Some of the figures who were on television in Lebanon during the civil war. (Credit: Collage by Jad Abou Jaoudeh/Photos courtesy of the artists)
Around the illuminated Tele-Liban set, concerned cameramen wondered where the channels' news presenters had gone. Fifteen minutes before airtime, not a single team member was reachable, while a few angry shouts echoed through the nearly empty corridors of the outdated building. On the evening of Sept. 23, 1982, Bachir Gemayel had been buried only a week earlier, and the Sabra and Chatila camps were still counting their dead. But in the upper floors of the institution, a different kind of debate was unfolding.Earlier that morning, Beirut woke to the shocking news of Elias Rizk’s death. A comedian respected for his longevity and beloved for his sketches and series, Rizk had taken his own life the day before, shooting himself in the head, worn down by an artistic life brought to a standstill by the ongoing conflict.“His work was a...
Around the illuminated Tele-Liban set, concerned cameramen wondered where the channels' news presenters had gone. Fifteen minutes before airtime, not a single team member was reachable, while a few angry shouts echoed through the nearly empty corridors of the outdated building. On the evening of Sept. 23, 1982, Bachir Gemayel had been buried only a week earlier, and the Sabra and Chatila camps were still counting their dead. But in the upper floors of the institution, a different kind of debate was unfolding.Earlier that morning, Beirut woke to the shocking news of Elias Rizk’s death. A comedian respected for his longevity and beloved for his sketches and series, Rizk had taken his own life the day before, shooting himself in the head, worn down by an artistic life brought to a standstill by the ongoing conflict.“His work was a...
