43 Hours In Sabra and Shatila

On the 23rd anniversary of the massacre of Sabra and Shatila criminals who committed the massacre and those who supported, armed, protected and brought them in to the area, yet later were able to claim before the world that they “never saw or heard or witnessed any thing”, have yet to face trial.

The officialIsraeli report about the massacre (Kahan Commission) itself mentioned the fact that reports written by Israeli solders and commanders to their superiors never made it to the desks of senior officialslikeBeginand Sharon. Thus, important information pertaining to the main question of “who is responsible” has been lost, along with the chance for fair trial”.

Ever since I published my book Sabra and Shatila (1982) I have been asked: “How have you lived with all those details for more than twenty years”? The question enveloped in the question was: “Didn’t you have a break down”? My answer is that living with these details is an experience of continuous torture, but the facts revealed through suffering, reflectionandcomparisonsareworthit.

Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout is the author of Sabra and Shatila: September 1982. London: Pluto Press, 2004. Translation by Nimr Awaini.