A teenager hangs his laundry at the window of his cell, in the juvenile rehabilitation center for minors in conflict with the law in Warwar, Baabda, on May 20, 2026. (Credit: Tea Ziade/L'Orient Today)
"Write your names, surnames, and today’s date at the top right of your sheets," Amal, the literacy teacher, says, raising her voice to cut through the hallway noise spilling in from the open door. Outside, two friends move between staff and students, helping carry projectors and dragging their sandals across the portico as they look for latecomers. They are "trustworthy," and so they are given small responsibilities. These are the center’s little "servers" at the Warwar rehabilitation center for minors accused of crimes in Baabda, which opened just a year ago. With all of this — the scratching of pens on paper, hands shooting up eagerly, the muffled laughter of troublemakers, the concrete wall just high enough to still catch a glimpse of the distant sea — it feels like a school, but under heavy...
"Write your names, surnames, and today’s date at the top right of your sheets," Amal, the literacy teacher, says, raising her voice to cut through the hallway noise spilling in from the open door. Outside, two friends move between staff and students, helping carry projectors and dragging their sandals across the portico as they look for latecomers. They are "trustworthy," and so they are given small responsibilities. These are the center’s little "servers" at the Warwar rehabilitation center for minors accused of crimes in Baabda, which opened just a year ago. With all of this — the scratching of pens on paper, hands shooting up eagerly, the muffled laughter of troublemakers, the concrete wall just high enough to still catch a glimpse of the distant sea — it feels like a school, but under heavy...
