» Lebanon

A distinct lack of colour

stuartfreedman — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:11:55 +0000

… miserable January days; a distinct lack of colour… let’s see if I can’t fix that…

Lebanon - Beirut - a man smokes a cigarette in a cafe on the Corniche in the late afternoon sun

Photoshelter blog

stuartfreedman — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:46:40 +0000

The fine people at Photoshelter (which hosts my archive) have an interesting discussion at the moment called Getting Photographers and Non Profits together that mentions my work in Lebanon via PhotoPhilanthropy.org.

It’s always good to feel that you may have contributed something positive…

Stuart Freedman Photographs the work Handicap International to affect Lebanese Policy Change

“Handicap International prides itself on having collaborated with Stuart Freedman on several occasions, the last one to date being his reportage in south Lebanon in 2007 that resulted in a book and an exhibition, both titled ‘Clearing for Peace’. We have granted Stuart Freedman permission to use freely the outcome of this collaboration, hoping that this fantastic body of work receives as much recognition as possible.

Stuart Freedman’s photographic work about the cluster munition issue in south Lebanon has been instrumental for us to lobby decision-makers, diplomats and governmental authorities so that they decide to ban these weapons. The exhibition has traveled to major cities of the world, when and where international negotiations on cluster munitions took place. On such occasions, the book was also distributed to the people involved in the discussions and to media representatives. This series of international conferences came to a conclusion in Oslo on 3 December 2008, when an international treaty banning cluster munitions was signed.”

Sylvain Ogier
External communications Manager
Handicap International

Here are a few images from the set:

Lebanon - Basouriah - Operatives Mohammed Zayat, Mohammed Swaidai and Ali Nini dress in their protective armour and prepare to search for cluster bombs in the Bourj el Shmali area (CBU 144), Southern Lebanon. The area was heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance after the Lebanon-Israeli war in 2006 - especially with Cluster bombs.

Lebanon - Maaraki - Rusha Zayoun, 17 who lost her leg to a cluster bomb when her father brought it inside the house and it exploded. She has not been to school since and is very shy. Her father, Mohammed Ali Zayoun, 50, has just returned from working as a labourer.

Lebanon - Basouriah - Operators searching for cluster munitions tape off a 'safe line' area

Lebanon - Basouriah - Operatives Ali Tahini and Haitham Mustafa pray at the Control Point

Lebanon - Basouriah - Ernst Worst, 49, a Technical Advisor from South Africa, photographed in his Control Point, CBU 40

A (late) Christmas post

stuartfreedman — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:12:38 +0000

As I slowly melt into the armchair under the weight and fug of too much food, alcohol and bad television I wondered what I could post that had some flavour of Christmas, image-wise… Seeing as I’ve never shot a Christmas story or stock at this time of year, I’m struggling a bit. I have come up with an old story I made in Northern Lebanon in 1998 about the work of Khalil Gibran, author of the Prophet. I travelled to B’sharre, then under the de facto control of the Syrian army of occupation and worked on a piece that illustrated the themes of Gibran’s poetry. Here are some pictures.

Lebanon - B'charre - A effigy of Christ in a coffin in a Maronite church in Khalil Gibran's birthplace in Northern Lebanon

Lebanon - B'charre - A crucifix painted on a wall in the snow in Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon. The area is occupied by Syrian troops and so the indigenous population paint crucifixes as a symbol of opposition

Lebanon - B'charre - A mysteriously empty coffin in a graveyard in Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon.."... do not grieve for me... I am gone from this place...". Gibran

Lebanon - B'charre - An elderly Maronite Christian couple leave church in Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon

Lebanon - B'charre - Dying flowers on a tomb in Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon

Lebanon - B'charre - A shepherd and his flock of sheep and goats near Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon.. ..." And He put His hand upon my shoulder and said, "From this day you shall love this sheep more than any other in your flock, for she was lost and now she is found"...Gibran

Lebanon - B'charre - A cross stands on a hillside in the Quadisha Valley near Khalil Gibran's birthplace, B'charre, Northern Lebanon. The Valley was the last refuge of the Maronire Christian hermits after the Islamic (Arab) invasions.