Bearta Al-Chacar Powell Photographs

Title

Subject

Photographs

Description

Biographical/Historical Note

Bearta Al-Chacar Powell was born in Ma’asser El Chouf, Lebanon to Ramiz Al-Shakar and Isabelle Maalouf, the fourth of their five children. When Bearta was five years old, both of her parents passed away and an uncle brought the children to the Children’s Village S.O.S. orphanage in Bikfaya, Lebanon. The siblings lived at the orphanage from 1971 until 1985. During this period, many members of Bearta's extended family died in the Lebanese Civil War. When Bearta turned 18, one of her older brothers, who had married a missionary and immigrated to the United States, helped her and their youngest sister, Nina, immigrate to Henderson, North Carolina.

Bearta attended Vance Granville Community College and then North Carolina State University, where she studied Business Management. Bearta married in 1990 and supported her husband while he completed his doctorate. In 1996, the couple began a family, and Bearta left work to raise her children. She has since become an author, and has produced two books: a memoir about her childhood, The Orphans of War, and Authentic Lebanese Cuisine: From Our Homes to Yours.

Scope/Content Note

This collection contains the transcript of an oral history of Bearta Al-Chacar Powell conducted by Dr. Akram Khater as well as photographs from Bearta's childhood in Lebanon.

Source

Bearta Al-Chacar Powell

Publisher

Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies

Date

1971-2003, undated

Contributor

Processed by Khayrallah Center staff. Collection Guide content contributed by Claire A. Kempa and updated by Allison Hall, 2023 November.

Rights

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.