12 members of the Earth Listening Circles of the Deep Adaptation Forum visited places local to them and did an Earth Exchange, as part of a global collaboration to listen to wounded places.

Nadine Saidi and I went to a young regrowth forest where there were battles between the Druze Progressive Socialist Party and Christian Lebanese Forces militia of Mount Lebanon in 1982 and 1983. The war was called “The Mountain War”. and the village we live in is notorious for the men that fought this war, one of many fought between the Druze and Christians of Mount Lebanon. The ripples are definitely felt almost everyday in the village.
We walked to a cross road that called us and received the following messages:

During the conflict, movement and growth in the forest slowed down significantly. The Pine Trees almost froze and a certain Pine species disappeared from this particular area of the mountain (although it is found elsewhere). The forest was curious/confused about the ways in which humans dealt with conflict, and there was a deep sense of betrayal by humans. This forest felt like humans broke that law and hurt their kin deeply.

At the cross-roads, the forest, as a witness to the conflict, noticed how confused humans were at this particular crossroads. They felt many were reluctant to fight and some humans were, like them, witnesses and impartial.

Not so long ago (after almost 30 years), the forest started to move again, and trust. The forest told us that they were a species of survivalists. Not all trees species are like this. Some trees on the mountain are innately creationists and care very deeply about beauty. These trees left. no one protected them.