Stories from the Epicenter
Karine Wehbe
It will soon be two years since the devastating explosion that took place in Beirut on August 4th. One heavily affected neighborhood, Gemmayzeh, is where artist Karine Wehbe’s family live. Close to the epicenter of the blast, buildings crumbled and collapsed from the force. Many people, harmed and unharmed alike, immediately began the process of cleaning and rebuilding. However many of the harrowing ruins remain present until today.
In Wehbe’s daily life, she encounters many of the same faces and people from the afflicted neighborhood. All of them banded together to quickly and meticulously repair their homes and shops; in hopes of regaining some inkling of normalcy in their everyday lives. Their efforts echoed by a phrase once said to her by a taxi driver: “Stones can be rebuilt into houses faster than people can rebuild their lives.”
Through this series of five interviews, she questions: How are people feeling after all of this loss and devastation? What are their resentments and traumas?
Aythar, 80 years old, taxi driver, Lebanese from Gemmayzeh, lived there all his life.
Abdallah El Ali, 43 years old, works in a coffee shop, Syrian from Damascus, has been living and working in Gemmayzeh for the past seventeen years.
Ali Ghazi Assaad, 18 years old, delivery man, Syrian from Tartous, has been living and working in Gemmayzeh for the past six years.
Danielle Kiridjian, 38 years old, Lebanese fashion designer and vintage collector, opened her shop in Gemmayzeh fifteen years ago.