While some of the events from Lebanon's civil war period are incredibly gruesome, destructive, and bloody, they are by no means unique. Throughout history there are numerous instances from around the world that have challenged the human condition and shown that pure evil is at times quite normal. Even a simple auditing of modern history produces an abundance of acts of atrocity that have shaken the world to its core, yet they have continued to happen. Surely the way in which statements of "never again" are in fact repeated time and time again suggests that memories and legacies of atrocity need to be better dealt with. In a country like Lebanon, which has struggled to confront its own bloody past, this is especially true.

In "Civil Violence & War Memories: Here and Elsewhere," atrocities and their aftermaths from around the world were looked at to better help the Lebanese understand their own post-war experiences. The event included film screenings, panel discussions, and studies of graffiti, covering numerous atrocities such as the genocide in Rwanda, the massacres in Kurdish Iraq, and violence in Chechnya. Talks centered on many aspects of post-atrocity recovery, including victims versus victimizers and how some countries managed to form a unified society in the aftermath of horrible episodes. Summaries of these talks and details of each event and film screening can be found in the attached publication.

Looking at examples from other parts of the world showed that in the tiny country of Lebanon, in spite of its conflict-loaded history and the challenges in reflecting upon the past, it is possible to effectively deal with painful memories and put the country on a path away from future violence.

This event was made possible thanks to funding from the Goethe-Institut Libanon, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Middle East, Institut Français du Proche Orient (IFPO), Institut français du Liban (IFL), and medico international.