Harissat Al Istiqlal (The Guardian of the Independence) DVD has just been released in the Market, Virgin Megastores precisely.
This two hour documentary, on which Ricardo Karam have worked for a whole year between Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, Geneva, Paris, London, New York and Washington DC, pertains to the unique Alia El Solh, God bless her soul. Alia started a long career of advocacy, writing about and influencing Lebanon's political life from the campus of the American University of Beirut in the early 1950s. On campus, she was known for leading demonstrations for women's rights, and she wrote extensively about Lebanese and Arab causes for a variety of publications. When the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War entered its eighth year, El Solh left Beirut to settle in Paris. She was known for publicly criticizing the Syrian presence in Lebanon at a time when most Lebanese politicians feared to air any disagreement with the regime in Damascus. When in 1976, she told Yasser Arafat that the road to Jerusalem did not pass through Sabra and Shatila, her sharp remark drew the famous retort: "The road to Jerusalem passes through Jounieh". On April 26th of the year 2007, she died of a heart attack a few days after checking in to the American Hospital of Paris.