Long power cuts. A banking system in collapse. People on the streets in protest. How can you picture the full chaos of Lebanon today?
The Middle East Institute (MEI), a think tank in Washington, DC that runs an art programme and exhibition space, is hosting a virtual exhibition of Lebanese photographers designed to do just that: give an image of the present-day Lebanon that understands its historical context.
Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006 to 2020 links the Civil War to the current crisis, drawing from work put together by a consortium of Lebanese organisations and the Paris-based Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA).
“The show was meant to be a selection of works from a show that honoured Lebanon at the Institut du Monde Arabe last fall,” explains Lyne Sneige, the director of the Art and Culture programme at MEI. “But then the October protests kicked in and we at MEI decided we can’t just present a show on Lebanon when things have changed so drastically.”
The Civil War ended in 1991, and since then there hasn't been a proper process for healing of the society, or for any serious economic social regeneration plans for the country
The organisation switched tack and partnered with the Beirut Centre of Photography and the nonprofit organisation Apeal to show images of the present moment. Curated by Chantale Fahmi, the exhibition sets side-by-side works from IMA’s Lebanon: Between Reality and Fiction, which looked at the aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War, and newer – and more raw – photographs from the exhibition Revolt, which appeared last fall in an outdoor site close to the protests in Beirut, documenting the recent unrest, the coronavirus lockdown, and the current economic crisis.
Sneige explains that the crisis is a legacy of the Civil War.
“The Civil War ended in 1991, and since then there hasn’t been a proper process for healing of the society, or for any serious economic social regeneration plans for the country,” says Sneige, who grew up in Beirut and spent most of her working life there. “After years of economic and and political mismanagement, you get to a point where the system has imploded.”
Many of the images in the show could just as easily be circulating on Twitter or published in today's newspapers, and succinctly communicate the scale of the response among the Lebanese people to the political crisis.
In a photograph by Hussein Beydoun of a women’s march, a suavely dressed woman in black sunglasses presses her cheek against that of a hijabi woman in no make-up – a keen representation of how the protests have united Lebanon's numerous factions.
A nearby picture by Blanche Eid, The Next Day, taken on October 18, 2019, captures an old woman mid-celebration, her arms outstretched and her face full of joy as a Lebanese flag waves just beyond her shoulder. Painfully, the images also track the violence met by the protests, and their disillusionment, as last October's optimism has run aground on the banking crisis and Covid-19.
A picture that Beydoun captured in April shows a man outside a burnt-out bank in Tripoli selling surgical masks, fanned out in a black-gloved hand.
Omar Sfeir's iconic, if slightly mannered, image of two people kissing through the Lebanese flag (The Lovers in Times of Revolution, taken on October 21, 2019) has gained even more resonance since the coronavirus struck, as the flag wrapped around their faces now conjures Covid-19 masks.
Likewise, other works deliberately juxtapose a sense of present and past, such as a photograph taken by Lamia Maria Abillama that shows three older women at home in fatigues, and a young daughter, her round face the picture of innocence and youth, standing in front of them in a gauzy blue dress (Clashing Realities (1–2), 2006–ongoing). The era of combat feels at once sequestered in the past, and very much alive in memory.
The historical context is key to the show, says Sneige, because of Lebanon’s difficulties in finding a neutral representation of post-Civil War events. With its traditionally strong cultural sector, artists have stepped into this breach, from contemporary artists' investigations into the ambiguity of photographs as a mode of documentation, to the way that current photographers are creating a living archive of history.
“This is history that doesn’t exist in history books,” she says of the photographers’ treatment of the Civil War and its aftermath. “History books stop in 1943, when Lebanon acquires its independence – because no one can agree how to write the history of the Civil War. That kind of cultural memory of the country, which is so, so important, is actually carried until now by the creative sector. It is carried by the filmmakers, the photographers, the artists. Their work is documenting this period that does not exist anywhere except for in the minds of the people who lived it.”
Many of the photographers in Revolt were born in the 1980s or 90s, meaning they did not experience the Civil War first-hand. But if this younger generation has looked to move on from the “burden” – as Sneige puts it – of representing the Civil War, the new state of unrest in Lebanon unwillingly provides a pictorial continuity with the images of the country that proliferated in the 1980s. Ironically, in this show the older images provide a sense of stasis: their mode of reflection on the past, even a past pockmarked by violence, runs counter to the photographs of smoke clouds, lines of servicemen, and the generalised fears of contagion signalled by surgical masks. In the uncanny, un-sited space of the virtual exhibition, this is a show that hangs in the air: in Lebanon, in Washington, DC, everywhere, we are all waiting for the dust to settle.
The virtual exhibition Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006 to 2020 runs from July 13, 2020 to September 25, 2020
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (All UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (11.30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
FA Augsburg v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Werder Bremen (6.30pm)
SC Paderborn v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Monchengladbach (9.30pm)
Sunday
Cologne v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
Mainz v FC Schalke (9pm)
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
