Photos: Lebanese remember Hariri, 15 years after his murder

Girls pray at the grave of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, marking the 15th anniversary of his assassination, in downtown Beirut on Friday.

People pray at Hariri's grave. Today, February 14, marks the 15 year anniversary of the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister.

Hariri is still fondly remembered. This, in a region where assasinations have become the norm, at least for the past few decades, with the war in Iraq emboldening Iran to spread its influence.

Hariri casts his vote at a polling station in Beirut on September 3, 2000. Fifteen years after his death, the modern state he had started building is in shambles, almost isolated from the international arena.

A bust of Hariri in Beirut. 'He was bigger than Lebanon', is a refrain one hears from many of his supporters and loved ones. He was seen as 'the father of the poor'.

The criminal attack on Hariri has become a point of reference in modern Lebanese history. When people talk about recent history, there is a Hariri era, and a post-assassination era.

Fifteen years on, the impact of Hariri’s brutal killing is still hurting the country, and torpedoing its growth and development. Lebanon has been gripped by anti-corruption and anti-government protests since October 17 that show no signs of abating.