Day 132: Mourning Lebanon

Day 132: August 5, 2020
Global Cases: 18, 965, 398; Deaths: 710, 286
Egypt Cases: 94, 875; Deaths: 4, 930
Lebanon Explosion wounded: 5, 000; Deaths: 135

Malak Sekaly
Political Science Alumna and former Caravan Columnist

Lebanon is lifting itself up from the rubble, the shattered glass, and heartache following a massive explosion in Beirut on the afternoon of August 4.

I am thousands of miles away and yet still shaken to my core.

As a mushroom cloud of nitric acid flew over Beirut, the thought of my family members and friends so close to the chaos was terrifying.

Two explosions at a firecracker warehouse and a depot storing 2750 tons of the highly explosive ammonium nitrate at Beirut’s port unleashed massive havoc on the city.

I once walked the streets of Beirut every day, had its warm zaatar manouche religiously at 9am; a city I made home for so long, was in terrible pain.

It was a sight to be seen in documentaries, where a cameraman would flee the scene, ash everywhere, building blocks tumbling, and people plummeting to the earth – all while the cameraman is still recording, his camera shattered but still capturing the scene of rubble with the heartbreaking soundtrack of aching screams.

Beirut is in trouble once again.

As pictures of nitric acid engulfing Lebanon’s capital went viral, I was in a state of complete denial.

Is this Beirut 2006 – the war between Hezbollah and Israel?

Or Beirut 1975 – the civil war?

Neither.

It was Beirut today. Beirut 2020.

In the midst of a massive economic crisis, a health pandemic, and an encroaching famine, I could not believe Beirut’s center had endured such devastation.

It’s like someone looked at all the havoc unraveling and asked – what else could go wrong?

My mind was boggled. Why was there what seemed to be an atomic-like explosion in the heart of Beirut? Hasn’t Lebanon seen this before and too many times?

We have seen Beirut gravel through the sand, dragging her feet, wiping her blood, sweat and tears as she gets back up after every hit.

We’ve seen the Lebanese pick themselves up bomb after bomb, protest after protest, and war after war.

We’ve seen them dance in their basements as bombs miss their rooftops.

In just five months, we’ve seen them battle three different catastrophic events. Battling COVID-19, massive inflation, and now on-the-ground calamities – Beirut has seen it all.

What truly breaks my heart is that Lebanon is hands down the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to.

From its snowy hills that make the perfect destination for a white Christmas, to its green forests home to the beautiful cedar tree – Lebanon is truly the Middle East’s jewel.

A country that has been used, manipulated, exploited and mistreated by its own government and not to mention regimes worldwide, Lebanon has seen enough.

It’s people have endured enough.

Enough wars.
Enough bombs.
Enough assassinations.
Enough poverty.
Enough pollution.
Enough power outages.

Lebanon deserves better.