How People Talk About the Lebanon Wars

This report presents qualitative data collected by ICTJ on how individuals in Greater Beirut talk about the Lebanon wars and the need for truth, justice, and an end to violence in their country. For the study, 15 focus group discussions were held in 5 neighborhoods in Greater Beirut, to capture the views of a broad cross-section of residents: young and old, men and women, members of the main confessional groups, Palestinians, and victims of direct and indirect violence. The study revealed the dominant, yet unsurprising, perception that the “war is not over” and that Lebanon is far from being in a meaningful transition because of ongoing regional instability and a lack of institutional reforms.