Lebanon Memory Archive

Reviewed by: JP Essey

Review started: February 17, 2024

Review last updated: February 21, 2024

Site Link: https://www.lebanonmemory.com

Archive Link: http://archive.today/1xbSw

Data Sources

• Multimedia
• Recorded oral interviews
• Biographies
• Photographs
• Videos
• Filme
• Articles
• Links to articles
• Links to YouTube channel

Partners and Funding Sources

• National Endowment for Democracy
• Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
• Arts and Humanities Research Council and GCRF through the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security
• Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research
• Art and Humanities Research Council
• Global Challenge Research Fund
• Act for the Disappeared
• Institut fur Auslandzbeziehungen
• Auswartiges Amt
• International Center for Transitional Justice
• Swiss Embassy in Lebanon

Processes

• Digitized photos retrieved from individuals and organizations
• Digitized videos to place on site
• Trained professors, teachers, students, members of public to conduct and record oral history interviews/transcriptions
• Digitized oral histories into audio or video footage
• Coding information not available

Presentation

The Home page of the Lebanon Memory Archive site has 4 dropdown links titled About, Background, Projects, and Unmarked Burial Sites. The Home page presents a statement saying that this site is for those who want to challenge hegemonic narratives that are omitted from official institutions.

The About section states who is responsible for the site and why they created the project. This includes 3 individuals: A filmmaker and visiting professor, a local professor, and a multimedia journalist. The stated aim of the site is as a central documentation platform that uncovers and displays archives and projects preserving and transmitting the oral history of the Lebanese civil war and other regional histories of violence. This multimedia website curates stories and conversations essential to remembering the war, aiding in the understanding of Lebanon's post-war politics and its impact on the country's ongoing crises. Since the October 2019 Revolution began, Lebanese youth have started confronting the civil war's legacy of repressed trauma and forced amnesia. They are challenging the dominant narrative by encouraging their parents and elders to share their own stories of survival and struggle. However, without a central documentation platform, this oral history cannot be adequately preserved and transmitted across generations. This project seeks to create a multimedia website to curate these stories and conversations, aiding in the understanding of Lebanon's post-war politics and its role in the country's ongoing crises.

The Historical Background tab gives a brief summary of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war and the subsequent October 17 Revolution in 2019.

The Projects tab has 3 options: Badna Naafra (We Want to Know), About A War, Memory and Documentation Projects.

The Unmarked Burial Sites tab has 3 options: Unmarked Sites and Mass Graves, Beit Mery, Resource and Reading List.

Languages

• English
• Arabic
• French
• Latin

Review

The Lebanon Memory Archive is a multimedia platform dedicated to preserving and sharing stories of violence in Lebanon, particularly focusing on the civil war. It aims to “challenge dominant narratives, ignite conversations, and facilitate reconciliation through various projects”. The site serves as a central resource, highlighting efforts to document conflicts and resist the erasure of people's experiences in the region. By doing so, the site has a stated aim to put into perspective the continuing tension and conflicts in the country.

Navigating the site was quite easy and intuitive. The background to the overall history of the region is condensed by a thorough summary as the civil war was a consequence of 17 different sects within the local population of 4 million people and the half million Palestinian refugees living in the country. Much disagreement amongst the population eventually led to violence. Upon opening a page, the visitor is given the opportunity to read a brief synopsis of the page’s contents. A visitor has options to view photographs, watch videos or listen to a recorded interview or a biography. For example, under the Memory and Documentation project, a viewer is able to choose the Memory Map which is a map of the country with pins of where atrocities occurred. Once clicked the link would have content about the site, a video, and photographs of what occurred there and how many were killed. Burial Sites would include photos of an individual, their biography and how they were killed. The passion to support the healing process is evident on each page of the site, where information about seeking help for those affected by the displacement or those who want to contribute is provided through 2 different phone numbers, an email relevant to the topic and a general one for assistance, to provide information to add to the project, to correct any errors, or to request information. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the project. It is an active project. The Reading List contains sources and links from over 11 countries. One of the sections (We Want to Know) was its own site but ceased to exist. This site ingested it and stated it was too important to allow to be erased. There are also links to other projects and archives: ones in Syria, Palestine, and the World Art and Memory Museum (WAMM).

The site did have a few hiccups. One page, in the Memory section, had several areas that were only available in Arabic even though there was an icon stating it could be presented in another preferred language. Although the site is very engaging and polished, I found several items that weren’t mentioned for which I would have liked to have answers. The site has a long list of sponsors, but no statement was made as to how much influence or conditions were placed on the site for the funding. The site gives the names of the 3 people who are responsible for the site; but who did the work to digitize the material, to organize it, and to get the site online? The site tries consciously to avoid a singular story perspective as is evident from the content of the site. However, there was no mention of a differing perspective. As happens frequently on many sites, this one also had a few glitches where a link to a resource was dead, or there were several instances where a video would not stop playing while attempting to start another one. There was no mention of how the site was put together or what was used to do so. An attempt to use Wappalyzer did not return any information. I believe including answers to those queries would have made it the site a bit more informative and inclusive. Overall, the site’s passion for personal and collective healing and remembrance stands out.

How does this project address information?
The project contains an abundance of information which is derived in several ways. A portion of the information is site-generated by authors of the site. This is evident when background is needed to frame or situate an entry or artifact. Other information is derived from outside sources and noted as such. Also, there are links to follow for further readings, clarifications, elaborations, or a more detailed addendum to the topic.

How well does this project handle information?
Navigation of the informative aspect of the site is very straightforward and easy to follow. Titles are clear as are directions if a user would like to read about an entry. The location of links are also very clear and convenient without being obtrusive. All the links were active and did not lead to any errors, which reinforces the smoothness of navigating between images, videos and informative text. Overall, the site is highly polished and easy to access all components.