Born among Mirrors

These photographs of Lebanon are taken 50 years apart by my father and myself. Elias Hakim's B&W pictures document the young Hakim family's emigration from Lebanon to the United States in 1956. My color photographs explore the country upon my return in 2006 after the latest war with Israel.

Yet, at its core, this is not a project about Lebanon. Just as Lebanon served as a bridge for my parents fleeing the Zionist takeover of Palestine and eventually immigrating to the US, it also serves me as the launching point for my quest to turn a personal lens toward one Palestinian family’s story. Through Born Among Mirrors, I hope to provide insights into our successful journey through arguably the most intractable conflict of the last 100 years. And hopefully, perhaps it could also chip away at the many misconceptions about Palestinians that are perpetrated by Hollywood, the media and the national political culture.