In this special issue of the news supplement commemorating the Lebanese civil war, we offer a platform for a debate on its repercussions, and for remembering it through the eyes of those who experienced it. Not only will this allow us to share their memories, stories, and experiences, but also to examine the physical and psychological scars the war has left in all of us.
In this issue, there are stories of people who lost close friends and family during the war; stories of people who got married during the war, defying bombs and roadblocks; stories of those who refused to leave the country; stories of people disappearing; and stories of families living in constant dread and uncertainty, disillusioned by the hope of seeing their children again as their fate hung in the balance.
The trauma resulting from these stories and memories are resurfacing as the Lebanese people relive the war through the unfolding events in neighboring Syria. Thus, our own war stories have the ability to humanize our relations with other people coming from war-torn countries. This supplement seeks to provide readers insight into the human dimension of the war and the complexity of the challenges the survivors have faced during the past years. We hope it will resonate with the universal message of “Our wars may differ, but our suffering and losses are the same.”
While preparing this supplement, we encouraged the Lebanese and Syrians to speak openly and share their pain and stories of hope and war. Some were reluctant to revive bad memories, while others were eager to share the most intense moments of their childhoods and adult lives.
While many organizations commemorate the war in various ways this year, we hope this supplement serves as a token of remembrance and a guide to a long process of reflection on civil war: its repercussions on torn societies, the importance of transitional justice, the need to find tangible answers for the families of disappeared persons, and the tools available for remembering and identifying the cultural aspects of war.
We do not want to speak about the war from a historical or political standpoint. Instead, we seek to promote collective memory of the civil war and reconciliation as the means for establishing lasting civil peace and social stability.
We believe the time has come to build peace founded on notions of human rights, justice, and accountability rather than on amnesty and amnesia.