Anis Fraiha’s book, The Names of Lebanese Towns and Villages, proposes two assumptions for the origins of the word hazmieh. 

 

The first suggests that hazmieh is an Arabic word deriving from ‘al-hazm’, Arabic equivalent of ‘firmness and resolve’. The name of the town may have been inspired by the decisiveness of its residents. 

 

The second assumption is that the word comes from the Syrian Aramaic language. It consists of two elements meaning ‘the person who sees the unseen by staring into water.’

 

Hazmieh Samak is situated in the Qada’a of Mennieh-Dennieh, in the north of Lebanon. Geographically speaking, the town is 115 km from Beirut and 30 km from Tripoli at an altitude of 750 meters above the sea level. It covers a small area of 44 hectares and may be reached by heading from Sir el-Dennieh, to Qottin and finally to Hazmieh.

 

Hazmieh has an estimated registered population of 450 people, who are Sunni and are distributed over 50 houses. 

 

Registered voters in Hazmieh totaled 266 in 2000, 145 of whom exercised their right to vote. The figure rose to 300 in 2009 with 194 casting their ballots. 

 

Voters are distributed among the following families:

-    Omar: 85

-    Asaad: 78

-    Shafshaq: 64

-    Hamdan: 40

-    Dirani: 20

-    Hassan: 15

-    Shaker: 14

-    Suleiman: 8

 

The municipality of Hazmieh was established pursuant to Decision no. 1681 issued by acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat on June 1, 2006. Its 9-member municipal council won by acclamation in the first election held afterwards.

 

The share of the Hazmieh Municipality of the Independent Municipal Fund revenues was LBP 52.6 million in 2006, decreasing to LBP 30.2 million in 2012. 

 

The town has a Mukhtar and a 3-member ikhtiyariyah body.

 

The town does not have either public or private schools.

 

Residents live off agriculture and raising cattle; they suffer from poor economic conditions.