The Beirut blast of 2020 hit the headlines for a while five years ago. Over 200 people died in the incident, but it was soon forgotten as just another headline. Five years on though, its impact continues to this day in the lives of those who survived the terrible incident.
The blast happened on 4 August 2020 when a port warehouse packed with ammonium nitrate went up in flames. The nitrate had not been stored properly and the resulting explosion killed 217 people. Thousands more were injured and around 300,000 people were displaced from their homes
The Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been doing what it can to help the Christian survivors of the tragedy and to make their voices heard.
One woman, 78-year-old Affifeh Bachir, was away at the time of the explosion, but came back to find her home in ruins.
“When I came back, I found the house collapsed. There was only a window, nothing else. It simply wasn’t there. I used to walk and feel safe. Now, I feel like it’s not safe anymore, not like it was before the explosion," she said.
“I used to buy anything I wanted. Now I must think twice before buying fruit. Everything is expensive, and I have a hard time getting my medication.”
Another individual, 21-year-old Maroun El Khawand, said that he and his family had had a miraculous escape, as they had passed through the explosion area just an hour before the blast.
“The next day, we went down to see the situation. The whole neighbourhood in front of the port was destroyed, as if it had been razed. There were no windows, even walls had been torn down. It was devastating. Everything was gone," he said.
El Khawand said that while he and those he knew had escaped death and injury, many suffered psychologically: “A lot of people became traumatised by loud noises, such as thunder.”
“When I look back now, these five years went by in a blink of an eye. But if we fragmented each year, it would be a disaster – the coronavirus, the explosion, earthquakes, inflation, war," he said.
“But Lebanese people are strong, they like to see the bright side of things. It makes us stronger.”
Despite the litany of troubles faced by Lebanon over those five years, Bishop Jules Boutros, of the Syriac-Catholic Church, still said that the explosion was the most “shocking” event he had ever had to deal with.
“At a personal level, it was the most difficult thing that I have experienced in the past five years. It was shocking, people couldn’t believe what had happened in just a single moment," he said.
“I think our role is to be the light of our world, the light of our nations.”
