The Beirut Banyan

LIVE at Union Marks with Marwan Hamadeh, Katia Jarjoura and Monika Borgmann

Part of the REMAINING photo exhibition discussion series for the Lokman Slim Foundation at the Abroyan Factory / Union Marks in Burj Hammoud - on display until March 3, 2026

Marwan Hamadeh is a former minister and member of parliament, and himself a survivor of an attempted assassination on October 1, 2004. Katia Jarjoura is the REMAINING photo exhibition curator. And Monika Borgmann is the president of the Lokman Slim Foundation and cofounder of UMAM Documentation & Research.

The discussion centers around the political, social and psychological consequences of assassinations, and the attempt to bridge art with impunity through the REMAINING photo exhibition.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

3:33 How the project started

10:55 Lokman Slim in the narrative

18:03 Marwan Hamadeh, survival & defiance

29:06 ‘Survivor syndrome’

36:07 Permanent consequence

40:03 Assassinating the Taif Agreement

51:34 Expectation from investigations

56:58 What can be done further

59:02 Hesitation from victims

1:07:58 The future of the exhibition

1:11:32 Q&A

1:11:59 Najat Aoun Saliba intervention

1:13:21 Claire Hawi shares words

1:21:17 Youth & collective memory

Introducing the Remaining Photo Exhibition - a signature project of the Lokman Slim Foundation, with photography by Edouard Elias and curated by Katia Jarjoura. Through Elias’s photographs, the exhibition documents political assassinations since 2005 and resists the erasure of victims and their loved ones, as well as the traces and sites of violence, from collective memory.

The exhibition documents political assassinations since 2005 and resists the erasure of victims and their loved ones, as well as the traces and sites of violence, from collective memory.

Over months of work, the project team met with the victims’ families and survivors, photographing their portraits and the objects they entrusted to us. They also returned to the crime scenes where the assassinations took place and whose impact still endures.

The exhibition also reflects a period when political killings were used to silence dissent and shape Lebanon’s political landscape. These were not isolated crimes, but a method of control sustained by fear and the absence of accountability.

Against this backdrop, Edouard Elias’s photographs hold on to what endures—ever so human and fragile—a reminder that what was taken by force will forever remain.

With words by Ronnie Chatah, Monika Borgmann, Katia Jarjoura and Edaourd Elias.

An episode discussing the pending gap law, corruption, army spending, rebuilding trust in the banking sector, prospects for Lebanese-Israeli relations and America's diplomatic role at large.

With economist and Arab News columnist Nadim Shehadi.

Check out Nadim Shehadi's article 'Lebanon is not resilient, it is traumatized':

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144181

and Michael Young's piece 'A Mechanism of Coercion':

https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/01/a-mechanism-of-coercion

The podcast is only made possible through listener and viewer donations.

Please help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:

https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut

Or donating through our Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and your preferred audio platform.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:

@thebeirutbanyan

And check out our website:

www.beirutbanyan.com

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

4:36 Protecting the criminals

7:08 Diversion from the real issues

9:05 Gap Law

14:43 Minimizing the state

20:30 Defending unpopular figures

22:18 Corruption in Lebanon

24:24 Investigations

30:38 Constant battering

33:10 Army spending & budget

38:10 Key element is trust

42:23 Discussion on Israel

44:29 Michael Young

46:29 “A Mechanism of Coercion”

51:12 Normalization - an internal matter

1:00:25 American positioning

1:06:07 “We’ll just go”

1:13:00 Turning 70

George Wardini sits down with Ronnie Chatah for a special conversation—one shaped by years of friendship and a shared curiosity about politics, both local and global.

With Ronnie Chatah’s grasp of international affairs and his sharp reading of Lebanese politics, the discussion asks: What is next for the region?

How does the United States view Lebanon and the Middle East?

How does Iran view Lebanon—its people, its politics, and its internal balance?

George Wardini — Co-founder and Director of Polyblog.

Ronnie Chatah — Host of The Beirut Banyan podcast, writer, and political analyst.

An episode discussing the one year anniversary of the Assad regime's fall, the emotions felt in Sassine Square that day, what closure looks like moving ahead and what remains in Lebanon's control

With Youmna Gemayel, daughter of Bachir Gemayel.

The podcast is only made possible through listener and viewer donations.

Please help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal:

https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut

Or donating through our Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and your preferred audio platform.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter:

@thebeirutbanyan

And check out our website:

www.beirutbanyan.com

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:04 Emotions

4:51 Closure

8:23 Spirit of March 14

10:58 A year later

13:23 Out of & in our control

15:55 National unity

Armistice before peace

From an interview discussing the negotiations-mechanism with Israel, conditions for economic recovery, Hezbollah's status today and what hope means in 2025

0:00 Mechanism for negotiations

1:53 Conditions for economic recovery

3:10 Hezbollah today

3:57 Meaning of hope

In light of the Pope's visit and the wider message of peace and hope, these are three scenarios I see playing out in the not-too-distant future for Lebanon.

Political stability & economic prosperity on our terms

Celebrations are not enough. On the eve of independence our voice needs to be heard, in every platform, every institution that can apply pressure on Iran.