“We Lost Everything That Day”: Lebanon Still Struggling to Rebuild One Year After the Beirut Port Explosion | Peace

“When I got to the emergency room, there were injuries everywhere, doctors everywhere, blood everywhere. And there are shards of glass everywhere, because the hospital was also damaged, ”says Dr. Naji Hayek, who recalls August 4, 2020 as if it were today. “I examined people on the street, on the way to the hospital, like a military doctor. It was scary, scary, ”he says.

Like him, a significant part of the Lebanese population remembers the moment of the explosions, as well as relatives and friends who died as a result of the tragedy. “Everyone has lost someone. We lost everything that day, ”says militant Maraum Karam.

Along with grief, residents experience a sense of injustice. Mainly because the giant explosion was caused by a fire in a warehouse where hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate have been stored since 2014, but so far no one has been prosecuted.

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses the Lebanese authorities of criminal negligence. In a 126-page report released this week, the organization documented numerous violations by the country’s politicians and security agencies in managing this repository of hazardous materials.

“Lebanese officials were aware of the dangers posed by ammonium nitrate. Without taking any measures to protect the population, they have tacitly accepted this risk, ”Aya Majzub, one of the authors of the report, said in an interview with RFI.

“Under international law, this is a violation of the right to life. In addition, according to Lebanese law, such an attitude can be considered as murder, which can be considered voluntary, ”he emphasizes.

According to her, the inertia of the investigations is due to the fact that “the political class of Lebanon is not used to being held accountable” and that the country has a culture of impunity. “Politicians will not be prosecuted as long as the appointment of judges remains political. The government has a lot of weight in the selection of justices of the peace, ”he explains.

“In the past, we have uncovered several cases of political interference that tried to prevent the prosecution of high-ranking officials. We see the same thing now during the investigation of the explosion in the port, ”he analyzes.

On the part of the population, irritation is growing. “We want justice,” exclaims Maraum Karam, who is taking part in a protest scheduled for this Wednesday. “We are going to a peaceful demonstration that will depart from three locations to arrive at the port at 18:00. Then we go to parliament, and when we get there, I don’t know what might happen, ”he warns.

The authorities fear that the mobilization of the population will end in violence.

Reconstruction of the affected areas is progressing slowly, organized mainly by associations and with the help of the diaspora. Two days after the blast, French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Beirut and, after meeting with local politicians, tried to pressure the leaders to expedite work and investigations.

However, internal divisions blocked any intervention, as the international community asked for at least some political stability in exchange for possible assistance.

Lebanon was left without a government after the resignation of Hassan Diab and his team on August 10, 2020. President Michel Aoun has just appointed millionaire Najib Mikati as prime minister. But he is the third candidate to have tried unsuccessfully to form a government.

international mobilization

France will host a new international conference in support of Lebanon this Wednesday. The event, mediated by Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, will bring together representatives of about 40 states and international organizations via videoconference.

Among them are US President Joe Biden, Egyptian Head of State Abdel Fatah al Sissi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

The organizers plan to raise at least $ 350 million in emergency aid. “The goal is to help the people of Lebanon again,” after the first conference in August 2020, which raised € 280 million, the Elysee Palace, the residence of the President of France, announced on Monday (2).

Following the meetings on August 9, 2020 and December 2, 2020, this third international conference will only deal with emergency assistance and not the structural assistance the country needs. The latter remains a condition for the formation of a government capable of carrying out fundamental reforms.

The conference participants “will confirm the need to quickly form a government capable of implementing the structural reforms that the Lebanese are counting on,” the French president insisted. “We will continue to increase the pressure and, together with our European partners, will take more important measures if the political blockade continues,” the Elysee Palace said.