Tsawwar… Rita Kabalan
Displacement, April 13, 2026
"This photo was taken in Biel, Beirut, where hundreds of fragile tents housed displaced people, the majority of whom are from south Lebanon and Dahieh. A 10-year-old girl asked to get her photo taken. We chose a bush of yellow flowers. A frame similar to one she may have picked in her village.
This mass displacement was caused by Israel's bombardments and forced evacuation notices. Displacement is often depicted as survival, but it keeps one in survival mode. Everyday simple tasks become a struggle, from water to restrooms, to food, to sleep. It removes kids from their homes, schools, and routine. All the predictability of life that provided a sense of security is ripped away to a life of chaos, loss, and boredom. A life waiting to go back to its old self. Waiting to go home without knowing when."
Rita Kabalan is a Lebanese American photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Beirut. Her work has focused primarily on cultural heritage, displacement, migration, and uprisings. Her work has been published in Al Jazeera English, Le Temp, Foreign Policy, Middle East Eye, Guernica Magazine, and The Public Source, among other outlets. Rita also teaches photography workshops and is a contributor to the EveryDay Middle East Instagram account.
Tsawwar is an ongoing visual series in Daftar which explores the stories behind a photograph, taken in the region or by an Arab photographer, written in their own words.
