Beirut, Lebanon – The Lebanese have long been known for their resilience – their ability to pick up the pieces and carry on with their lives after yet another traumatic event. 

 

This sentiment rings true for Marwan Akil, a coffee shop owner in Lebanon’s capital. Akil was making coffee for a group of customers on February 4 when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a passenger van in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

 

The blast, which took place during the evening rush hour in the Choueifat district, happened just 20 metres from his coffee shop. "I heard a big noise and suddenly it became so misty," Akil told Al Jazeera. "I didn’t know what it was. I just heard women screaming and saw so much smoke. There was no body of the suicide bomber – his parts were spread out everywhere across the road and his head actually became detached and hit the fifth floor of an apartment close by."  [Link]