Lebanon: relatives of victims still demanding justice after explosion in Beirut
Audio 02:34
People carrying signs and photos of family members and friends killed in the massive explosion on August 4 at the port of Beirut are gathered to demand justice.
AFP - ANWAR AMRO
By: Noé Pignède Follow
7 min
Four months ago to the day, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut, Lebanon.
An explosion 40 times greater than the Chernobyl disaster, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
According to a latest report, the tragedy would have left more than 5,000 injured.
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In a Lebanon plagued by corruption, all eyes are now on the State, accused of negligence: explosive substances had been stored without any precautions for several years, and despite numerous alerts up to the highest level of the State , nothing was done.
Our correspondent on site went to meet Mireille, a victim's mother who calls for justice.
“
There is my son with his friends.
Look how happy he was.
And there is his birthday this year.
In the cemetery… Yes.
Is that how you celebrate the birthday of a 15 year old child
?
"
With tears in her eyes, Mireille Khoury looks at the photos of her son Elias, who died in the explosion on August 4.
“
It was a day like any other, I was in my room, working.
My son came in and said, “
Mom, come see, there's a fire near the harbor.
” I told him to get away from the windows.
He returned to his room.
Afterwards, I don't remember anything.
The only thing I remember next is waking up in the rubble.
I was bleeding.
I went out and found my son on the stairs.
"
Transferred to hospital, Elias succumbed to his injuries two weeks later.
Today, while the investigation is sluggish, the Lebanese authorities promise the families of the victims financial compensation.
Mireille Khoury, she asks that the culprits be tried.
“
I don't want money.
I just want the people who were responsible and who did not do their job to be condemned.
But I do not trust the Lebanese investigation
: they said they would have results in 5 days.
It's been 4 months and we still don't know anything.
They just want to close the case.
It is the third largest non-nuclear explosion in the world.
My son was just in his bed at our house.
Can a mom take this
?
It is a crime against humanity.
"
This mother is calling for an international investigation.
An investigation without interference from Lebanese politicians.
An option still rejected by President Michel Aoun, while he himself admitted having been aware, several weeks before the explosion, of the presence in the port of Beirut of the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the origin of the drama.
Antonia Mulvey is one of the international lawyers who represents the families of victims: “
Lebanon has a long history of impunity, which dates back to the civil war.
In this business, people need to know what happened.
We cannot simply put money into reconstruction without asking ourselves the question of the origin of the tragedy.
And you know what
?
The French government has a key role to play on this point: There is a special relationship between France and Lebanon.
And France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
Therefore, she is in a position to ask the Lebanese authorities for an independent investigation, on behalf of the victims and their families.
"
Families who for many are calling for an international tribunal, so that those responsible for the explosion of August 4 have to answer for their acts before an impartial justice.
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