A year after the disaster of the Beirut port explosion

The Lebanese did not wake up from their sadness and anger, amid escalating crises

• They shoot paper lanterns on the night of the painful remembrance.

  EPA

• A figurine symbolizing the hammer of justice was installed near the site of the explosion.

  Reuters

• The destroyed port still bears witness to the horror of the disaster.

  Reuters

• The wreckage is still in place, bearing witness to the horror of the disaster.

  EPA

• Some of the buildings that stopped working after the port explosion, were hung with banners reading “Hostages of a murderous state,” “Your end and our beginning begins here” on the one-year anniversary of the disaster.

  Reuters

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Yesterday, the Lebanese commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Beirut port explosion, which killed more than 200 people, destroyed neighborhoods in the city, and exacerbated an economic collapse that ravaged the country, calling for justice and criticizing the lack of accountability for those responsible for the disaster.

Simultaneously, donor countries are holding, via video technology, at the invitation of France, and under the auspices of the United Nations, their third conference since the "For Lebanon" explosion, during which they hope to raise $350 million.

Opposition parties and activist groups established during the 2019 protests against the ruling class called for demonstrations in several areas of Beirut, under the slogan "Justice Now."

On the fourth of August 2020, a fire broke out in the port of Beirut, followed by a huge explosion at six o’clock and a few minutes later, whose echoes reached the island of Cyprus, and caused huge destruction in the port and neighborhoods in its surroundings, and its damage affected most of the city and its suburbs.

The explosion was caused by huge amounts of ammonium nitrate that have been stored since 2014 in hold No. 12 in the port without any protective measures.

It turned out that employees, political officials, and security and military agencies were aware of the dangers of storing them and did nothing.

The explosion killed at least 214 people, including employees in the port, wheat granaries, and members of a fire brigade who were trying to put out the fire.

Many families buried mere remains of their children.

I still remember

"I still remember everything I saw on that day," Geoffrey Shartouni, a 32-year-old employee of the ruined Beirut grottoes, who lost a number of his colleagues, told AFP. (My colleagues) leaving after the fire broke out.”

"We ask ourselves every day, why were they killed?" added the young man, whose facade was smashed in a Beirut suburb.

We are still waiting for the officials who have been stealing the country for years to be held accountable.”

In a country that has witnessed during the past 20 years assassinations and bombings, none of which was revealed, except rarely, and none of the perpetrators were held accountable, the Lebanese are still waiting for answers to determine the responsibilities and the spark that led to the occurrence of one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world.

The authorities declared Wednesday a day of mourning, but neither official nor any official participated in any of the movements organized to commemorate the anniversary.

The families of the victims called for marches that started at half past three, local time, towards the port, where Islamic and Christian prayers were recited.

At six and seven minutes, that is, the moment of the explosion, the names of the victims were read out.

There were also demonstrations called by opposition parties, groups, lawyers and doctors, all of whom met near the port before heading to Parliament.

On Monday, the families of the victims set a 30-hour deadline for officials to lift the immunities of officials summoned by the investigative judge, Tariq Bitar, to appear before the judiciary.

"Our wounds are awake"

While lighting candles in the Gemmayzeh area, on Tuesday evening, Mervat Bakour, with tears running down her cheeks, told AFP: "All our wounds have woken up again, not just a year's wounds, but all that we have gone through (..) and all that we have lost" in this. Country.

She adds, "I still do not understand that we lost all these lives... and how we have to come to the right of every person."

"I think of the people who are tormented, and I can't imagine what they feel... I am a mother and I remember my fear for my daughter and what might have happened to her at the moment the explosion erupted," she said.

On social media, for weeks, users posted calls for mobilization to participate in gatherings and demonstrations on Wednesday (yesterday), with various slogans and hashtags: "We are all victims, all are responsible", "Lift immunities now", "We will not forget."

Judicial sources confirmed to AFP that the bulk of the investigation has ended.

About five months after receiving the file after a former judge stepped down due to political pressure, Judge Tariq Bitar announced last month his intention to interrogate the caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, as a defendant, and sent a letter to Parliament requesting the lifting of immunity from three MPs who held ministerial positions, and he also requested permission. He pursued the leaders of the security services, and claimed the former army chief, but the political immunities and permissions stand today as an obstacle to him.

Initial reports prepared by a security apparatus immediately after the explosion showed that tons of ammonium nitrate were stored along with flammable and explosive materials, such as barrels of methanol and oils, tons of firecrackers, and a fuse.

Violation of the right to life

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch accused the authorities of violating the right to life and the crime of negligence, after it showed in a special investigation the failure of political and security officials to follow up on the case of the ammonium nitrate shipment.

Amnesty International also accused the authorities of "brazenly" obstructing the investigation.

Collapse

The disaster of the explosion and the outbreak of the Corona virus before it deepened the economic collapse that Lebanon has been witnessing since the summer of 2019, and the World Bank has ranked it among the worst in the world since the mid-19th century.

More than half of the Lebanese people are below the poverty line, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value against the dollar, while the prices of basic materials have increased by more than 700%.

The international conference aims to secure more than 350 million dollars to respond to the needs of the population, according to what the French presidency announced.

Several countries will participate, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United States.

Since the port explosion, the international community has been providing direct humanitarian aid to the Lebanese, without going through state institutions accused of corruption and waste, while requiring the formation of a government that undertakes radical reforms to provide material support that helps get Lebanon out of its economic crisis.

However, despite successive crises and international pressures, Lebanese officials have failed to reach an agreement that would allow the formation of a government since the resignation of Diab's government following the explosion, which is still carrying out business duties.

About five months after receiving the file after a former judge stepped down due to political pressure, Tariq Bitar announced, last month, his intention to interrogate the caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, as a defendant, and sent a letter to Parliament requesting the lifting of immunity from three MPs who held ministerial positions, as requested Permission to prosecute leaders of security services, and he claimed the former army chief, but political immunities and permissions today stand in his way.

• In a country that witnessed during the past 20 years assassinations and bombings that were rarely disclosed, and none of the perpetrators were held accountable, the Lebanese are still waiting for answers to determine the responsibilities.

• More than half of the Lebanese have become below the poverty line, and the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value against the dollar, while the prices of basic materials have increased by more than 700%.

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