The jury, which is made up of Patrick Baz, an award-wining photojournalist, Nour El Bejjani, ICTJ representative in Beirut and UNDP team, selected 11 winning photographs (including one photo that was used as the supplement’s cover photo). These photos were recently taken by professional photographers and photography enthusiasts.
«Make Peace»
«This photo is a personal representation of our shelter during the civil war where my family and I used to spend lots of hours hoping and waiting for the war to end.
Even after all these years, this bathroom still evokes different emotions in me. Despite all the stress and fear that we had to go through, our family got closer and stronger.»
Photo by Maria de Lourdes Haddad, Director, 39 years old.
Tayyouneh, Beirut
Photo by Hussein Baydoun, photojournalist, 30 years.
Ain el-Remmaneh
«Invent Yourself and Then Reinvent Yourself»
«This picture was taken in a building on the demarcation line between the warring sides. This was the Ain el-Remmaneh-Chiah crossing during the Lebanese civil war. Building showing the marks of war still stand in this area. In this empty room, a lonely chair was used by many gunmen during the war.»
Photo by Habib Abboud, Financial and Administrative Consultant, 56 years.
Downtown Beirut
«Renaissance»
«Despite the complete destruction of this famous Lebanese residential area in downtown Beirut, a painting on the full width of the building shows a boy playing with some electronic gadgets. This symbolizes our resurrection as a nation from under our destroyed capital. In this photo, life and death are in conflict the same way they were during the Lebanese war, which constitutes a very sharp reminder of the black days of the war.»
Photo by Hugo Lautissier, French Journalist, 30 years old.
«Saint Vincent de Paul Church»
«This is the façade of Saint Vincent de Paul Church in downtown Beirut. It was bombed in the early months of the war in 1975 and remains abandoned to this day. A renovation project is under consideration to turn this symbol of civil war into a space for interfaith dialogue.»
«Old Man»
«This man has lived through civil war. His father had died right in front of him. We can see in his eyes and face life’s hardships and pain. And yet, he goes on with life, as many others like him who have experienced war, hunger and poverty.»
Photo by Joseph Khalil, University Student, 21 years old.
Photo by Manal Malaeb, University Professor, 38 years old.
«Passage»
«I took these pictures in the backyard of my house, where my mother had turned the ammunition box into a flower pot. The box was left by the Arab Deterrent Force that was stationed near our house during the war.»
It is all about perspective.
«Deadly Mortar Nights»
«It was 1982, the year of some of the most violent days of the civil war in Lebanon in general and North in particular. The sound of shelling resonated in the city of Tripoli on a night that seemed like hell. In this particular house, a family, as other families like it, huddled together to wait out the night and the end of the round of fighting. But death came sooner, as a shell exploded in this house, burning it down with everyone who was inside. Eleven civilians of one family were killed in just this one tragedy of the many caused by the civil war in Lebanon.»
Photo by Abdel Salam Wajih Seyadi, University Student, 25 years old.
Photo by Gilbert Farjallah, University Student, 22 years old.
This building on Monot Street in Achrafieh has been abandoned for 20 years.
«On the Demarcation Line: There Is History Being Told and Stones That Have
Heard the Story Before»
«Oh Past, do not change us… the further away we move from you! Oh Future, do not ask us: Who are you? And what do you want from me? For we have no clue either. Oh Present, bear with us a little, for we are mere dreary passersby!»
Mahmoud Darwish
«Memory Holes»
«Almost 30 years passed since the end of the Lebanese civil war, yet Beirut is still affected by the results of this war emotionally and physically. Unfortunately, we can still see this physical damage in buildings on the Green Line that were affected directly. After all these years no clear laws exist regarding these buildings, which are completely abandoned or partially uninhabited.
The two kids in this photo live with their parents in this building in Beirut in very bad conditions, making their lives very risky. The sad part is that they pay rent to the landlord.»
Photo by Reine Chahine, photographer, 31 years old.
Photo taken by Sara Saeed, Student, 17 years old.
Batloun, Chouf.
«Lebanon Will Flourish»
«I believe that although Lebanon (the flower) has passed through rough periods, including war (the stones), it was able to flourishand survive. This picture in my opinion perfectly represents Lebanon after the war.»