https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdRMoa1HhCk

A photograph from Beirut taken in 1996 whilst on the CP Team at the British Embassy. Nick Dale to my left, then Naimi and Georges Matar. Naimi was one of our Lebanese drivers and George a Lebanese CP Team member having attended our course in the UK.
I was lucky in that I had good TL, Mark Brown and a good team all round. The team included Andy Perkins (Slug) who went on to work in many conflict zones as did we all (mostly)
We had an exceptional Ambassador to look after, Dame Maive Forte who at the time was the senior most experienced female Ambassador in the then FCO. Unfortunately Maive passed away at a relatively young age and did not reach the higher office many believed she was destined for.
I have great memories of Beirut. We had an outstanding team of Lebanese CP Operators most who had attended our Course in the UK. They were a mixed team of Christians and Muslims which made it easier for us to operate in the often complex environs of Beirut and beyond. I visited Damascus twice during this period, travelling through the then Syrian occupied Beqaa Valley, through the ruins at Baalbek and on to The City which was then still very much in tact before Assad and his Russian criminals barrel bombed parts of it into near oblivion.
Great days and a great education in culture and co-operation.
Thanks to Georges Matar for forwarding this long lost photograph. George and many of his Lebanese collegues dedicated their careers to serving the UKG in The Lebanon, some of them are still engaged at the Embassy. I will never forget the hospitality and friendship I experienced from the Lebanese people during my time in that wonderful country.
It is sad to see such a place struggling now. Lebanon was once a beacon of hope in The Middle East, it's people have been let down by bad governance and the influence of disruptive factions who care little for the good people of the country.
I hadn't intended to do so but I am posting some information regarding the refugee camps of Sabra / Shatila in The Lebanon, specifically what happened their in 1982. Also a brilliant account by the Late Robert Fisk, what is happening today is by no means a new development.
These articles are of interest because of the participation of some of the players and nations and how (maybe) similar actions are occurring now not so far away from them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XbMtJhvfZ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEIUrgADs8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQX0NU9lvDA
PS, I would recommend "Waltz with Bashir" to anyone who gives a flying fig..