A little more than two months after the double explosion of the port of Beirut, which left nearly 200 dead and more than 6,500 injured and disfigured several districts of the Lebanese capital, the wounds are still alive in the affected sectors.

Within a radius of 2 kilometers around the port, economic heart of the country of the Cedars, the vast majority of buildings still show the scars of the disaster, which some Lebanese qualify as "Beirutshima", in reference to the atomic bomb that destroyed the city Japanese Hiroshima in 1945.

Located near the epicenter of the explosions of August 4, the districts of Mar Mikhaël and Gemmayzé, very frequented cultural and festive hearts of Beirut, are timidly trying to come to their senses.

While a few traders and bars have been able to reopen their doors, the faces of passers-by strolling through the streets are marked.

Seated on white plastic chairs, sheltered from the overwhelming heat of the sun, gendarmes deployed at strategic crossings stand guard to dissuade looters from venturing into homes left vacant while they are being rehabilitated.

"We stay"

The usual din of traffic and the concerts of horns are competed with the incessant noises of repair work emanating from both sides of the alleys of these two districts.

Symbols of Lebanese architectural heritage, 640 historic buildings have been affected there, 60 of which are in danger of collapsing, according to the general directorate of antiquities of the Ministry of Culture.

At least 8,000 buildings were damaged on August 4, most of them in the districts of Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhaël, according to an assessment conducted by the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture.

© Marc Daou, France 24

Some onlookers stop to photograph the rubble of the few collapsed buildings and inspect the strength of the consolidation scaffolding that adorns several traditional buildings, whose brick roofs and arcaded facades have been torn.

More recent constructions, having survived the Lebanon War (1975-1990) but none of which escaped the double explosion, seem to have held up better.

Even if the panes of their windows have been replaced by translucent nylon panels.

Large banners crossed out with a "We are staying" ("we are staying"), in English and Arabic, were hung on certain facades, at the address of a hated political class and possible real estate developers in search good business.

"I cry so much that I feel my heart will burst"

You have to go inside the homes to better understand the extent of the damage in the area.

Located in the middle of rue Gouraud in Gemmayzé, the apartment of Thérèse Habib Waked, retired, was literally blown up on August 4 and remains uninhabitable two months after the tragedy.

"I currently live in the mountains, with friends who kindly welcomed us with my brother who was seriously injured in the hands by the explosion, she confides to France 24. And every time I come home, and see what condition she is in, I cry until I feel my heart will burst. "

And to continue: "My life has changed since the explosion, I am deeply sad and I feel like an automaton, and I do not recognize my neighborhood, there is no one, everyone has left".

Thérèse Habib Waked photographed in front of the remains of her bedroom, in her apartment in Gemmayzé, Beirut.

© Marc Daou, France 24

After installing new panes on the windows, the structures of which were themselves twisted by the explosion, she hopes to return home as soon as possible.

"I don't know when I will be able to come back, I no longer have a bedroom, no more bed, no more wardrobe while everything is very expensive with the Lebanese pound crisis, she adds in a French impeccable. We have not received any compensation to repair our houses, all the work is our responsibility, but I hope everything will work out, I am a believer, I trust in God. "

The Lebanese no longer want to hear about their "legendary resilience", but, like Thérèse, they embody it more than ever.

"Many people who live in the affected areas have left until their homes are rebuilt, but they are not homeless," said a volunteer from the Red Cross, whose local branch, itself damaged, is located in the street. Fortunately for us, we have a sense of solidarity in Lebanon, even in times of economic crisis, they were welcomed by their families or their friends. "

"Mutual aid works well, there are volunteers who help residents install windows and doors, others buy food for the most needy, while the state is doing nothing for them," said he, while confiding to France 24 that international humanitarian aid "is arriving".

But "the process is taking a long time because of logistical problems".

"We have decided to declare war on what happened"

Further up rue Gouraud, a few hundred meters from Place des Martyrs, Nabil Debs, an art collector who returned to Lebanon in 2010 after a career in finance in London, is mobilizing to bring his neighborhood back to life.

Since October 2, and until October 14, the Arthaus international, the traditional family house converted into a charming hotel and cultural center, also severely affected by the explosions, is hosting an exhibition called "Beirut year zero" (Beirut year zero).

No less than 80 works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, street art ...) signed by dozens of Lebanese and Arab artists, some of which were produced in memory of the tragedy of August 4, are exhibited there.

Thirty of them will then be auctioned off in November in London with the aim of raising funds for the benefit of the Red Cross and the Lebanese artists affected.

Nabil Debs poses in front of a sculpture signed by artist Hayat Nazer, in the courtyard of the Arthaus international.

© Marc Daou, France 24

"In homage to the creative force of Beirut, we have decided to stand up and transform the anger by mounting, in one month, a collective exhibition with recognized artists, in order to raise funds for a good cause", he explains, in a resolutely optimistic voice to France 24.

"Even during the Lebanon War, we never felt so attacked in our culture and our way of being than with these explosions, deplores Nabil Debs. Two months later, we begin to accept the stress and the shock, and we decided to declare war on what happened. "

And to conclude: "We were to inaugurate our hotel on August 15th, and almost everything that was blown up, like the roof for example, was repaired, because the last thing I would do is drop everything and go. , even if I understand the young people who want to leave the country, I even encourage them, because I know that they will come back stronger ".  

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