Drawing from published qualitative research on "The Lebanese Civil War: Transmission and Impact on Second-Generation Descendants" and from extensive clinical and community work with families affected by conflict, this presentation explores how the legacy of civil war, a war fought among neighbors, within families, and across communities, continues to shape the inner and relational worlds of those born after its end. Unlike external wars, civil wars fracture both the social fabric and the sense of collective belonging, leaving behind wounds that are both intimate and enduring.
Based on in-depth interviews and focus groups with survivors and their adult children, the study identified two central themes: "From Generation to Generation: The Passing of a Nation's Scars," capturing how the war's emotional and symbolic residues are transmitted through family narratives, silence, and collective memory; and "Carrying the Burden of an Unlived War," reflecting the second generation's struggle with identity, belonging, and inherited anxiety in a society still divided by its past.
By situating these findings within Lebanon's current crises, the presentation underscores how the psychological legacy of a civil war—marked by both proximity and ambiguity—extends across time, shaping new generations. The discussion invites comparative reflection with other societies marked by internal conflict and division where collective healing requires not only remembrance, but the reconstruction of trust within the social fabric itself.