Snowstorm January 2022
The snowstorm that hit the
Middle East forced the closure of Johann Ludwig Schneller School among
other schools in the Beqaa region. We barely managed to resume school on
Monday 17 January 2022, after the extended Christmas holiday, when we had to
suspend classes and send all students home two days later on Wednesday
morning after heavy snowfall.
We thought it will only be for a few days, as is usually the case. We
cleared the snow on Saturday. We sprinkled salt on our internal roads to
reduce the formation of ice as temperature was reaching -3 degrees
Celsius at night. We were planning to resume classes on Monday.
An even stronger snowstorm followed on Sunday leaving a thick blanket of
snow over the Beqaa valley covering both West and East mountain ranges
on its sides.
One very old tree next to Herman Schneller Haus and another near St.
Michael's Church were completely uprooted
and fell to the ground, thank God, without any damages. Another tree
near the girls' boarding-homes building broke halfway with the upper
half dangerously dangling on the lower half. Branches that broke under
the heavy weight of snow were everywhere.
Corona was still a concern as it was spreading everywhere in Lebanon.
The snowstorm may have providentially
helped reduce its spread. The
closure of schools and universities and the bitter cold forced most
people to stay at home. This was another blessing of this snowstorm.
We definitely need the water that winter brings. We are especially
grateful for snowstorms in
spite of the inconvenience they bring. The snow also reduces in a small
way the terrible pollution around us, but it also carries the dangerous
chemical-pollutants into our water-supply.
This should be a reminder to all people to act responsibly and demand an
immediate end to industrial waste and sewage pollution in our
region.
Farmers must also stop poisoning the soil with the irresponsible use of
chemicals and pesticides.
The nitrates in the water of the Schneller spring that supplies the
school with drinking water was at the maximum safety level in the last
water test. We hope this snowstorm will correct the situation a little.
But it remains the responsibility of the municipality of Khirbet Qanafar
to control the use of fertilizers in the regions above the water springs
up in the mountains, if not everywhere under its jurisdiction.
It was hard to imagine the suffering of people in refugee camps under the
snow and bitter cold. Equally tragic was the fact that most people in
Lebanon could no more afford to heat their
homes and were also suffering under the storm.
We pray for an end to
this terrible economic crisis in Lebanon. Above all, we pray for peace
which is the only way to put an end to the terrible suffering around us.
With war all is lost. Only peace can bring dignity and prosperity to
humanity.
Sunday 30 January was a day of hard work for our team that worked all
day to remove the snow and fallen trees to prepare for the return of
students to school.
We express our sincere gratitude to Shadi Naim who worked all day on his
Bobcat to clear the snow. We also thank him for sending a member of his
team to clear the water-meter and restore normal pressure in the main
supply of the school.
We thank Eliyya Salloum, George Shawool, Hassan alAhmad, Mohammad
alKhodor and his team who helped with the removal of the fallen trees.
Classes resumed on Monday 31 January 2022.
Slideshow of Snowstorm January 2022 720p HD
Slideshow of Snowstorm January 2022 1080p HD