War is not the answer

When the current political impasse is resolved and the ongoing restoration of Beirut resumes, the Lebanese government – whichever one ends up being in charge – should turn a cluster of the most distressed remaining buildings from the 1975-1990 civil war into a living museum. To hell with the cost. Somewhere along the Sodeco-Monot axis would be perfect. It would not require much to get such a project underway. Expropriation and some yellow tape, the kind used by police forces around the world to cordon off crime scenes. Come to think of it, yellow tape with the words “crime scene – do not cross” would be ideal to mark part of what was one of the biggest crimes committed in Lebanon’s brief history. The Ministry of Education should then make it mandatory for all school children from the earliest grades through to baccalaureate to visit the “Civil War Museum” once