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1. Wide of Bekaa valley in northern Lebanon 2. Pan on land planted with cannabis 3. Close up on cannabis plant 4. Various of farmers working in cannabis field 5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Farmer "The United Nations and the State promised that they would indemnify us for cannabis and drugs. But we were obliged to plant again. We would have died for 10 years till now from hunger. Let us die with honour and not die with humiliation." 6. Various of cannabis plants 7. Cannabis plants hidden between tobacco plants 8. Close up on sign for UNDP program 9. UN flag 10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Dr. Mohammed Farjani, Head of the Bekaa's UN-sponsored program "The UN did not promise to give indemnities for drugs. We repeated that several times." 11. Wide of cannabis field 12. Close up on cannabis 13. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Khalil Taha, Head of Taraya village municipality "Why are you asking the people in Baalbeck-Hermel to destroy cannabis against nothing, while Turkey received 25 billion dollars and destroyed half its cannabis and opium. The same goes for Morocco which got 23 billion dollars. What did we get in Baalbeck- Hermel? This region is crying for help. They are dying from hunger." 14. Various of tobacco plants 15. Various of cannabis plants 16. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon's Information Minister "Lebanon did what it should concerning the engagement. And the international scene recognised that there were no such plantations anymore. But there are promises and vows from the others that should be given to Lebanon. They did not engage in anything. Villages are deprived and oppressed. They were subject to injustice because they were accused, then because they did not receive any aid. Therefore some people returned for these kinds of plantations. The effective solution is by presenting the required aids for Lebanon so it can take again the necessary measures taken in the past and help people in these villages." 17. Lebanese flag 18. Various of cannabis field STORYLINE: Ten years after the Lebanese government began a program to eradicate the Bekaa Valley's US five hundred (m) million dollar a year cannabis industry, its people are now returning to drug production to survive. According to Lebanese farmers, 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of cannabis have been planted this year in Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley. The valley was once a major centre for hashish processing and smuggling. Following the end of the civil war in 1990 and the restoration of state authority, the government responded to international pressure to act on its drug problem. It launched a seek-and-destroy campaign in 1995 with the aid of Syrian troops deployed in the area. The government also encouraged farmers to grow substitute crops. In 1997, the United States removed Lebanon's name from a list of the world's top drug-producing countries. However, the program turned the Bekaa into one of the most impoverished parts of Lebanon. Lebanese officials say that of the US fifty (m) million dollars pledged toward the anti-drug campaign from abroad, only about seven (m) million has been received. Foreign governments have been reluctant to provide aid to the Bekaa Valley, which is controlled by Hezbollah. So far, the Lebanese government's response to the return of cannabis cultivation has been to drop leaflets from helicopters. But even the threats of life imprisonment with hard labour, plus a fine of fifty thousand pounds, for anyone found cultivating illicit plants, has not scared farmers. Most possess guns and are ready to fight to ensure their income. Some 27,000 families make their living from cultivating drugs. Illicit crops are a huge but irresistible gamble. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a21cef62ac392e36a266174fa7c49bea Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork