Etymology

Opinions are divided as to the origin of the town’s name. Some speculate that ‘Hnaider’ is a diminutive form of ‘Handar’, an Arabic root meaning ‘iris.’ Others argue that the word is derived from the root ‘Hadr’, which means ‘to surround’, and it is likely that the town was given this name because it was surrounded by forests in the past.

Location

Hnaider is located in the Qada’a of Akkar, 170 kilometers from Beirut, at an altitude of 550 meters above the sea level. It stretches across a large area of 1000 hectares and may be reached by taking the following route: Tripoli-Halba- Qbayyat- Wadi Khaled-Hnaider. The town is only hundreds of meters away from the border with Syria.

Population

The population registered in Hnaider’s records is estimated at 3520 people, all of whom are Alawite. However, those residing in the town do not exceed 1700 and some are distributed in Tripoli and Halba. The town hosts a number of families originating from Wadi Khaled.

Voters

In 2013, eligible voters amounted to 2070 compared to 1769 in 2009 (of which 1025 cast their ballots) and 1290 in 2000 (of which 486 turned out for elections), up by 780 or an annual growth of 4.6%, a somewhat high percentage.

Voters are distributed among the following families:

• Ahmad: 440
• Abdul Karim: 260
• Suleiman: 221
• Sheikh: 122
• Qassem: 120
• Hassan: 94
• Ali: 91
• Ibrahim: 88
• Youssef: 83
• Omran: 76
• Mohammad: 74
• Radwan: 45
• Asaad: 45
• Saleh: 40
• Hamdan: 37
• Labban: 35
• Abdul Rahim: 30
• Mahmoud: 30
• Other families: Thalja, Al-Ali, Mostafa, Baddour, Daghman

Local authorities

Two Mukhtars and a 3-member Ikhtiyariyah body are vested with the local authority in Hnaider.

Educational institutions

The town is home to one school, Official School of Hanider, which has 202 students and 15 teachers. The school building is at risk of collapse due to too many students.

Economic life

In particular, agriculture, smuggling and employment by the military in particular are the main pillars of economy in Hnaider.