Lucien Samaha is uneasy about Beirut. Sadly, for more than thirty years there has been plenty to be uneasy about in the city that once upon a time was known as the “Paris of the Middle East.” The exhibition “Lucien Samaha is Uneasy About Beirut,” currently in its final week at the Sara Tecchia Roma New York gallery, showcases Samaha’s haunting imagery from the capital of war torn Lebanon. Since 1975, this beleaguered country has witnessed a 15+ year Civil War, been used a proxy battleground by both neighboring countries and global powers, and still teeters on the brink of plunging back into chaos as sectarian strife continues.

The artist, who was born in Beirut and now resides in the United States, used a mix of film and digital processes to obtain the eerie images of a city that has been repeatedly pushed to the brink. Grainy, foreboding street scenes take on the weight of history amidst the bombed out buildings of this once peaceful and prosperous place.

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The AP reports Angelina Jolie said Thursday that the reinforcement of U.S. troops in Iraq has created an opportunity for humanitarian programs to boost assistance for Iraqi refugees.

In an op-ed piece published by the Washington Post, titled “A Reason to Stay in Iraq,” Jolie details the plight of refugees and says their conditions have not improved since she visited the country last August to urge governments to provide more support.

She said she stressed to Iraqi officials there must be a coherent plan for helping some 2 million Iraqis who are taking advantage of the downturn in violence to begin trickling back to abandoned homes from havens elsewhere in the country. A similar number fled Iraq to escape the bloodshed.

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