Reporting by Abdul Hafiz al-Holani
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Squares are important for cities as they are considered landmarks give cities their cultural and tourist identity.
Ragib al-Faliti, 70-years, one of prominent figure in the Lebanese town of Ersal, explained the story of “Barrel square”, the newly established name in the town: “ we used to call a crossing point connects the four directions of the city as –Maslabiyah- but when Syrians came, it name changed into Barrel square spontaneously”
But how the name was created, Ahmed al-Boqaee from Baba-Amr, the founder of the square, said that happened by chance.
He detailed the story: “in November 15, 2013, after the fall of the town of Qara in regime’s hands, we came to Ersal, it was snowing and we noticed that a big hole was in the middle of the crossing point of “Maslabiyah”, so were brought a big barrel of 200 litre capacity and put it on the hole to warn drivers about the hole, but the barrel stayed and it became the signpost for newly comers of Syrians as they were not familiar with the town streets and called it “Barrel roundabout.”
Al-Boqaee added that even the Lebanese residents started using the new name of the square and forgot the original name of “Maslabiyah Abo Mahmood Zaidan.”
Moreover, members of the town’s police and some Lebanese young men, implanted a cypress inside the barrel, to give the square its own Syrian touches.
Al-Boqaee commented on the word of “Barrel” saying: “it is our fate that the same name of barrel which killed our people and displaced us from our home, is considered in Ersal as the landmark identify Syrians, I feel like it remind us with the killer every day.”
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