In the mass graves, under the rubble of houses razed after the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, the camps turned into an open-air cemetery. (L’Orient-Le Jour archives)
Two kids play on an abandoned field at the entrance to Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. Plastic bags, weeds and stacked crates litter the ground. At their feet, a mass grave: About 800 men, women and children lie beneath the ground.“It was worse than what we saw in the pictures. There were rows of children,” recalls Maher Srour, 55, taking a drag from his cigarette.In front of him sits a tombstone in memory of the “martyrs of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.”Surrounded by new buildings, the site goes almost unnoticed. The fruit and vegetable stalls that line the neighboring street overshadow it.“I don't like to pass by here... I still can’t process what happened,” says Srour, his jaw clenched. Read more from our series: Why was the 1982 Marine deployment to Lebanon Reagan’s greatest regret? It was 40 years ago. Israel...
Two kids play on an abandoned field at the entrance to Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. Plastic bags, weeds and stacked crates litter the ground. At their feet, a mass grave: About 800 men, women and children lie beneath the ground.“It was worse than what we saw in the pictures. There were rows of children,” recalls Maher Srour, 55, taking a drag from his cigarette.In front of him sits a tombstone in memory of the “martyrs of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.”Surrounded by new buildings, the site goes almost unnoticed. The fruit and vegetable stalls that line the neighboring street overshadow it.“I don't like to pass by here... I still can’t process what happened,” says Srour, his jaw clenched. Read more from our series: Why was the 1982 Marine deployment to Lebanon Reagan’s greatest regret? It was 40...
