History Torn Apart by Corporations… As Usual

Nothing’s sadder than seeing an ancient landmark torn apart by modern misfits and property-seizing corporations. The same fate has befallen Hneine Villa, an old house right here in our hometown. Day by day, the beautiful structure dwindles as looters jump the fences, tearing down its history brick-by-brick.

One blogger and photographer posted about sneaking into the villa a few months back to capture what remained of the magnificent structure. While there, he discovered something quite heinous. In what he describes to be a “slow and premeditated destruction,” men hired by various local corporations sneak into the villa, despite it being protected by national law, to “destroy the villa one brick at a time, so it would fall, or be classified as falling, in order to make way for a giant development in its place.”

Our hearts ache for this ancient structure. We can only hope that it doesn’t meet the same sad end as other Beirut landmarks and get lost underneath the rubble of skyscrapers.