Local Journalism in the Public Interest

Chronicles of the Crisis

A composite of a forged document claiming the successful incineration of the toxic waste, the Radhost motorship, and the toxic barrels. (Photos © ShipSpotting/Wolfgang Kramer & © Dr. Pierre Malychef from Lab of False Witnesses for Ecotoxicological Research and Communication) 

A composite of a forged document claiming the successful incineration of the toxic waste, the Radhost motorship, and the toxic barrels. (Photos © ShipSpotting/Wolfgang Kramer & © Dr. Pierre Malychef from Lab of False Witnesses for Ecotoxicological Research and Communication) 

The “Ecological Time Bombs” Unloaded at the Beirut Port Decades Ago (Part 1 of 2)

The Public Source
The “Ecological Time Bombs” Unloaded at the Beirut Port Decades Ago (Part 1 of 2)
Composite of an image taken of the offices of Intra Investment Company and of an archival image.

Composite of archival images provided by Assafir of the offices of Intra Investment Company and the inauguration of Finance Bank, one of Intra’s most secretive holdings, on December 7, 1999. Cutting the cake are Mahfouz Skaineh, Hassan Farran, Yaacoub Sarraf, and Salah Harake. (The Public Source)

Intra Investment Company: The “Lebanese State’s Best Kept Secret”

Karim Merhej
Intra Investment Company: The “Lebanese State’s Best Kept Secret”
Composite of images taken at a protest organized by the Beirut Port Explosion Victims' Families and the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities to demand justice for people killed and injured by the blast. Sylvana Lakkis, president of the union, is the center of the image. Photos taken on July 4, 2021, by Hussein Baydoun. (The Public Source)

Composite of images taken at a protest organized by the Beirut Port Explosion Victims' Families and the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities to demand justice for people killed and injured by the blast. Sylvana Lakkis, president of the union, is the center of the image. Photos taken on July 4, 2021, by Hussein Baydoun. (The Public Source)

“And What Would You Like Me to Do About It?”: How the Lebanese Government Disabled Hundreds of People — and Then Left Them to Pay for Its Crime

Karim Merhej
Kareem Chehayeb
Christina Cavalcanti
“And What Would You Like Me to Do About It?”: How the Lebanese Government Disabled Hundreds of People — and Then Left Them to Pay for Its Crime

The (Dis)order Report

Two women in colorful long dresses, gloves, face-covering scarves, and hats look towards the camera as they stand in a lush field against a mountainous backdrop.

Agricultural laborers work the field on amiri land, a type of state land that allows for communal use. Most amiri lands are in the Beqaa region, where three quarters of residents live off agricultural work. Beqaa, Lebanon. 2021. (Photo courtesy of Public Works Studio)

The Land We Stand to Lose to the Sovereign Fund

Public Works Studio
The Land We Stand to Lose to the Sovereign Fund
A composite image of hands cupping grains of wheat against the backdrop of a mill worker loading bags of flour onto a truck in Beirut, Lebanon.

A composite image of hands cupping grains of wheat against the backdrop of a mill worker loading bags of flour onto a truck in Beirut, Lebanon. Photos taken on June 28, 2022 by Marwan Tahtah. (The Public Source)

Grain of Hope and Loaf of Neglect: Lebanon’s Renewed Bread Crisis

Christina Cavalcanti
Grain of Hope and Loaf of Neglect: Lebanon’s Renewed Bread Crisis

PS Visuals

A black and white image of the Beirut grain silos which consist of a white concrete building with 14 cylinder shapes. The sea and a boat can be seen in the foreground.

Image adapted from the monograph of Průmstav Pardubice. (Source: Jiří Hemr, Průmstav Pardubice 1951–1986, Pardubice 1986)

The Beginning and End of Beirut’s Iconic Grain Silos

A photographic history of Beirut’s port grain silos
The Beginning and End of Beirut’s Iconic Grain Silos
On the left, two old men chat before a mural by Tripoli’s visual artist Ali El Rafei, close to Al Shiraa Square in El Mina. At the top right corner, a picture of politician Ashraf Rifi covers part of the mural.

