Images from the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) contrast with images of Lebanon in 2025. (Illustration by Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
Daniella Abou Haidar, 26, says from her home in Sarba (Kesrouan) that she “knows nothing about the Civil War,” and would not have asked her family for details had she not been asked the question first.“The Civil War started on April 13, 1975, when Palestinian factions attempted to assassinate Pierre Gemayel,” Daniella’s uncle tells her over the phone — the only interpretation she finds credible.Across what once were demarcation lines, Abdallah al-Bakkar, 25, from Tripoli, sits in a coffee shop in Beirut and claims he, too, “knows nothing.”“I don’t think the Civil War started on a given day,” says Malek*, 29, sitting across from him, “The war was an accumulation of events that built up. It’s like saying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023.” Read more The war before the war: The prelude to Lebanon’s disaster As...
Daniella Abou Haidar, 26, says from her home in Sarba (Kesrouan) that she “knows nothing about the Civil War,” and would not have asked her family for details had she not been asked the question first.“The Civil War started on April 13, 1975, when Palestinian factions attempted to assassinate Pierre Gemayel,” Daniella’s uncle tells her over the phone — the only interpretation she finds credible.Across what once were demarcation lines, Abdallah al-Bakkar, 25, from Tripoli, sits in a coffee shop in Beirut and claims he, too, “knows nothing.”“I don’t think the Civil War started on a given day,” says Malek*, 29, sitting across from him, “The war was an accumulation of events that built up. It’s like saying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023.” Read more The war before the war: The prelude to...