Beirut, yet another blow for Lebanon
Hundreds of dead, thousands more wounded, many more left homeless, hospitals at breaking point. Sunrise in Beirut, this morning, brought yet more horror. The city awoke to new wounds, already brought to its knees by the economic crisis, the pandemic and the constant struggles of a country which cannot find peace.
“Yesterday’s disaster is yet another terrible blow for Lebanon which is already in an extremely difficult situation. Protests began in October 2019, then we had the Covid-19 crisis which has had a massive impact on the whole socio-economic situation and healthcare system and this is yet another fatal wound to this already terminally-ill country.”
David Ruggini, UPP’s head of office in Beirut made this statement this morning during an interview with Radio Onda d’Urto, in relation to the disastrous event which took place yesterday afternoon, August 4th, in the Lebanese capital.
The causes of the disaster are still not clear. What is known so far is that a fire broke out in a fireworks factory near the port, which then triggered the explosion in a warehouse containing 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate. Which should not have been stored there, and which triggered an incredibly powerful blast, devastating entire neighbourhoods in the city. There are already hundreds of confirmed deaths, but there are also many people who have not been accounted for: tragically, victim numbers will probably rise.
David, like the rest of our Italian staff, left Lebanon as soon as the lockdown was announced in March. Our offices were evacuated and our team continued their work remotely, staying in constant contact with our long-standing local partners, including the members of the Fighter For Peace group, and the female basketball team from the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp. David spoke to them about yesterday’s disaster.
“We were working in the office when the explosion happened, it felt like an earthquake and suddenly all the windows exploded on top of us,” says Nour, the Beirut coordinator for Fighter For Peace.
“We managed to escape, thankfully, with very few injuries. We all began trying to contact our families to make sure everybody was OK. As we didn’t know what had happened, we thought a war was starting. People were running through the streets, in a state of panic, because nobody knew what had just happened. We decided to stay in our office, just in case there were other explosions. Here in Lebanon we are used to this kind of situation: bombs and wars. We know that being out on the street is dangerous and it is best to stay indoors. The blast was heard throughout Lebanon, even in Saida and the villages in the south. Luckily we are all OK and none of us were badly wounded. But we are still in shock.”
War: that was also the first thought of Majdi, who coaches the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp women’s basketball team. Because in recent decades, Lebanon has been through plenty of tough times. So people are well aware that when there is an explosion, there could be more to follow.
“I was getting some fresh air on the roof of my house when everything started to shake. I thought it was an earthquake,” says Majdi. “ But then there was a tornado and a really loud noise. I saw planes in the sky and thought it was bomb attack. People were in the street holding their children, all terrified.” We have been through so much here, but they were the scariest moments of my life.”
Yesterday’s disaster compounds the country’s already tragic situation. “The Lebanese economy is collapsing, Lebanon already relies on imports for almost 80% of its food and fuel requirements, and the dollar crisis brought the economy to its knees,” explains David.
Over the last few days, some hospitals could only admit real emergency patients because they just don’t have enough equipment. “And now that the airports are open again, infection rates are rising and it will be even harder to cope with the pandemic.”
That is why in July we took the decision to use the first funds we received from our generous supporters to help the families who were suffering the impact of this crisis, including the Palestinians living in refugee camps where we have been active for decades, which are in desperate need of hygiene kits and protective equipment.
Today we embrace the people of Lebanon, our local partners with whom we work every single day, our NGO colleagues on the ground, and all the families involved in our Child Sponsorship Programme.
To all these men and women we send our very best wishes, our solidarity and a supportive embrace.