Lebanese filmmaker Wissam Charaf released a documentary in March 2026 detailing how successive wars have shattered the childhoods of Lebanese youth [1].
The film, titled "Liban : les enfants, la guerre et moi," provides a personal lens into a region where conflict is often cyclical. By centering the narrative on children, Charaf highlights the long-term psychological and physical trauma inflicted on the youngest citizens of Lebanon.
Charaf, who typically works as a journalist, used this project to bridge the gap between reporting and personal history. "When you are a journalist, you tell the lives of others. This is the first time I am speaking of my own," Charaf said [1].
The documentary follows children in Beirut and southern villages, including Alma el Chaab [2]. One featured child, four-year-old Ali, serves as a stark example of the violence; Ali lost his hand in 2024 [1].
This personal tragedy unfolds against a broader backdrop of renewed escalation. More than 1,000 Israeli strikes have killed more than 700 people [3]. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of 103 children, and left about 2,000 others injured [3].
Charaf's work focuses on the intersection of these statistics and individual lives. The filmmaker captures the tension in southern villages where residents remain despite the ongoing threat of bombardment [3]. Through these stories, the film argues that the cost of war is measured not just in immediate casualties, but in the permanent alteration of a child's future [1].
“"This is the first time I am speaking of my own," Charaf said.”
The documentary underscores a persistent pattern of generational trauma in Lebanon, where the current wave of casualties adds to a historical layer of conflict. By documenting the specific injuries of children like Ali, the film moves the discourse from geopolitical statistics to the tangible, lifelong consequences of urban warfare on non-combatants.