On the left, two old men chat before a mural by Tripoli’s visual artist Ali El Rafei, close to Al Shiraa Square in El Mina. At the top right corner, a picture of politician Ashraf Rifi covers part of the mural. El Mina, Lebanon. May 15, 2022. (Fátima Fouad/The Public Source)

If These Walls Could Speak

Fátima Fouad
If These Walls Could Speak
The Lebanese Red Cross reports six people were killed and dozens injured in the hours-long street battles. One of the victims, Mariam Farhat, a mother of five children, was killed by a stray bullet to her head inside her home. Another victim, 32-year-old Ali Ibrahim, who worked at a local gym and fitness diner, was killed while delivering food to a customer nearby. He was described as “an innocent soul” whose “smile never hides.” Tayouneh, Lebanon. October 14, 2021. (Marwan Tahtah/The Public Source)

The Lebanese Red Cross reports six people were killed and dozens injured in the hours-long street battles. One of the victims, Mariam Farhat, a mother of five children, was killed by a stray bullet to her head inside her home. Another victim, 32-year-old Ali Ibrahim, who worked at a local gym and fitness diner, was killed while delivering food to a customer nearby. He was described as “an innocent soul” whose “smile never hides.” Tayouneh, Lebanon. October 14, 2021. (Marwan Tahtah/The Public Source)

Obstruction of Justice Turns Deadly

Marwan Tahtah
Obstruction of Justice Turns Deadly

The Long Read

In the Interlude

A composite image of Khaled Al Mahmoud inspecting a frame amid colorful wooden hives with bees and flowers in the foreground.

A composite image of Khaled Al Mahmoud inspecting a frame amid colorful wooden hives with bees and flowers in the foreground in Mazra'at Jemjim, Lebanon. Photos taken on June 11, 2022 by Marwan Tahtah. (The Public Source)

Collective Beekeeping in South Lebanon

Yara El Murr
Collective Beekeeping in South Lebanon
A composite image of Fodda El Youssef (left) and her mother Aziza Sattouf (right) manually sorting wheat to be sent to a mill in Saadnayel, Lebanon, against the backdrop of Seed in a Box's vegetable seedling greenhouse in Beddawi, Lebanon.

A composite image of Fodda El Youssef (left) and her mother Aziza Sattouf (right) manually sorting wheat to be sent to a mill in Saadnayel, Lebanon, against the backdrop of Seed in a Box's vegetable seedling greenhouse in Beddawi, Lebanon. Photos taken on May 10, 2022, and May 18, 2022 by Chris Trinh. (The Public Source)

From the Ground Up: Seed Saving and Food Sovereignty in Lebanon

Christina Cavalcanti
Chris Trinh
From the Ground Up: Seed Saving and Food Sovereignty in Lebanon

Comictern

الملحق

تركيب صور من فترة ازمة المحروقات في لبنان خلال صيف ٢٠٢١

تركيب صور من فترة ازمة المحروقات في لبنان خلال صيف ٢٠٢١ التقطت على محطّات المحروقات وعلى الطريق السريع. التقط الصور مروان طحطح بتاريخ 14 حزيران ٢٠٢١. (مصدر عام)

كيف دُمِّر نظام النقل المُشترك في لبنان ولصالح من؟

Layla Yammine
كيف دُمِّر نظام النقل المُشترك في لبنان ولصالح من؟

Editorials

[From the Archive] Dispatches from the October Revolution

A sanitation worker employed by Lebanese company Ramco pauses for a picture while working a shift at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. April 6, 2020. (Marwan Tahtah/The Public Source)

A sanitation worker employed by Lebanese company Ramco pauses for a picture while working a shift at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. April 6, 2020. (Marwan Tahtah/The Public Source)

Labor in Lebanon: Between Racism and Capitalist Exploitation

Hani Adada
Labor in Lebanon: Between Racism and Capitalist Exploitation
Protesters rest beside graffiti depicting the hanging of an authority figure. Downtown Beirut, Lebanon. December 15, 2019. (Rita Kabalan/The Public Source)

Protesters rest beside graffiti depicting the hanging of an authority figure. Downtown Beirut, Lebanon. December 15, 2019. (Rita Kabalan/The Public Source)

Oligarchiyya, Lebanese Style (Part 2 of 2)

Julia Choucair Vizoso
Oligarchiyya, Lebanese Style (Part 2 of 2)
Lebanese expatriates in New York City express support for injured and killed anti-establishment protesters in their home country. November 19, 2019. (Ahmed Gaaber/The Public Source)

Lebanese expatriates in New York City express support for injured and killed anti-establishment protesters in their home country. November 19, 2019. (Ahmed Gaaber/The Public Source)

On Belonging to a Country That Cannot Keep Its Children

Ghassan Hage
On Belonging to a Country That Cannot Keep Its Children
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