I think the first question foreigners ask about is Lebanon's history of conflict. It is sad, but perhaps inevitable. In general the media of the world exists to tell easy stories to its listeners, often to further their own ends by giving their interpretation; yet the history of Lebanon is not an easily packaged story, and is subject to a wide variety of interpretations around the world.
I won't try to explain the history myself; not only could I not do justice to the complexity and intricacy, but on some level it does not matter. It is a part of people's past, present and future, but it is only a part. We must learn from the past to guide our decisions in the present in the future, but we are not irrevocably shaped by our past. As individuals, our lives are influenced, but not created or guided, by the decisions of the masses. We find ways to live our lives within our environment, with our neighbors, with our politicians, with our struggles, with our hopes and joys. We adapt: we are human.
As an example, the picture above is the Holiday Inn in Beirut, a sad memorial of the troubles of the 70s and 80s. It stands in downtown Beirut as a marker of the past, but next to it stands the InterContinental Phoenicia Hotel, a gloriously modern hotel in its own right a marker of a past and present of Beirut.
Yet I show only a picture of the Holiday Inn; even I am telling a biased story. Why? Is this the story I am looking to tell? Why don't I take pictures of the troubles of my hometown? Am I blinded by my own viewpoint? In fairness to myself, I would have loved to show a picture of the Phoenicia hotel to provide a more balanced viewpoint and show a bit of the beauty of Beirut, but Phoenicia hotel security did not allow me to take pictures of the hotel. Still, it wasn't the first thing I looked at, instead sadly mesmerized by the Holiday Inn.
Thus, for the rest of the gallery I will show a more balanced view, of the rebirth, the reconstruction, the history, the beauty, the life of Lebanon.