circuits that supply Beirut with products and equipment. The allied blockade in the eastern Mediterranean limits maritime trade. Military needs and domestic difficulties exacerbate tensions. The lack of coal leads to the closure of the Beirut gas plant.
This interruption recalls that shortages exceed food supplies. Lighting, professional activities and the functioning of institutions also depend on regular supplies. At the college, managers struggle to obtain textbooks, laboratory equipment and medical supplies.
However, some buildings have electricity. West Hall and the College Hall Library become meeting places in the evening. This solution remains that of a relatively privileged establishment. It does not describe the possibilities offered to all Beyrouthin homes. The war thus widens the gap between those who still have collective facilities and those who face shortages without comparable protection.
When to reach the mountain requires walking
Ordinary travel also changes. Horse cars become scarce and their prices increase sharply. For students and college teachers, joining the mountain communities now means walking away.
Aley, Bhamdoun, Broummana, Choueir and Chemlan are among the destinations on these routes. University testimonies describe an almost sporting adaptation, sometimes during holidays. Above all, they show how the transport patterns have deteriorated, including in an environment that still has resources.
This experience should not be confused with that of persons weakened or loaded with goods. A journey for a valid student is not necessarily for a sick person or a family with young children. The shortage of transport makes distance more restrictive. Living a few hours from Beirut means spending more time and effort on each trip, when the journey remains possible.
Working to get help
In Beirut, assistance also involves finding small jobs. A committee involving the College, the local Red Cross and municipal authorities organizes work for people in need. Applicants come to accommodation to receive their files.
Officials examine their situation, sometimes even in their homes. The scheme divides the city into sectors and seeks to avoid double taking over. The proposed tasks mainly concern street cleaning, in cooperation with the municipality.
However, funding does not allow for continuous work. Getting a few days of activity therefore does not mean finding a stable income. This limit reveals an economic suffering distinct from direct levies: the disappearance of regular work. Even emergency devices must choose between multiple needs with insufficient means. For households, the aid then takes the form of an intermittent possibility, subject to an examination of their situation.
Money of emigrants comes more normally
In the mountains, another break has reached family budgets. Transfers sent by emigrants were a major pre-war resource. Censorship, blockade and financial disorganization make it difficult to receive them. Families write to the American consulate in Beirut to try to reach their loved ones.
In Choueir, Farida Nimr Haykal seeks to resume an activity related to silk cocoons. She gets help, but still lacks the necessary baskets and scales at work. His case shows that one-off financial assistance does not immediately restore the means of production.
Transfers continued to arrive irregularly until 1917. After the United States entered the war in April, cashing cheques from US banks became almost impossible. In 1918, consular records still contained requests from families seeking money from parents established overseas. The conflict thus leaves separate homes, blocked incomes and missing tools, until its last months.
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