What do you know exactly about what has happened?
- What is obvious is that it is highly explosive material that has caused this. Now they are investigating to find out how this happened. At first there was talk of a fireworks store, but it seems to be depreciated now and there is talk of thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate. It is a highly explosive substance and must have been stored next to fuel depots. Although fuel depots are difficult to ignite, experts say it is insane to store ammonium nitrate so close.
What does this mean for a country like Lebanon that is in an economic crisis, also during the corona pandemic?
- This is devastating for Lebanon. This summer, even before this, was not like anyone else. People were already incredibly upset about the situation in the country. You have an economy that was in free fall even before the corona crisis with a currency that has lost 80 percent of its value. The whole middle class became poor overnight. There has been a shortage of bread and wheat here and one thing many people talk about is that a large wheat warehouse had just arrived at the port.
The devastation after the explosion is enormous, how will the reconstruction of the city take place?
- The port is centrally located in the heart of Beirut, in an area that has still not been built up after the 15-year civil war. The big question now is how Lebanon will be able to stand up and get back on its feet after what happened. The explosion has leveled the port area and this is where Lebanon is supplied with food. This country imports 80 percent of its food so it is an urgent matter.