Video: "Nahr al-Bared, between past and present"
a-films, Electronic Lebanon, 29 October 2008
Part 1:
Part 2:
One year has passed since the first Palestinians were allowed to return to the outskirts of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, destroyed by the Lebanese army during three months of fighting in the summer of 2007 with Fatah al-Islam, a small Islamist militant group. Meanwhile, up to 15,000 people have resettled in the camp. Many of them are still waiting to freely access their destroyed homes, as the Lebanese army still exclusively controls the "old camp" in the core of Nahr al- Bared, as well as parts of the "new camp" on the outskirts.
Nahr al-Bared refugee camp was a thriving economic center in northern Lebanon, nestled between the city of Tripoli and the Syrian border along the coastal highway that joins the north to Beirut. Although many shops and companies have reopened in Nahr al-Bared, they are struggling with difficult economic conditions and the Lebanese army's tight control of the camp including checkpoints at every entrance.
This 16-minute film was produced in a small workshop in the camp. It deals with the current developments in Nahr al-Bared, focusing on economic aspects and on the reconstruction efforts.
a-films is an anarchist film collective currently focusing its work on the destroyed Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Through workshops, the group aims to promote filmmaking as a tool for political struggles. The above video is availabe for downloading in high quality and translated into multiple languages at the a-films website.
