The New York Times - USA (2020-08-06)

A12 Y THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020

Explosion in Beirut

the port had been. Beirut’s gover-
nor said the damage extended
over half of the city, estimating it
at $3 billion.
Rescue workers struggled to
treat the thousands of wounded
with few resources and several
hospitals knocked out of commis-
sion. “We need everything to hos-
pitalize the victims, and there is
an acute shortage of everything,”
said Hamad Hassan, the health
minister.
No neighborhood was spared.
While the damage was greatest
along the Mediterranean water-
front and in the residential dis-
tricts near the port, the shock
waves also blew out windows
miles away in the hills above
Beirut.
Near the city center, the walls of
windows on the city’s landmark
hotels had been shattered, their
curtains left to blow in the wind. In
the downtown quarter rebuilt af-
ter Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, a
proud symbol of the country’s rise
from the ashes, high-end bou-
tiques and posh restaurants had
collapsed inward, littered with
their own debris.
Gemmayzeh, an upscale Chris-
tian neighborhood known in bet-
ter times for its historic buildings,
abundant churches and rowdy
nightlife, resembled a war zone.
Cars with smashed windshields
lined the curbs. Branches torn
from trees blocked roads. Every-
where, it seemed, residents were
cleaning glass, rubble and blood
from shops, homes and balconies.
But with the country already
deep in the throes of a major eco-
nomic crisis, residents had no idea
how they would afford to rebuild.
Roger Matar, 42, said his fam-
ily’s apartment doors and win-
dows were blown in, scattering
window frames on beds and glass
across the floors and couches. He
had heard a boom, he said, then
suddenly “everything was shak-
ing and all the doors and windows
were gone.”
Because of the financial crisis,
banks have placed strict limits on
cash withdrawals to prevent runs.
“The banks are holding our
money, and if you need to pay
workers, you need cash,” Mr.
Matar said. “It should be the gov-
ernment that helps, but they are
bankrupt. The country is broken.”
After its civil war ended in 1990,
Lebanon aimed to rebuild itself as
a cultural and financial hub in the
Middle East, a Switzerland on the
Med with skilled bankers, trilin-
gual professionals and dance
clubs that raged till dawn. But for-
mer warlords became power-bro-
kers in its weak sectarian democ-
racy, which divided power — and
spoils — among the nation’s 18
recognized religious sects.
The system led to chronic politi-
cal deadlock and widespread cor-
ruption, as well as shoddy infra-
structure and massive govern-
ment debt, now roughly 160 per-
cent of the gross domestic
product.
Public dissatisfaction boiled
over late last year, when pro-
testers took to the streets calling
for the ouster of the political class.
The protests toppled the prime
minister, but Lebanon’s troubles
only grew worse. Since then, the
currency has lost 80 percent of its
value, unemployment has spiked
and prices have skyrocketed.
Lockdowns aimed at slowing the
spread of the coronavirus have
further damaged the economy.
Few Lebanese have faith that
the government will help them or
get to the bottom of the explosion.
And new details about how such
a large quantity of potentially ex-
plosive chemicals ended up un-
protected near the city’s down-
town and several residential
neighborhoods seemed only to
highlight the government dys-

function Lebanese have long com-

plained of.

The ship carrying the chemicals

was en route to Mozambique

when it was detained in Beirut. A

Lebanese court impounded the

cargo, so the ammonium nitrate

was transferred to a port hangar.

Over the next six years, port of-

ficials repeatedly asked the judge

to find a way to get rid of the chem-

icals. In a 2016 letter, they cited

“the serious danger posed by

keeping this shipment in the

warehouses in an inappropriate

climate” and asked that it be dealt

with “to preserve the safety of the

port and its workers.”

The port’s director, Hassan Ko-

raytem, said that port officials

were told the materials would be

auctioned off, but the auction

never happened and the judiciary

ignored the port authority’s let-

ters.

He said he was unaware of the

power of the chemicals so the port

took no special precautions to pro-

tect them.

“Now we are living a national

catastrophe,” he said. “There is no

more port.”

Judicial officials could not be

reached for comment.

