In August 2024, The What If held a dialogue to explore how Lebanese society can responsibly and constructively engage with the memory of the civil war and its aftermath.

Participants & Backgrounds

  • Sonia Nakad – Moderator; Media and peacebuilding expert
  • Alexander Karam – Project lead at The What If, journalist and dialogue facilitator
  • Samy Gemayel – Member of Parliament and Leader of the Kataeb Party
  • Denise Jabbour – Film producer focusing on human-centered war memory
  • Joe Haddad – Architect and trainer in trust-building and post-war education
  • Dani Nassif – Researcher, scholar on memory and trauma
  • Bassel Bou Monsef – Researcher at Act for the Disappeared
  • Hussein Abou Nassif – Engineer based in Germany, advocate for historical clarity

This is a collective process and not an individual one.

Sami Gemayel

Five Main Key Takeaways

Lebanon’s Post-War Amnesia Is Policy, Not Accident

Participants agreed that the Lebanese state has actively avoided dealing with the past, by promoting a culture of silence, enacting amnesty laws, and failing to acknowledge collective trauma. This avoidance has deepened societal divisions and transmitted unresolved trauma across generations.

Memory Must Be Inclusive and Multi-Vocal

A recurring theme was the need to build a shared, not single, memory. This means acknowledging all narratives, whether from perpetrators, victims, fighters, or witnesses. Participants highlighted initiatives like the Forum for Memory and Future that aim to collect diverse perspectives.

The aim is to highlight all narratives and hear everyone’s perspective so that each person understands where the actions came from and the basis upon which each person built their actions during the war.

Bassel Bou Monsef

Violence, Not Difference, Is the Real Enemy

There was consensus that the goal isn’t to erase political or sectarian differences, but to reject violence as a means of resolving them.

Why this violence was carried out and how we can dismantle it? First, by not inciting violence.

Joe Haddad

Responsibility Is Collective, Not Just Political

While the failure of the state and former warlords was acknowledged, participants like Joe Haddad and Bassel Bou Monsef emphasized collective responsibility, including bystanders, educators, artists, and ordinary citizens. Silence, complicity, and inaction during the war were also forms of violence.

Moving Forward Requires Structural Change and Cultural Courage

Participants pointed to the need for transitional justice mechanisms, official days of remembrance, institutional reform, and public apologies. But equally vital is a cultural shift—one that includes truth-telling, self-criticism (especially by political actors), and public education from a young age.

If we start working on the new generation, raising awareness that war doesn’t lead 1anywhere and that peaceful means are the best, we may rebuild the country.

Denise Jabbour

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We used AI to help us with the summary of the dialogue’s transcript, and with the copy editing of the final draft.