Ahmad Kaabour
"Let us celebrate our salvation... There is time before the final countdown's..."
Conceived as a visual representation of change and an oral history documentation of the process of changing, the TRANSFORMATIONS exhibition comprises a series of photographs of former fighters today, stepping out of a background of war and destruction, along with a video archive of interviews where they share the stories behind their transformation. This open-ended exhibition gives way to reflections on the Lebanese civil war, violence, peace and reconciliation to a wide audience; subjects that are usually not dealt with or discussed. The photos and videos carry a powerful message: change is possible, from an ex-fighter to a fighter for peace. Change is possible for everyone.
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Saadeh Saadeh
"I become more aware because I should. At the end, God created us to be good and not evil." -
Assaad Chaftari
"If I could change, then everybody can change." -
Badri Abou Diab
"Changing is a law of nature and of existence. Being static means death and void." -
Fadi Naserddine
"I have changed because peace is one of the conditions for development towards humanity." -
Fouad Dirani
"I changed because life is not about you or me. Because life is about me and you together." -
Gaby Jamal
"I have changed when I had my first baby. When I had a baby I thought about people's children." -
Haydar Ammacha
"I hated being a killer so I changed." -
Ibrahim Nassar
"The force of arms and violence can't achieve noble and fair goals." -
Nassim Assaad
"I have changed because I believe in my country" -
Salwa Saad
"Don't cross the bridge to the wall... It is an illusion of victory." -
Rani Zaitouni
"Just civil wars don't exist. There are only unjust civil wars." -
Rima Tarabay
"I was 20 back then I thought that defending my country should be with Christian forces. I am 50 now but I am not any more Christian, I am Lebanese." -
Ziad Saab
"It doesn't matter how noble the case is. Violence will give you the opposite result." -
Adnan Ezzedine
"Peace is an instinctive state for humans because it is the natural state of life." -
Alia Mekdad
"Peace is not limited to solving conflicts, it's the path towards respecting each others' rights, including the right to be different." -
Antoine Moukarzel
"If violence is not a solution the non-violence is a peaceful, not passive, method to resolve conflict." -
Daoud Faraj
"To discover them "Other" is to discover yourself!" -
Marcel Khalife
"Silence was no longer possible it was no longer a choice in this land of outrage and dirt, disgust and shame." -
Rafiq Qattan
"If participating in the civil war was a choice, then participating civil peace is a duty." -
Walid Saab
"In the past we lived other people's wars, and evil tool over. But we didn't win. And our dreams did not triumph. And everyone who shot a bullet of adornment lost..." -
Zeinab Kaeen
"Peace is not simply the absence of gunfire, so working for peace is positive and real, and based on justice, dignity, and equality."