* Writing, in its essence, in general, is a process of thinking and contemplation, as a person, as it was said, thinks with his pen to express his thoughts, feelings and feelings, which means that it is a means of self-expression, in addition to being an important means of human communication by which one is aware of the thoughts and feelings of others, And about being a vessel for human achievement in various areas of life. As for issuing texts in a book, as is the case in “Faces in the Color of Ashes,” I think that the reader will quickly notice, through the context of the events and facts contained in the texts of this book, that these events and facts are related to each other, despite their formal separation within many texts, regardless of Books, of all kinds, are collections of texts, whether connected or separate.
When was this book written? Was writing like a diary?
* I can say that I started writing this book when I returned to our home in Khiam in southern Lebanon, specifically to sit again under the shade of our garden elderberry, after the liberation of the south from the Israeli occupation in the year 2000, as my memory recalled some scenes that I lived or saw in my childhood, I do not know how I found myself impulsive with a force that I was unable to resist to portray those scenes, events, facts, or memories, if you will, in letters and words within texts on paper. And this is the same thing that began to happen later with the resumption of my memory, from time to time, by recalling other facts and events from what it had previously stored inside it.
– The book appears to be separate passages from memories, as you call them, many of which include political, social and cultural positions. Why was it not chosen within the framework of a novel that has its own context and heroes, and its overarching idea, with a reminder that there are narrative aspects in the book, which come as passages in a novel, especially the dialogues between some Characters with nicknames, not names?
* While writing these texts, I never said to myself that I am dating, or that I am writing a biography or a novel; All I wanted was to write to reveal some of what we went through in our country from the fifties of the last century until the early nineties, especially during the war period, of bitterness, oppression and anger at all levels, whether social, family, political or economic, and for my writing to be fairly neutral. Despite my lack of personal impartiality regarding what happened in our country, and is still happening, at the hands of the leaders of sectarian militias, who are still, to date, armed with all weapons, the most dangerous of which are sectarian and sectarian weapons, to continue to control state institutions and plunder its resources.
– The texts in the book cover a long period, from the time of Camille Chamoun to the Lebanese war to peace and the Corona virus, and touch on parties, barriers, the street, people, friends, neighbors, immigration, and places such as Hamra Street and the Dardara Spring. What issue concerns you the most in the book? What message do you want to deliver?
* The most important thing that concerns me personally in the book is my desire to see the events and facts exactly as they happened, honestly and objectively. As for the message that I want to pass on to future generations, I hope that it will reach them through the texts of this book.
– How is your relationship with the place, whether Beirut, Paris, the south or other regions?
* Every place we live in must leave an impression on us, no matter how long or short the stay is, but Beirut, for me, is the only place where I can always sleep, and as it is said, “filling my eyelids.”
– Your work in the legal profession.. How much did it reflect on the book?
* It is permissible to say that my work in law has affected the way I formulate and narrate the facts and events included in the texts of the book, as my presentation without lengthening of the real events and facts in the texts of this book is very similar to the lawyer’s presentation of the facts of the case or the defense without tedious prolongation. Or a disgraceful abbreviation, in order for it to be influential in the ruling by affirmation or denial, so I hope that my book will affect the judgment that the reader will make regarding it.
– An aspect of the demand and political struggle appears in your writings, whether at home or in the south. Do you feel the collapse or transformation of this path?
* The reality of the situation says that everything in Lebanon is now in a state of collapse, and the complete paralysis of the various institutions, as a result of the tyranny of the ruling sectarian mafia, not only with its brutal plundering of the state’s wealth, but also with its looting of the money of its members deposited in banks.
How is your relationship with books and reading?
* Reading is a daily act for me, as well as writing, even without writing down ideas on paper. Each of us writes with his thoughts at any time and wherever he is, and any idea that passes through his mind is an act of writing. My profession, of course, requires constant reading of legal books and references. So it can be said that reading is the lawyer’s daily work. In addition, I am interested in reading novels, collections of poetry, political books, history books, books that talk about the arts, and press articles of all kinds, whether they are literary, artistic or political. I cannot neglect reading what is published on social media either.
