August 5, 2020, Beirut -- Beirut was left shaken on August 4, after multiple explosions took place near its port. The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity to Lebanese people during this time of tragedy.

The double explosion took place in Beirut port’s 12th zone, where "highly explosive" substances were kept. Following the explosions, Beirut was declared a 'Disaster area', and a two-week state of emergency was announced, along with a three-day national mourning period.

According to the Red Cross, as of the publication of this statement, the explosion claimed the lives of at least 100 people and wounded more than 4,000. Among the injured were five women journalists and many more who permanently lost their homes. 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the explosion was caused by 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been held in the port area for six years without adequate security measures. Prime Minister Hasan Diab said that the authorities have been warning the management of the port since 2014 and an investigation will be initiated against those responsible. Additionally, mayor of Beirut Mervan Abbud said that “such a disaster was never seen in the city”, while comparing it with Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The blast had the most harmful impact over an area of 8.5 km, in Hamra which is the heart of trade in Beirut. Hamra inhabits nearly one million people. Additionally, according to former BBC correspondent Emilia Papadopoulos, the blast was felt even in Limassol, Cyprus. Many offices of newsrooms were also damaged during the explosion, which had the effect of an earthquake.

Beirut residents woke up to disastrous scenes, CFWIJ member and journalist Luna Safwan pointed out the devastating aftermath of the explosions in a tweet.

Lebanon has been experiencing political turmoil in the past year with street demonstrations against the government's handling of the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The economic crisis led to food shortages and lack of medical supplies along with daily power cuts. Additionally, the Covid-19 outbreak worsened the state of hospitals in Beirut, which were already struggling. The explosion is the latest hit on the country’s economy and healthcare. With the ongoing healthcare crisis in Lebanon it was hard for the injured to get immediate care.

Political tension and civil war threats pushed many Lebanese to immigrate in the past decade. The diaspora seems to be deeply affected by the latest events with feelings of impotence. 

CFWIJ spoke to Sarah Boukhary, Middle East & North Africa Advocacy Coordinator at Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, who now lives in Geneva, Switzerland. 

With feelings of despair, Sarah shared cold hard facts on the aftermath of the deadly explosions.

“- More than 100 dead, 5000 wounded, and dozens of missing persons.

 - Wheat stocks for 6 months were burned.

- Stocks of medicines for debilitating diseases in Karantina are destroyed.

 - Beirut Port is completely destroyed and will remain closed for several months, which implies difficulty in importing, and consequently, inflation in the markets. 

 - Hundreds of buildings were damaged or destroyed.

- The Wardieh Hospital, Al-Rum and Geitawi, are now damaged and dysfunctional and the health system could collapse.

- Financial losses of hundreds of millions of dollars.

In short, Beirut is devastated and traumatized.”

During the interview, Sarah added the following chilling statements: “I keep wishing that this is just an apocalyptic nightmare that I will wake up from. My system has not been able to process the gravity of what happened – and maybe it shouldn’t. 

I am fed up with this idealistic narrative of the Lebanese being as persevering as a phoenix that somehow always manages to rise again and again from the wreckage. We do not symbolize a phoenix and do not want to be one; we only demand to live in peace and have our rights fulfilled. That is really not too much to ask. 

What happened yesterday is an unfathomable tragedy that nobody should ever go through. It is not an unfortunate event, nor is it destined to happen. It is the result of corruption, recklessness, and incompetence of the same criminal ruling elite that has been in power for so many decades. 

This tragedy is coming to massively strike a barely-surviving country and nation. This massive blast just took away the lives of hundreds and injured thousands; it came and destroyed entire buildings, neighborhoods, districts and wiped away memories. But most of all, it destroyed the final traces of hope in a devastated nation. The decades-long rampant corruption has deprived us of access to basic services, mainly electricity, water, and health. 

This tragedy has come to blow the last bit of energy left for a nation that’s been bearing the brunt of an indescribable economic crisis that forced millions in Lebanon into poverty with barely any purchase power. Their savings of years-long hard work disappeared from their bank accounts, no money to survive in their homeland, but no money either to be able to escape. Hospitals are just overwhelmed and they have already been grappling with ever-increasing coronavirus patients. Words can no longer do justice to the suffering of everyone living in Lebanon.”

Young Lebanese in diaspora are holding the political elite responsible for the country’s current state and are asking for politicians to act with liability. 

In a touching update, Nadim Houry of Arab Reform Initiative in Paris commented.

“To be honest, I am not ok. I am not able to comprehend the scale of the tragedy. The neighborhood where I lived while we were in Beirut – the neighborhood that is the backdrop to all my memories, from happy evenings to the birth of my daughters - has been wiped out. Anger does not begin to describe my feelings. There is a violent yearning in me to hold someone responsible for what happened. It cannot just be. I am finding it hard to accept it. 

It is not ok that I am 42 and every couple of years I have to call family and friends in panic to know if they are ok. No, it is not ok. It is not ok that my elderly relatives have to live through this again and again. Clean the rubble. Rebuild. Count their losses and carry on and feel thankful because they are alive. It is not ok. People are exhausted. 

What to do. We stick together. We find the missing. We bury the dead. We can rebuild. We have no other choice. But things have to change. I am not sure how we will get there. but if there is one conviction, one certainty in my foggy angry mind this morning, is that it has to change. 

We can rebuild it. Differently.”

CFWIJ is thankful to receive crucial updates and reporting on the ground by women journalists in Beirut. They make sure that the city's voice reaches the world. We would like to send our thoughts and wishes to the five women journalists who were injured because of the explosions. Leila Molana-Allen, Sarah El Deeb, Anchal Vohra, Vivian Yee and Hwaida Saad all sustained different degrees of injuries while they were in their homes. We also stand with the people of Lebanon in this tragic time and mourn their loss.