Beirut
As everyone should know by now, whether or not they are currently enjoying themselves on some sunny beach not too far from their home (see: Coronavirus), the capital of Lebanon saw two explosions ravage the center of town, starting from the harbour, on August 4th. We still don’t know how many deaths and wounded are to be deplored, but the first figures are both extremely high — and rising.
This tragedy comes at the worst possible time for Lebanon. To start with, the country has been experiencing one of the most profound social and economic crises in recent times — in the world. Rivalling Venezuela in its scope and intensity, all economic indicators have been steadily deteriorating (GDP, unemployment, inflation…), which triggered a series of massive protests across the nation. This situation is quite clearly due to poor political oversight, led by government officials who too often appear apathetic — when they are not blatantly opportunistic and/or corrupt. The underlying issue, however, is to be found elsewhere: Lebanon is one of the sorest losers (after Syria, obviously) in this Middle-Eastern geopolitical war that has been going on for decades between Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran… and Western countries. Which, sadly, makes any real change extremely difficult to implement.
Naturally, none of those factors improved in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, which hit the country like it did — and does — the rest of the world. As is always the case, the bigger and denser cities suffered the most, starting with Beirut, by far its largest hub in both population and importance. Additionally, the fact that the rest of the world has been plagued with the same disease — including the United States, whose handling stands to this day as the textbook example of what not to do — means that no significant international help could come Lebanon’s way, despite worsening living conditions and ever increasing social tensions.
And now, this: two explosions, which appear accidental, decimate the very center of Beirut, killing over a hundred (at least) and wounding thousands (at least). While this seems to be the very nail in the coffin for the city and country, let us try to focus on the positive side for a moment: as it happens, the sheer magnitude of the tragedy may (finally) cause other nations to help out. It actually started already, with France sending men and equipment to help with emergency operations on the ground, and President Macron flying in to meet with Lebanon’s top officials in order to work on longer term plans and solutions.
While any sizeable help will inevitably come with strings, and the geopolitical landscape in the region will never change overnight (at least not for the better), this may still form a lifeline preventing Lebanon from falling into (more) chaos — chaos that could arguably have been avoided all along. Here is to hoping that as much emergency help is being sent on the ground right away, and that proposals start taking shape for the future of this beautiful country.
PS. If you wish to donate, below are links shared by friends more familiar with the situation: