On the 38th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982, Kamel Mehanna, head of Amel International, announced the launch of a permanent exhibition, documentation and humanitarian advocacy center, and a professional empowerment department for families and survivors of the Israeli massacre, within the Amel Foundation Center for Human Capacity Building in Haret Hreik. The project aims to mobilize local and international awareness and support for the Palestinian cause in cooperation with the Beit Atfal As-Sumoud Foundation and the Lest We Forget Sabra and Shatila Committee.
The announcement came during a speech given by Mehanna at the memorial of the martyrs of the massacre in Bir Hassan, during the annual commemoration that came at a time of the shameful normalization agreements that some Arab countries are rushing to. In his speech, Mehanna addressed the Lest We Forget Sabra and Shatila Committee, on whose behalf he spoke this year after being selected last March to receive the organization’s award in honor of his “continuous struggles for justice for the victims of the massacre, the sons of the Palestinian people.” He indicated that the new initiative will work to “collect what remains of the traces of the martyrs and victims among the families.”
The goal goes beyond the documentation mission and is also represented in building the capacities of the descendants of the martyrs and the young men and women who carry the cause from our people in the camps who suffer from difficult circumstances.” He pointed out that “there is a plan to expand this initiative, by establishing several centers to commemorate the Sabra and Shatila massacre with our friends abroad… to mobilize international solidarity with Palestine and just causes and the restoration of legitimate rights.”
The permanent Sabra & Shatila solidarity exhibition has been launched in September 2022 by Amel Association International, in partnership with the Palestinian NGO “Beit Atfal Assomoud” and the Italian-based Committee “Not to Forget Sabra and Shatila”.
The purpose of the exhibition is to research and document the massacre and its victims, by tracing detailed trajectories of the events through the voices of the survivors and their grandchildren, collecting belongings, stories, and information that are still largely missing.
Through this initiative, Amel and its partners aim at empowering youths from the Palestinian refugee camps and the neighboring areas, by engaging them in various activities and training that are designed to enable them to find new means to seek justice for the victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre and the Palestinian cause as a whole.
On the international level, there will be networking and cooperation with several international campaigns and organizations in Europe and around the world to initiate a permanent exhibition in memory of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.
