In order not to forget the value of peace and all the horrors of war, it is sometimes necessary to perpetuate what once brought destruction. Just such a monument rises in a village near the Lebanese capital: a huge concrete monolith, into which dozens of tanks and cannons are poured.

All of them were once active and used in the war, and then turned into one of the strongest reminders of the grief and horrors endured by the Lebanese. And at the same time, cast into concrete and immobilized, they symbolize hope for a brighter future.

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The author of the monument “Hope for Peace” is an American artist of French origin Armand Fernandez. He nurtured this idea for a very long time and offered to create a monument in different cities, but no one agreed.

So, “Hope for Peace” could have appeared in the 1970s in French Strasbourg, and later Fernandez proposed to build it in the States and Israel. In the 1990s, the artist nevertheless found the perfect place: the village of Yarze near Beirut.

Hope for Peace

Yarze was not chosen by chance: it is in this village that the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the country is located, as well as the military museum. Now not far from them rises the creation of Fernandez. The monument appeared here in 1995, its opening was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Lebanese army, and it symbolizes the hope for peace, as, in fact, the monument is called.

To understand the full power of Fernandez’s work, you need to know at least a little bit of the history of Lebanon. The country was torn apart by a civil war for fifteen years, it ended in 1990. And after it there was a huge amount of military equipment, which the artist used.

Mountain of tanks

“Hope for Peace” is practically a home for military equipment, which seemed to be fired from powerful guns. This is a huge concrete pyramid, from all sides of which tanks, cannons, artillery installations stick out.

All of them once participated in the hostilities. Over time, the technique has rusted in places, but it is tinted in a characteristic military khaki.

There are 78 pieces of equipment here, and all of it is welded into the metal frame of the monument and partially filled with concrete. The idea of ​​this installation is very simple: it symbolizes the end of the civil war, as well as hope for a brighter future.

The immobilized technique, which has fallen silent forever, is an attempt to eradicate the original functions of all these tools. Tanks and cannons poured into concrete make you think again about how destructive war can be.