beirut blast
On 4 August 2020, Lebanon was hit by a huge explosion, which not only caused hundreds of deaths, thousands of injured and homeless. In a society already exhausted by the revolution, bya serious economic crisis and by the enormous spread of Covid, by the situation of Syrian refugees, the explosion of 4 August for many represents the end of dreams. For others, it is the reason not to leave the country and start rebuilding it from the base. However, a day that will remain in the common imagination and in the personal history of all Lebanese.
Beirut, Lebanon. The port and the silo that protected part of the city from the explosion of August 4, caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate deposited in the city port
Beirut, Lebanon. The Ashrafiye neighborhood is made up of low, old houses, alternating with new and ultra-modern high-rise condominiums. A good part of Beirut's Christian community lives here.
Beirut, Lebanon. Mashida: "The scenes were chilling: a young man from the nearby building died beheaded by a sheet of glass fallen from the building adjacent to ours."
Beirut, Lebanon. Reconstruction of a shop in downtown.
Tripoli, lebanon. Ahmed (16), Fadel (15) al-Doobi, in the refugee camp where they live after the fire in the Minyhe camp. Both suffer from mental problems.
Beirut, Lebanon. Reconstruction of the Mohammad al-Amin mosque in downtown
Beirut, Lebanon. a petrol station in the Mar Mikhail district, one of the most affected by the explosion on 4 August 2020
Tripoli, Lebanon. In the tent of Abdel Mahsen al Jasim, 35, a Syrian from Giran, he lost 25 million Lebanese pounds in the fire of the Minyeh camp that he had saved up in seven years of work in the fields. "But I am grateful to God because I am alive". His wife Hanan and their children Jasmine (4 years old) and Juri (2 years old) were also miraculously saved in the fire. Abdel temporarily lives in a tent made available to him by a friend in camp number 0015.
Beirut, Lebanon. View of the city of Beirut from the Hamra district, the only one that was not hit by the shock wave triggered by the explosion of 4 August 2020
Beirut, Lebanon. Sursok Palace, one of the most important historical palaces in the Middle East, destroyed by the explosion.
Beirut, Lebanon. Teresa Assaf, 80, looks out of her apartment window. The explosion of August 4 did not just prove it financially. Teresa underwent a mastectomy and, due to the current situation in hospitals and the spread of Covid-19, she stopped her chemotherapy therapy due to lack of funds. "Chemotherapy drugs are too expensive".
Beirut, Lebanon. From the terrace of Shirin Saber (30), in the Ashrafiye district, you can see the devastating effect of the explosion of 4 August on the Mar Mikhail district, one of the closest to the port, from where it was generated. For a month the family lived in the only area of the house where the roof had not collapsed. In total, the house suffered 45 million in damage, in Lebanese pounds.
Beirut, Lebanon. The Ashrafiye neighborhood is made up of low, old houses, alternating with new and ultra-modern high-rise condominiums. A good part of Beirut's Christian community lives here. The icons and altars of the Madonna, Christ and St. George are the sign of this.
Beirut, Lebanon. Therese Nassar Rmeil (75) in her poor house on the ground floor of a low-rise building in the Ashrafiye neighborhood. Therese, retired, was left alone after her mother died six years ago. She had worked in a sugar factory when she was young. This house, completely destroyed after the explosion and repaired thanks to the #Lovebeirut project, is the family home where she grew up as a child, along with her 4 brothers and sisters.
Beirut, Lebanon. The explosion also had a major impact on mental health, with many cases of PTSD.
Beirut, Lebanon. Assemian Asnief, Armenian, lives in her home in Ashrafyie with her brother Sarquis, sister-in-law Sgui, nephew Christian and seven dogs. "Between the explosion, the economic crisis, the Nagorno Karabak war and Covid, it was a terrible year for us Armenians in Lebanon".
Beirut, Lebanon. Dalaal Saraf. "We heard a rumble, like a plane crashing into the city and the sky suddenly turned fiery red"
Beirut, Lebanon. Beirut metal bands challenge the lockdown to rehearse their songs in the studio and to say goodbye to Sam, the vocalist of the band Phenomy who leaves Lebanon for the Ivory Coast.
Beirut, Lebanon. Dowtown area.
Beirut, Lebanon. The neighborhood of Karantina, adjacent to the port, inhabited mostly by Syrian dockers and refugees who work there as unskilled workers. The neighborhood suffered enormous damage and was rebuilt in a few months.
Tripoli, Lebanon. Pages of the Koran burned during the arson fire in the Minyeh refugee camp.
Tripoli, Lebanon. In Abdelrazak al-Doobi's tent, 45, he comes from Homs. He has four children: Ahmed (16), Fadel (15), Uarda (11) and Nada (7). He lives in a small refugee camp and is very worried about the fate of his two eldest children, both disabled and psychologically unstable. After the fire in the nearby camp Abdelrazak is afraid: “Here in Lebanon we hoped that life would be better. Now we are afraid even here "
Tripoli, refugee camp, Lebanon. Abdelrazak al-Doobi, 45, is from Homs. He has four children: Ahmed (16), Fadel (15), Uarda (11) and Nada (7). He lives in a small refugee camp and is very worried about the fate of his two eldest children, both disabled and psychologically unstable. After the fire in the nearby camp Abdelrazak is afraid: “Here in Lebanon we hoped that life would be better. Now we are afraid even here "
Tripoli, Lebanon. Aisha Labit, 20. Two daughters, Raaf and Raian. Aisha lived in the camp which was burned in late December. Remembering that day, she says: "It all happened suddenly, we didn't even realize it".
Tropoli, Lebanon. One of the daughters of Sahar Ammouni, 30 years old. Sahar can look at Syria from the balcony of his home, in a landscape where greenhouses, olive trees, citrus groves and junkyards mix together in an indistinct expanse. A few kilometers from the border with her homeland, between the villages of Abbas el Gharbi and Haissa. Sahar is the head of a large family with four children, and she also has to support her husband, tortured by the Syrian regime and unable to work in the fields.
Beirut, Lebanon. Joseph Hayek, Swiss-Lebanese, art curator is co-founder of Restart Beirut, a foundation that is working on repairing, conserving and preserving the historical and architectural heritage of the city of Beirut. The foundation is engaged in the recovery, shelter and conservation of the Sursock palace and its precious collections, partly lost due to the explosion of 4 August 2020
Tripoli, Lebanon. The Minyeh camp, south of the city of Tripoli, was set on fire in late December, forcing hundreds of Syrian refugees to flee, after a dispute over unpaid wages between the refugees and members of the local al-Mir clan, owner of nearby countryside, according to the local newspaper L'Orient Le Jour. Clan members gathered armed men to set fire to the camp, where about 80 families lived.
Beirut, Lebanon. View of the city of Beirut from the Hamra district, the only one that was not hit by the shock wave triggered by the explosion of 4 August 2020