Samir Kassir is widely regarded as a prominent figure of Arab intellectual, cultural, and liberation movements, not only within Lebanon, but across the Arab world. 20 years ago the leftist intellectual was targeted by the Assad regime in a car bomb without any consideration for geographical, cultural or political link
On the 20th anniversary of his assassination, Samir Kassir’s legacy was honored through art and memory.
To mark two decades since the assassination of Lebanese journalist and historian Samir Kassir, the Samir Kassir Foundation announced a powerful tribute as part of the 17th edition of the Beirut Spring Festival.
Running from June 1 to 8, 2025, the event will feature an open-air art installation titled “Declaration of the Dream” by Lebanese artist Roy Dib.
The installation will be displayed in Samir Kassir Square in downtown Beirut, the symbolic site that bears his name and has long served as a gathering space for protest, expression, and remembrance.
This year’s edition carries particular emotional and symbolic weight. In addition to commemorating Kassir’s life and legacy, the festival also honors two important figures in Lebanese cultural and media life whose recent passing left a significant void: acclaimed novelist Elias Khoury and pioneering journalist Gizelle Khoury.
Despite their absence, the foundation emphasizes that their impact continues to shine through their words and work.
At the heart of Dib’s installation is “Declaration of the Dream”, a poignant text written by Kassir in 2004, during one of Lebanon’s darkest periods of political repression.
The piece is now reimagined through contemporary artistic expression, stands as a living example to Kassir’s vision. It offers an open invitation to dream and to reimagine political and social possibilities in a country still grappling with the legacies of authoritarianism, censorship, and violence.
Through this installation and wider programming, the Samir Kassir Foundation reinforces its mission: to preserve the memory of a man who believed in the transformative power of words, and to inspire a future rooted in freedom, justice, and democratic ideals.
“When the Arab spring begins in Beirut, it heralds the blooming of roses in Damascus” a famous quote said by Samir Kassir captures the belief that the spirit of the Arab Spring, born in Tunisia and spreading across the region would one day arrive in Syria.
These roses symbolize the hope for peace and transformation, suggesting that even in the heart of a repressive regime, change could take root and flourish.
Samir Kassir was not only a martyr for free expression, but also for the greater Arab dream, a dream of a free homeland, and a democratic society.
Twenty years after journalist Samir Kassir was killed by a car bombing, his murder remains unpunished. The impunity surrounding Kassir’s and other journalists’ killings in Lebanon must end immediately,” said CPJ Levant Program Coordinator Doja Daoud.
Samir Kassir was killed by a car bomb in Beirut on June 2, 2005, in what was widely seen as a targeted political assassination during the height of the anti-Syrian uprising.
“Twenty years have passed since his assassination, yet Samir’s presence was never extinguished,” said an Arabic literature teacher, Reem Abdelkhalek to NOW.
“He wrote with the ink of courage, faced tyranny with his pen, not a gun and believed that freedom is not a luxury, but a condition of existence.” Reem explained.
On Sunday evening, the Samir Kassir Foundation officially launched the 17th edition of the Beirut Spring Festival with a special tribute to Kassir, as well as to the late journalist Gizelle Khoury and renowned novelist Elias Khoury.
The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of a public art installation inspired by Kassir’s 2004 article “Declaration of the Dream”, published in An-Nahar.
The installation stands not only as a tribute to the past but as a call to reawaken Beirut’s capacity to dream, even in the face of despair and uncertainty.
The event drew a notable crowd to Samir Kassir Square, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a longtime friend of Kassir, accompanied by his wife, journalist Sahar Baassiri.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam commemorated the 20th anniversary of the assassination of journalist and intellectual Samir Kassir, emphasizing that while Kassir’s body was silenced, his words have endured.
On this day twenty years ago, they succeeded in assassinating Samir Kassir’s body, but his voice remains alive,” Salam said in a statement. “Today, I recall his voice, his thought, and his pen, he who championed freedom and democracy in the face of tyranny and foreign tutelage. He wrote with the courage of someone who knew that truth does not compromise.”
Salam also reflected on Kassir’s legacy in shaping Beirut’s cultural and political landscape. “On your anniversary, I tell you that your words in The History of Beirut and about its people continue to guard our city,” he said. “And the jasmine of Damascus, which you so loved, is still fragrant.”
Turning to Palestine, a cause Kassir was deeply passionate about, Salam added: “Palestine, which you adored, continues to bleed, from Gaza to Jenin. But hope grows every day with the hundreds of thousands who fill capitals around the world, raising its flag.”
Rodayna Raydan is a Lebanese-British journalist. You can follow her on Twitter @Rodayna_462
The views in this story reflect those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of NOW.
