Etymology

Hokr Ad-Dahiri is a compound name made of two morphemes: ‘hokr’ or ‘hakoura’, meaning a small fenced area that surrounds a house. This description that fits the town, which stretches across no more than 25 hectares; ‘dahiri’ is a morpheme named after a man from the Ad-Dahiri family who used to own the town.

Location

Hokr ad-Dahiri is located in the As-Sahl area of the Akkar Qada’a. The coastal town is 125 km from Beirut and may be reached by taking the following route: Beirut → Tripoli → Al-Abdeh → Al-Arida → Al-Smaqiyeh → Hokr Ad-Dahiri. It is situated on the banks of the Kebir River near the historic bridge that connects Lebanon to Syria and serves as a pathway for hundreds of Lebanese farmers crossing into their lands in the neighboring country.

Population and houses

The population registered in the town’s personal status records is estimated at 550. A majority of 83% is Alawite, the remaining being Sunni. There are roughly 60 houses in the town.

Voters

The number of registered voters stood at 174 in 2000, 91 of whom cast their ballots. It rose to 289 in 2005 with 195 exercising their voting right. In 2009, the number of eligible voters totaled 292 in Hokr Ad-Dahiri, 222 of whom cast their ballots. By 2013, the total number of registered voters was 330. These are distributed as follows:

Alawite voters

• Al-Ali: 72
• Ibrahim: 49
• Al-Khalil: 48
• Iskandar: 30
• Kharamandi: 18
• Hassan: 16
• Saadin: 15
• Daoud: 12
• Shama’a: 12

Sunni voters

• Ayyash: 36
• Shakish: 13
• Khaled: 8

Local authorities

There is no municipal council in Hokr Ad-Dahiri and the local government is represented by the Muktar and the Ikhtiyariah body.

Economic life

In addition to agriculture, illegal activities such as smuggling goods from Syria are the main sources of livelihood for Hokr Ad-Dahiri’s residents.

Problems

Being a border town, Hokr Ad-Dahiri straddles both Lebanon and Syria, spreading across 25 hectares in the former and 285 hectares in the latter. Residents commute on a daily basis to cultivate their lands in Syria and agriculture is often hindered during crises when the Lebanese and Syrian armies tighten up transit measures.