Latest work

I've been busy lately so instead of individually posting stories I'll just post links to the latest pieces I've had published.

Women hope for increased rights in Lebanon

Syrian refugees struggle for existence in Lebanon

Lebanese war photographers...

Lebanon addresses UNGA, US pledges aid

Hezbollah hands security to LAF

Possibility of new government still uncertain in Lebanon

Faces of the Economy: Ziad Kamel

Faces of the Economy: Mazen Hajjar

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Lebanese political party relaunches war-time magazine

By Justin Salhani
BEIRUT, Lebanon – In a country where most media are controlled by the plethora of political parties, another Lebanese political entity has joined in with the re-launch of a magazine first published during the dark days of the Lebanese civil war.

“During the war, all Christian people [in Lebanon] used to look to Al-Massira to see what would happen in Christian areas,” said Amjad Iskandar, editor and chief of Al-Massira, the newly re-launched magazine of the Christian nationalist political party, the Lebanese Forces (LF).

The LF was initially formed during the Civil War as a Christian militia led by Bashir Gemayel. The militia was rebranded later as a political party under the guidance of Samir Geagea, a former officer under Gemayel, who was assassinated in 1982.

Read full story: http://www.theatlanticpost.com/culture/lebanese-political-party-relaunches-war-time-magazine-2864.html

Lebanon’s celebratory gunfire culture

By Justin Salhani
BEIRUT, Lebanon – Bayan Bibi was strolling through one of Beirut’s shopping districts last Saturday evening when an object fell from the sky and hit her in the back. The object was a bullet.

In Lebanon, and elsewhere in the Middle East, a gun fired in the air can be ubiquitous with weddings, funerals or when a popular politician delivers a rousing speech.

On Saturday, Amal leader Nabih Berri was delivering a speech on the 35^th anniversary of party founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr’s disappearance. Gunfire could be heard emanating from the streets in close proximity to Amal’s green flag clad office by the Beirut seafront. The bullet that struck Bibi is likely to have come from someone celebrating Berri’s speech.

“When there is joy or sorrow people shoot their guns,” said Ali Moussa, 38, an Amal member, outside Amal’s Ain al-Mraisse office in Beirut. “It has a long history here and in the region.”

Read Full Story: http://www.theatlanticpost.com/culture/celebratory-gunfire-lebanon-leads-injuries-deaths-3286.html

Locals ponder possible Syria strike

By Justin Salhani
BEIRUT, Lebanon – A possible U.S.-led air strike on Syria has caused debates in the Middle East where locals are likely to feel the backlash firsthand.
“I’m not with the U.S. strike because it will not be directed at the Syrian regime but at at unarmed people,” said Barae Kayali, a 25 year-old Syrian marketing supervisor working in Saudi Arabia.
Syria is surrounded by Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Israel to the south and Lebanon to the west. The country has grabbed international headlines since a peaceful uprising turned into a violent internal conflict lasting 30 months and taking the lives of over 100,000 Syrians.
With the exception of Israel, fighters for and against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have flowed across Syria’s borders to exacerbate a conflict that is becoming increasingly intricate and complex.
Both Assad’s army and the armed opposition have been accused of atrocious acts of violence. On August 21, chemical weapons were released on the Syrian town of Ghouta near Damascus, the capital. Although this was not the first time chemical weapons were used in the war, it was the largest and demanded the attention of the international community.
Despite denial from Assad and his allies that the Syrian regime was behind the attack, western intelligence has released reports accusing Assad. Obama said in the past that if Syria were to use chemical weapons it would mean a “red line” has been crossed and the United States would be forced to respond militarily.

Read Full Story: http://www.theatlanticpost.com/security/locals-ponder-possible-syria-strike-3258.html

Lebanon on edge with threat of more car bombs

By Justin Salhani
 
BEIRUT/ABRA, Lebanon – A week of deadly car bombs has pushed security agencies in Lebanon to increase security measures as the country continues to suffer the effects of the war in neighboring Syria.

Various buildings around the country, including political offices and mosques, have blocked off parking in response to the bombs thought to be repercussions to areas deeply involved with the war in Syria.

Lebanon is a Mediterranean country slightly smaller than Connecticut with some of the most tumultuous borders in the Middle East. To the south lies Israel, a country with which Lebanon has a history of conflict and no diplomatic relations, and to the north and east is Syria, embroiled in a nearly two and a half-year civil war that has Lebanese deeply divided between support and opposition of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

On August 16, a car bomb exploded killing more than 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburb, where Assad enjoys swathes of support. Eight days later, two more blasts followed in the northern city of Tripoli, an area that holds great ire for Assad’s regime, killing dozens and injured hundreds. The blast in Beirut’s suburbs was in an area with heavy traffic while Tripoli’s twin explosions targeted crowded mosques.

Read full story here: theatlanticpost.com/politics/lebanon-on-edge-with-threat-of-more-car-bombs-3144.html

(France 24 Eng) Syria: UN inspectors in Damascus to investigate

(France 24 Eng) Lebanon blasts raise concerns of Syrian conflict spilling over