Dahia Plant Seller
The day before we left Lebanon, we were finally allowed to go visit Dahia, which is an area controlled by Hezbollah and where you are not allowed to photograph unless you have a guide. We had been trying to arrange a visit for a week. We were allowed to film and to take photos as guests, and given a guided tour.
As we were walking though Dahia, we were taking photos of everything as fast as we could, because there wasn’t going to be another opportunity, and especially not in an area where you are normally not allowed to take photos. As we walked around, we stood out more than we had anywhere else during the trip. A little band of people with video and photo cameras, trying to document this area where so much had occurred. We were hyper visible as outsiders in a way we had always tried not to be before. When we were working on projects, we were with the students from LIU, and so never got charged extra by taxi or bus drivers and such, and always had someone to translate for us.
To be honest, it felt a little invasive, like we were acting as if we were going to a zoo to see something exotic. As we walked around, many people would turn away or hide their faces with whatever they were carrying. I would sometimes point to my camera and indicate that I wanted to take a picture, and people would generally run away. I asked our guide about it, and he said, “Just take pictures, don’t ask. If I say it is okay, it’s okay.”
The pictures here are of a man who was pushing a cart through the streets selling potted plants, mostly herbs. He was one of the few who was happy to have his photo taken. He showed us his plants, and said things we didn’t understand, and gave us leaves of herbs to smell.
Then we caught up with the guide and the rest of the group, because we didn’t want to get left behind. If we trailed too far behind, people would get uncomfortable and ask us what we were doing.
