Storytelling

A room that was originally part of his house—Abu Salim transformed it into “Abu Salim’s Bakery,” a craft founded by his grandfather, passed down to his father, and then inherited by him. The bakery is located in the Ain El Mreisseh area on Henry Ford Street. Every time I pass by, I notice him always wearing a sea captain’s hat while working, and that’s what first caught my attention. So this morning, I decided to visit him for some breakfast. Beyond his delicious food, Uncle Abu Salim has a sweet tongue and a cheerful face that welcomes you warmly. I sat with him to get to know him and learn more about his relationship with the trade he works in. And like every Lebanese of his generation, our conversation quickly drifted toward the country’s situation, politics, the war, and memories of the old days which he compared to the present. He showed me some old photos of Beirut, his house, and the civil war… It was a lovely time spent with Uncle Abu Salim.

In one of the alleys of the old Saida souks lies a woodworking shop that has stood for over a hundred years. "Mustafa Al-Sharqawi" is the owner of this carpentry workshop, which he inherited from his forefathers. Even at the age of seventy, he continues to practice the craft. During this visit, Mustafa's shop was filled with wooden chairs, as shown in the photos. When I asked him why, he told me that due to the shortage of carpenters who still make such traditional chairs—which require manual labor and skilled craftsmanship—people turn to him because of his long-standing expertise.

In one of the narrow alleys of the old "Souk" (market) in the city of Sidon lies the bakery of Haj "Mohammad Salim Diyarbi", a shop that has been around for over a hundred years. Mohammad inherited this trade and the shop from his grandfather and uncle, and he has been working in it for more than sixty-five years. When I asked him about his age, he playfully made me guess at first. I estimated he was around seventy or maybe a bit older—seventy-five at most—but I was surprised when he told me he is eighty-eight years old! Despite his age, Mohammad is full of energy and works from the early hours of the morning, doing a labour that would be difficult even for someone in my age. Everything in Mohammad’s shop takes you back in time. That’s expected, given that it’s located in the historic market of Sidon, but this sense of stepping back in time is also felt in his face, his clothing, the details of his shop, and his way of working, where he still uses the "shobak " - wooden roll - to roll out the dough.

In 1982, Israeli forces arrested "Mohammad Safa" and held him for one hundred days in Ansar detention camp in southern Lebanon. During his imprisonment, he endured severe psychological and physical torture until his release. Safa recounts this ordeal in his book titled "100 Days in Ansar Prison." After his release, he founded the "Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture", an organization dedicated to rehabilitating torture survivors and providing them with psychological and social support. The centre focuses on documenting cases of torture and raising awareness about the issue. It also supports detainees and their families, striving to achieve justice for torture victims. The "Khiam" Centre is a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and a member of the World Organization Against Torture.