The blast struck particularly

heavy blows against the very hos-

pitals Beirut needs to recover

from it. At least two were so dam-

aged in the explosion that they

shut their doors, with no clear sign

of when they would reopen.

At Rosary Hospital, a small

Catholic hospital near the port,

the explosion had tossed patients

from their beds, killed a nurse and

broken the legs of the nurse who

ran the operating room, said Dr.

Joseph Elias, the head of the cardi-

ology department.

He estimated the damage at

more than $5 million.

“All the elevators are broken, all

the respirators, all the monitors,

all the doors — everything is de-

stroyed,” he said. “It is just the

walls of the hospital that are still

here.”

Like Beirut’s residents, the hos-

pital expected no help from the

government.

“We aren’t expecting any sup-

port because there is no state,”

said Tony Toufic, a hospital engi-

neer.

Saint George Hospital Univer-

sity Medical Center, which had

been open for more than a cen-

tury, including throughout the civ-

il war, also shut down.

Four of its nurses and at least 13

patients were killed in the blast,

said Dr. Alexandre Nehme, the

chief medical officer. Everyone

else had to be evacuated in the

dark because the electricity was

cut off, while new patients

wounded in the blast were arriv-

ing and hoping for treatment.

“This is as bad as Sept. 11,” said

Dr. Raja Ashou, head of radiology.

“For us, it is like that.”

For many, the anger they felt

was more acute because the coun-

try’s latest catastrophe had been

not caused by a historic foe but

was self-inflicted.

“I wish it had been an Israeli ex-

plosion and not silly neglect from

our leaders,” said Dr. Dominique

Daou. “It would be much easier,

not being hit from inside your

home.”

Lebanon’s pre-existing troubles

will hamper its ability to recover

from the explosion. Even people

with money will struggle to re-

build their homes and restart

businesses if they can’t get that

money out of the bank.

“As you can see, my shop is

barely standing,” said Iman Ha-

shem, standing amid shattered

glass in a coffee shop that bears

her name.

She had not renewed her insur-

ance because her bank had barred

her from transferring money, and

business had nearly ground to a

halt as the economy tanked. Then

the blast hit.

“Now it’s all gone. The money in

the till got stolen,” she said.

“Where am I to begin to rebuild

now?”

Leaders Were Aware

Of Danger for Years.

They Failed to Act.

From Page A

HASSAN AMMAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS HASSAN AMMAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS

PATRICK BAZ/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

HUSSEIN MALLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clockwise from left, an

army helicopter dropped

water, a man was pulled

from the rubble, and

cleanup efforts were un-

derway. Beirut’s governor

estimated the damage at

$3 billion and said it ex-

tended over half of the city.

■The Lebanese Red Cross is

the main provider of ambulance

services in Lebanon and said it

would dispatch more

ambulances to Beirut to treat

the wounded and help in

search-and-rescue operations.

http://www.supportlrc.app/donate

■Impact Lebanon, a nonprofit

organization, has set up a

crowdfunding campaign to help

organizations on the ground,

and is helping to share

information about people still

missing after the explosion. The

group had raised over $3 million

as of Wednesday and donated

the first $100,000 to the

Lebanese Red Cross.

http://www.justgiving.com/

crowdfunding/lebanon-relief

■Over 300,000 people in

Beirut were displaced from their

homes by the explosion. Baytna

Baytak, a charity that provided

free housing to health care

workers during the pandemic, is

raising funds with Impact

Lebanon to shelter those who

have been displaced.

http://www.justgiving.com/

crowdfunding/impact-lebanon

How to Help Lebanon

For those looking for ways to give support, several organizations

have mobilized in the region. ELIAN PELTIER

Lebanese soldiers, top, searched on Wednesday for survivors of an explosion a day earlier at the port of Beirut. An apartment in the

Gemmayzeh neighborhood, above, was among many homes left in ruins. Residents said they had no idea how they would rebuild.

Hwaida Saad contributed report-
ing from Beirut, and Declan Walsh
from Cairo.

‘We aren’t expecting

any support because

there is no state.’

TONY TOUFIC,

AN ENGINEER AT ROSARY

HOSPITAL, WHERE A NURSE

WAS KILLED AND PATIENTS

WERE TOSSED FROM BEDS