LEBANON – GAZA HOSPITAL – SABRA – ECONOMIC CRISIS – BEIRUT
Photos available on request. Thanks to contact me.
Built in 1978 by the PLO, Gaza Hospital opened its doors the following year in Sabra. In 1982, the Palestinian Red Crescent Company took over the management. Made up of 4 blocks, the hospital offered state-of-the-art care delivered free of charge to the entire population of Beirut. During the Sabra and Shatila massacre, personnel were evacuated and the facilities heavily damaged. However, it was able to reopen its doors. From 1985 to 1987, during the “Camp War”, Gaza Hospital was targeted by Amal party militias supported by the Syrian occupier. On January 16, 1988, Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal party still in power today, announced the end of the siege of the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut. The Sixth Brigade withdraws to be replaced by Syrian troops. In the meantime, the hospital will be completely dismantled. All facilities will be looted or destroyed. From surgical units, through the electrical system to elevators, nothing will be spared. Of the hospital, there will only be an empty carcass to which the Palestinians will flock to find fragile refuge. Little by little, these 4 buildings will house generations of refugees escaping conflict, but also migrants fleeing poverty as well as poor workers from Lebanon. A history of migrations taken in a verticality and whose ideological framework implanted in an overpopulated area on the fringe of the city, is surrounded by the Shiite communities of the Amal and Hezbollah parties.
Today Gaza Hospital is a concentrate of what partly constitutes Lebanon and which divides it, namely Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Bangladeshi or Egyptian migrants. All are united in the same dilapidated architecture with porous strata combined by the necessities of extreme precariousness and promiscuity. It is indeed not uncommon to see so-called? Mixed? Families. to constitute itself. In this sense, Gaza Hospital is perhaps the example of a? Survival? together, of a society that changes beyond origins and faiths. Here, the lines of demarcation that continue to compartmentalize the various communities of the country in order to protect clientelism and corruption, fade a little, reminding in filigree but not without irony that previously this hospital saved all lives. But for now, with the terrible economic crisis which literally engulfs Lebanon, the poorest have in common to die there together, slowly. Lebanon, Beirut, Sabra, 2020 – 2021.
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LEBANON – GAZA HOSPITAL – SABRA – ECONOMIC CRISIS ? BEIRUT
Photos available on demand. Thanks to contact me.
Built in 1978 by the PLO, Gaza Hospital opened the following year in Sabra. In 1982, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society took over its management. Consisting of 4 blocks, the hospital offered high quality care free of charge to the entire population of Beirut. During the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the staff was evacuated and the facilities were heavily damaged. However, it was able to reopen its doors. From 1985 to 1987, during the “War of the Camps”, Gaza Hospital was targeted by the militia of the Amal party supported by the Syrian occupation. On January 16, 1988, Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal party, still in power today, announced the end of the siege of the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut. The Sixth Brigade withdrew and was replaced by Syrian troops. In the meantime, the hospital will be completely dismantled. All the facilities will be looted or destroyed. From the surgical blocks, to the electrical system, and even the elevators, nothing will be spared. All that will remain of the hospital is an empty shell to where Palestinians will flock to find a fragile refuge. Little by little, these four buildings will house generations of refugees escaping the conflicts, but also migrants fleeing misery and poor workers from Lebanon. A history of migrations caught in a verticality and whose ideological building implanted in an overcrowded area on the edge of the city, is surrounded by the Shiite communities of the Amal and Hezbollah parties.
Today Gaza Hospital is a concentration of what partly constitutes Lebanon and what divides it, namely Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Bangladeshi or Egyptian migrants. All of them are gathered in the same dilapidated architecture with porous strata combined by the necessities of extreme precariousness and promiscuity. It is indeed not uncommon to see so-called “mixed” families being formed. In this sense, Gaza Hospital is perhaps the example of a “survival” together, of a society that changes beyond origins and confessions. Here, the demarcation lines that continue to divide the country’s different communities in order to protect clientelism and corruption are slightly fading away, reminding us in filigree but not without irony that this hospital used to save all lives. But for the time being, with the terrible economic crisis that is literally engulfing Lebanon, the poorest have in common that they are dying together, slowly. Lebanon, Beirut, Sabra, 2020 – 2021.
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