One year on – The explosion that changed Beirut

It’s August 4th 2020, an ordinary summer afternoon in Lebanon.

Suddenly Beirut’s citizens’ attention is caught by  a huge fire broken out in the port. Unaware of what is about to happen in a few minutes and unaware of how life will change.
A life already devastated by an unprecedented economic crisis will now slide into chaos.

Image Source: Indiatimes.com

ONE YEAR LATER

Image Source: Financial Times

Today, one year and two months later, the sound and pictures of that terrible explosion are still stuck in our minds, as if it just happened yesterday.

It’s been 14 months but has the situation improved in Lebanon? Has the city been rebuilt?
All we can tell for sure is that the economic situation has only gotten worse.

The Lebanese Lira has lost more than 80% of its value. Salaries are now so low that grocery shopping is a luxury that a lot of people cannot afford. Gas stations are almost empty. The electricity is rare and intermittent. A lot of people struggle to find the daily medicines they need to survive.

The initial decline started on October 18, 2019, with thousands of citizens out on the streets starting demonstrations that lasted for months. Two years later, the Lebanese people are facing a situation they thought they were never going to face again after the last big war from 1982 to 1985. 

The future for Beirut?

This is the question that pushed a lot of Lebanese people to make an important decision in their life. Many families have already fled the country. Others have stayed behind only because their visa application weren’t accepted. Young students are leaving their families to study abroad in the hope of a better future that their homeland can’t give them.

Despite years of suffering caused by their own country, the Lebanese are leaving with one big hope in their heart: a new beginning for Lebanon.

Reference:

Ansa.it https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2021/08/02/ansa-un-anno-fa-lesplosione-a-beirut-il-libano-allo-stremo_1442dc02-14a4-427b-b50d-990609538487.html