In Beirut’s southern suburb, the mournful tones of Mahdi al-Sahili’s cello

The video has flooded social media. It unavoidably brings to mind another, featuring a piano whose chords rose from under the fingers of Gaby Bou Rached, amid the rubble of an apartment blown apart by the Aug. 4 explosion. Here, it’s Mahdi al-Sahili who appears, cello in hand, facing the ruins of Beirut’s southern suburb. A suburb where he doesn’t live, but to which he feels deeply connected. "I am Shiite and the southern suburb is dear to my heart, it’s the stronghold of my community," the young man confides. "Incidentally, this is not the first time I’ve played this instrument in the same place, I’ve done so before, during the previous war." Sahili, in his early 30s, trained at the Lebanese National Conservatory. Escape through poetry How a night of poetry provides a space for community and comfort in Beirut ...