The following series and the accompanying text are from Tomas Stargardter, a Nicaragua-based photojournalist. I was particularly drawn to his write-up which details the somewhat absurd dance that takes place at these protests and the odd position of the photojournalist within it. Stargardter has also posted some information about this series on his blog. But the full series and his story follow this jump.

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Cristina De Middel has posted the following series on Syrian propaganda in support of Lebanon during the Israeli invasion earlier this year. Lebanon, as Middel notes, has found itself a victim of both neighbors.

Syria has been traditionally placed on target of international suspicions. Assad´s government support to Hezbollah is largely blessed by a population that does not hesitate showing moral and economic backing to the militia. The streets of Damascus, literally walpapered with official propaganda, became a graphic example of this feeling of solidarity with what they called their “lebanese brothers” during the last conflict and the weeks that followed the cease-fire. However relationships between Syria and Lebanon cannot exactly be resumed in terms of simpathy which is probably the reason why communications between their capitals was hence placed as a concrete target for Israeli bombing. While in Damascus people were actively showing and cheering their brotherhood with Lebanese refugees, some voices from Beirut replied: “Now it´s Israel, but before it was Syria” aluding to the 30 year military occupation of the country. None the less, the truth is that for one month Syria became a double-sided host country. While Iraqis kept on flowing through the border and finding in Syria the medical support that Iraq is no longer capable of providing, a new gash on the west border was squeezing thousands of Lebanese refugees into a country almost collapsed and with few NGO's there to help deal with the situation.

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