Through interviewing, mental mapping, and collecting artefacts, I tap into the oral histories of my parents and relatives living between the capital city of Beirut and their hometowns in Mount Lebanon. Memories of the fighting, commuting, escaping, and survival intermingle with those related to land, community ties, every day, postponed dreams, and other violent events. As with all civilian histories of war, the narratives defy standard chronologies and weave lived experiences with anecdotes of affective bodies, micro-geopolitics, and extensive urbanism.
In “First, we leave to the mountains,” I trace my parents’ escape journey just before the Siege of Beirut. They tell me how they were stopped at checkpoints and kept moving between city, town, and village. In “War Testimonies: 40 Years After the Battle of Ain Zhalta,” I interview my relatives in Ain Zhalta and Nabaa al-Safa, who lived through one of the critical battles of the Invasion. The oral narratives fuse memories of war, histories of communal politics, and legacies of urbanism.
My mother holding me in my grandfather's vineyard a couple of months before the Israeli invasion rammed its vehicles into the land. She is pregnant with my younger sister while I nibble on grapes in front of the fig trees. (Photo from author’s family archive)
A mind map of the Ain-Zhalta-Nabaa al-Safa Battle, based on first-hand lived accounts and as never documented before. The map shows the Israeli Column (IC) advancing on the meandering road when it is encountered (grey circles) at two locations by an ambush of Syrian tanks (ST) and Syrian Infantry (SI), forcing the Israeli forces to scramble for safety within the local streets of Ain Zahalta. The Syrian commanding officer (SCO) and support fire tanks take cover down the road. (Illustration by author)
Blog 3/3: COMING SOON!
