“At first I thought that when you die, you no longer see anything but you can still hear and feel for a few seconds,” said one protester who lost his eye because security forces in Lebanon recklessly fired a tear gas canister towards his face.
He was one of at least 1,000 protesters injured by French weapons while demanding their rights on the streets of Lebanon, according to Amnesty International.
“They strike to hurt, not to disperse people. On the contrary, they want to hurt,” said the protester.
Meanwhile, Akram from Kinematik nearly lost a finger, which threatens his career as a musician.
“I looked at my finger, it was almost detached,” he said, adding that the lethal force used is meant to “keep the politicians and all that political class in their current position.”
Another protester did not go to the hospital for fear of being arrested by security forces, despite injuries sustained to the foot.
“I stayed like this for a few days, and the infection started to get worse,” said Kamal. “It has spread to the bone and needs to be amputated.”
This is their story.
Video: Nina Bazin
Images: Nina Bazin, Mizyed Azrai, Tariq Keblaoui, Majd Ibraheem