On The Anniversary of Beirut’s Explosion: Lebanese Raid The Streets Demanding Justice
The Lebanese raided the streets in protest of injustice on the first anniversary of the Beirut port explosion. Caused by the improper storing of ammonium nitrate for six years, the port explosion still has people enraged. With the death of around 214 people and the injury of 6,500, the families of the victims are still searching for justice.
People gathered in the streets of Beirut to protest against Lebanon’s elite, its politicians, officials and the government. The widespread demonstrations against Lebanese officials come with the aim of bringing attention to the forgotten port explosion investigation, and how until now, a year later, no one has been held accountable for the explosion or the deaths and injuries it resulted in.
“There is no doubt that the 4 August explosion was allowed to happen due to the sheer corruption, mismanagement, and incompetence in Beirut’s port as well as within the Lebanese institutions,” Aya Majzoub, a Lebanese researcher at Human Rights Watch said.
Activists and the victims’ families have been working nonstop over the past year to investigate and get justice for those who lost their lives. The government has resigned over the last year and the new government is yet to be formed. And when activists accused the elites of Lebanon of stalling the investigation, around 24 activists got arrested. The people of Lebanon are desperate for an international investigation into who is responsible for the biggest non-nuclear explosion in the world. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch is asking the United Nations to intervene.
What the people on the streets have to say
Two of the people protesting, demanding an international investigation were Paul Naggear and Tracey Awad-Naggear, who lost their three-year-old daughter, Alexandra due to the explosion, because she was playing in a neighborhood near the port. “We miss her every day more and more, but the rage is growing as well … We still have no answer to anything,” Awad-Naggear said.
“Justice is my mission,” Tatiana Hasrouti, whose father was killed in the explosion said. “I cannot accept that another young girl would be deprived of her father, of his love and affection, because of corruption and the (politicians’) selfishness. I cannot accept that, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to ensure that justice is going to be served.”
