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National Geographic Photographer Goes Inside Hezbollah

Aug 6th, 2006 | By | Category: Podcast Quickies

Inside HezbollahThe latest episode of the National Geographic Podcast takes a look inside Hezbollah.Hezbollah means “party of God” in Arabic. But in the West the name Hezbollah has become synonymous with terror, suicide bombings, and kidnappings. Hezbollah was formed in the early 1980s in Lebanon under the backing of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini. It has since evolved into a movement with hundreds of trained guerrilla fighters and thousands of reserves.

National Geographic photographer Alexandra Avakian has captured images of conflict in the Middle East for nearly 20 years. She is the first Western photojournalist to gain access to Hezbollah in five years (see some of Avakian’s photos of Hezbollah).

National Geographic News podcast host Patty Kim recently spoke with Avakian about her experience (MP3) documenting the lives of Hezbollah members.

“They’re part of the fabric of not only Lebanon, but the Middle East,” said Avakian. “It’s always important to understand extreme groups, and they are [an important] Islamic guerrilla‚Äîand political and social‚Äîgroup. “

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