An illustration by the artist Ivan Debs on the cover of the book "Dire le Liban."
Emerging from the inextricable chaos of war, words seem to be missing. Minds, seized by violence, have fallen silent, and the ink bottle lies dry in a corner of the table. How does one write when the absurdity of war continuously destroys lives and hopes? Where does one find inspiration in this endless cycle of hate that has lasted for 50 years?
And yet, voices still rise. There is a need to "Dire le Liban." Beyond a simple literary corpus, this work aims to be a challenge in itself: to break the silence of shock and find the courage to live or relive the painful moments to tell them. This duty of remembrance is a heartfelt cry gathering 77 authors from diverse backgrounds who each, in their own way, recount the atrocities of autumn 2024.
An act of resistance
Confronting violence with the power of the pen, grounding ourselves like our olive trees – which Israel uproots and shamelessly appropriates in southern Lebanon – in the land of our ancestors. Saying no. In the infernal chaos generated by major conflicts, Nidal Haddad, head of Artliban Calima, which has just published "Dire le Liban," insists on the importance of keeping a written record of this painful period.
"These stories are essential. They bring together memories, narratives, fragments of history. They help us not forget, to transmit, to share. It’s a form of resistance, but also a form of unity in diversity."
Resisting also means refusing to let others speak for us; it means speaking out against injustice when the world would rather constrain us to silence.
Beyond differences
In the interstices of a wounded everyday life, writing becomes therapy. These multiple voices tell the country differently: through personal stories, poetry, childhood memories, and exile.
They give Lebanon a human face, pluralistic and deeply rooted. They build a fragile yet tenacious barrier against collective amnesia. In the collapse, these stories stand tall. Haddad generously opened the doors of her pages with a heartfelt gesture, allowing the flow of feelings from her "compatriots scattered between Lebanon and elsewhere, united by a shared love for the country." It is in this way that these stories adhere to a single vision of a "free Lebanon where human rights are respected and upheld," she said.
Tale of war and ode to peace
The arrangement of the stories was designed as a sensory journey, an intimate path guided by emotion. Among the many contributors are Hanane Hajj Ali, Roger Assaf, Nadine Mokdessi, Georges Boustany, Valérie Cachard, Fady Noun, Rami Zein. Each contribution echoes the previous one, weaving a narrative where pain, memory, childhood, resistance, love, war and memories intertwine, according to the editor. The work unfolds in layers of genres and styles, like so many internal landscapes to explore: a suspended, almost whispered epistolary part; a vibrant, introspective poetic section; a harrowing plunge into estrangement; a perspective drawn from childhood memories, and then from the adult's clarity.
"Dire le Liban" is also about expressing it in multiple languages (French, Arabic, English), reflecting the country’s multicultural identity that makes it unique.
"I am not afraid of weariness, because as long as the country is going through hardships, there will be a need for books to express, to heal wounds, to understand the troubles," said Haddad.
The proceeds generated during the signing event on Saturday at Souk al-Kotob (as part of Souk al-Tayeb) will be donated to a non-governmental organization (NGO), whose name will be disclosed at the launch.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
