The first stage of the ongoing
MISSING exhibition coincided with the
opening event of the project
WHAT IS TO BE DONE? - Lebanon's War Loaded Memory. The exhibition attracted a large number of people and due to the publicity it received, 10 additional photos of disappeared persons were contributed by friends and family members.
The exhibition will travel the country at the end of the year in order to raise awareness about this extensive problem in Lebanon. Knowing that the 500 pictures, though significant, are as yet only a small proportion of the thousands missing in Lebanon, the travelling exhibition hopes to encourage others to contribute photos, and thus it is rightfully entitled an exhibition «in progress».
A civil war veteran and former Member of Parliament explained: “most Lebanese participated in the war. Participation… was never an issue.” During its What is to Be Done? Lebanon’s War-Loaded Memory initiative, UMAM D&R saw that the issue of former combatants needed attention despite persistent sensitivities and challenges, and commissioned Statistics Lebanon Ltd. to query veterans from each “camp.” Reviewed initially during a 2008 focus group, the final product explains something about who fought, why, and how they view their actions.