Hisham walks on May 8, 2026 in the damp corridor of old Sands Beach chalets, in Ouzai. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
A group of farmers from Blida pass the time on a late April Wednesday on the doorstep of what's left of the Sands Beach chalets in Ouzai, near Beirut airport. Hisham lights another cigarette and says to Um Mohammad as he exhales: "I’m going to die here."– Me too!– Every day I walk for hours along the beach and think about my roses. When I left, I looked at them and cried. Who else has planted as many as I have in the village? And my lettuces? I planted a dozen different varieties. When I saw the photo of Israeli soldiers cooking vegetables in an occupied house, my blood boiled.– Have you had an appetite since you’ve been here?– Are you kidding? I can’t even drink coffee!– This life isn’t for us. We’re used to the land and fresh air… Here, all we breathe is sewage!Hisham and Um Mohammad are among over a million Lebanese...
A group of farmers from Blida pass the time on a late April Wednesday on the doorstep of what's left of the Sands Beach chalets in Ouzai, near Beirut airport. Hisham lights another cigarette and says to Um Mohammad as he exhales: "I’m going to die here."– Me too!– Every day I walk for hours along the beach and think about my roses. When I left, I looked at them and cried. Who else has planted as many as I have in the village? And my lettuces? I planted a dozen different varieties. When I saw the photo of Israeli soldiers cooking vegetables in an occupied house, my blood boiled.– Have you had an appetite since you’ve been here?– Are you kidding? I can’t even drink coffee!– This life isn’t for us. We’re used to the land and fresh air… Here, all we breathe is sewage!Hisham and Um Mohammad are among over a...