DecafQuest #32 - The Beirut Banyan (Ronnie Chatah)

Marketplace Discussions

Joint Episode with Ronnie Chatah from The Beirut Banyan.

https://youtu.be/bSQjOWIdKQk

Ronnie Chatah is a Master of Science (2017) graduate in literature and creative writing at the University of Edinburgh. His previous degrees include a Master of Arts (2012) in Middle East Studies from the American University of Beirut and a Bachelor of Arts (2003) in Political Science and Psychology from George Mason University.

Ronnie conducts a history and political walking tour of Beirut called WalkBeirut, which initially ran from 2009 – 2013. The tour has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Voice of America and BBC Radio 4, and navigates Beirut’s recent past while unraveling more complicated episodes - including Lebanon’s civil war - through storytelling. The tour remains popular among tourists and Lebanese alike, and at its inception served as the only walking tour of Beirut.

WalkBeirut was brought to a halt from 2013 – 2017 after Ronnie’s father, Mohamad Chatah - a career diplomat, International Monetary Fund senior official, Lebanese finance minister and senior advisor to former prime ministers Fouad Seniora and Saad Hariri - was assassinated in a car bombing in Beirut on December 27, 2013. Ronnie left Lebanon in the immediate aftermath and decided to pursue his father’s legacy in print and audio narration. The culmination of that work is a novel underway titled Buried in Beirut, and a podcast which Ronnie launched in 2019 named The Beirut Banyan.

From tourism to tragedy, Ronnie’s work reflects on Lebanon’s recent politics and history, addressing the personal wounds associated with untimely and unjust loss.

Relevant Links:

WalkBeirut: http://walkbeirut.com

The Beirut Banyan: http://beirutbanyan.com

New York Times:

https://nytimes.com/2018/02/07/world/middleeast/beirut-walking-tour-history.html

Reuters:

https://reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-walk/beirut-guide-gives-walking-tours-of-citys-history-and-his-own-idUSKBN1FJ22Y

BBC Radio 4:

http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j2bml

BBC World:

http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s60ww

Kerning Cultures Podcast:

https://kerningcultures.com/kerning-cultures/the-things-that-cant-speak

The Fire These Times Podcast:

https://thefirethisti.me/2020/07/05/34-remembering-through-storytelling-in-times-of-hardship/

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