People carry photographs of victims of last year’s devastating explosion, in a march in Beirut demanding accountability and justice, Aug. 4, 2021

Wounded people are evacuated after a massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Aug. 4, 2020. A year later, families of the victims are consumed with winning justice for their loved ones and punishing Lebanon’s political elite, blamed for causing the disaster through corruption and neglect.

By csmonitor.com — By Scott Peterson — No Lebanese citizen who felt the shock wave of one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history will ever forget its destructive power – or that it signaled a new low of negligence and corruption for Lebanon’s political elite. The explosion a year ago of ammonium nitrate, poorly stored in Beirut’s port, destroyed swaths of the capital and enveloped the city in a shroud of trauma that left more than 200 dead and 300,000 homeless. Lebanon marked the grim anniversary Wednesday with a day of mourning, and protests in Beirut demanding justice. The Beirut port blast exemplified the government ineptitude that had fueled Lebanon’s protest movement. In response, a resilient and energized civil society has taken charge of the rebuilding effort. Yet even as Lebanon began last year to grope through one of its darkest moments, volunteers came from every corner of the country to help.

As if by reflex, Lebanon’s civil society swung into action, its skills well practiced after a 15-year civil war, multiple armed conflicts, a collapsed economy, the absorption of 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and the pandemic – all crises created or made worse by chronic political dysfunction. The outpouring of public support was as unprecedented as the scale of ruin. The website of the charity Offre Joie (Joy of Giving), for example, which for years had helped Lebanese rebuild from war and violence when government was absent, crashed as more than 6,000 volunteers rushed to sign up. The result, one year later, is the emergence of a vigorous and competent civil society movement that has seized the reins of rebuilding and convinced donors to bypass corrupt government institutions. And a unique mechanism called the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) – run jointly under the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank – has made its demands for accountability and reform heard at the highest level and has placed activists carrying out the recovery across the table from government officials.

by artnet.com — Sarah Cascone — A year after the deadly explosion in Beirut that shattered the city, a new sculpture commemorating the victims of the tragedy has gone up. It’s a work meant to heal—but in the charged atmosphere of crisis-wracked Lebanon, the memorial is also being met by a wave of fierce criticism. The towering sculpture, by Lebanese artist Nadim Karam, was unveiled on August 2 at the site of the explosion. Standing 82 feet tall and weighing in at 35 tons, The Gesture (2021) is made of steel salvaged from Beirut’s port after the blast. The piece takes the form of a giant holding out a flower. Karam, an accomplished figure in local public art, intended the gesture to symbolize “an act of memory and a gesture towards the immensity of sadness that marks the people of Beirut,” according to a statement. “It is a giant made of ashes, traces from the explosions, scars of the city, that still exist everywhere in Beirut,” Karam told Arab News. “The work represents the scars of the people that still have not healed. This figure is every single one of us and a reminder that we are the living energy of Beirut.”

The Gesture will ultimately also incorporate a water feature and a light installation in time for Lebanon’s national day of mourning on August 4. But the response to the work has been divided. Some argue that the wounds of the attack—which killed more than 200, injured at least 7,000, and destroyed large portions of the city, leaving more than 300,000 without homes—are still too raw for a public memorial, especially on the site itself. “That’s a shameful gesture,” Mazen Chehab, a local creative director, wrote on Instagram, according to the National. “Nothing should be done with the port until those responsible for the explosion are heavily sanctioned.” “The killers have complete impunity and we are already pretending something is in the past and we are trying to transcend it through art,” filmmaker Rawan Nassif told Reuters. “I feel this is a crime scene that can’t be touched yet, and it has to be investigated.” Top officials have thus far not been investigated for the devastating blast, though Lebanese parliament indicated on July 29 that they will no longer have immunity.

by reuters By Maha El Dahan, Editing by Timothy Heritage — — A report released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday concluded there was strong evidence to suggest some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port before the fatal blast there on Aug. 4 last year. HRW called for a U.N. investigation into the explosion, which was caused by the chemicals stored unsafely at the port for years and killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed swathes of Lebanon’s capital. The report by the international rights watchdog contained over 700 pages of findings and documents. Its investigation also concluded there was evidence that multiple Lebanese authorities were criminally negligent under Lebanese law.

HRW said President Michel Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, director general of state security Tony Saliba and other former ministers wanted for questioning by judge Bitar, had failed to take action to protect the general public despite having been informed of the risks. The presidential palace offered no comment. Saliba said his agency did all it could within its legal remit, filing legal reports to warn officials, and had an office open at the port only months before the blast. There was no immediate response from Diab. Aoun said on Friday he was ready to testify and that no one was above the law. HRW based its report on official documents it reviewed and on multiple interviews with top officials including the president, the caretaker prime minister and the head of the country’s state security.

by english.alaraby.co.uk — France said on Monday a forthcoming conference on Lebanon needs to gather $357 million in aid to meet the most urgent needs of the battered country’s population. The conference on Wednesday, co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, coincides with the first anniversary of the blast that disfigured […]

By: https://www.annahar.com/

الأوّل من آب، يومٌ منير يَلْتَفُّ الشعب اللبناني فيه كلّ عام حول المؤسّسة العسكرية، كذلك يُعبّر المجتمع الدولي عن ثقته بهذه المؤسّسة لأنها جيش الوطن لا جيش النظام، جيش اللبنانيين لا جيش السياسيين وحصصهم، جيش القيَم الإنسانية الحضارية لا جيش السلطة “البوليسية” المُتَسَلّطة …

الرابع من آب، أصبح يوم الضمير! ويوم العِبرَة للجميع.

عِبرَة مُؤلِمة ودرسٌ قاسٍ، تعلّمنا منهما أن السبيل الأفضل لحماية الأرواح والأرض والمُلكِيّة هو في حسن تطبيق الدستور والقوانين وفي القيام بالواجبات المنصوص عليها على جميع المستويات، وفي السهر الدؤوب على رصدِ ومراقبة كلّ الأخطار المُحدقة بالوطن والشعب، دون أيّ إهمال !

“بين الأوّل من آب والرابع منه”… جامِعٌ مُشتَرَك يَتَظهّر بنَهرٍ من دماء التضحية الزكيّة، دماء شهادة العسكريين وتضحيات المواطنين، وكلّ من روى تراب الوطن في الضنّية ونهر البارد وفي المواجهات مع العدوّ الإسرائيلي، كما في الاغتيالات السياسية والعسكريّة وفي التفجيرات المُدمّرة، أمّا أفظعها لُبنانيًا وعالمِيًا فانفجار مرفأ بيروت، إرهابيَةً كانت أسبابه أم غير ذلك .

by AFP — Beirut: Lebanon’s newly designated prime minister Najib Mikati said Monday that a cabinet lineup would not be announced by mid-week to coincide with the anniversary of the deadly Beirut port blast. “Frankly, with regard to the government, I was hoping the pace would be faster,” he said after meeting President Michel Aoun, […]

by saudigazette.com.sa — BEIRUT — Five persons including an official of Hezbollah, the Lebanese branch, were killed in gunfire shooting in the coastal region of Khaldeh south of Beirut on Sunday, according to local media reports. The media reported that gunmen opened fire during the funeral of Ali Shibli, a Hezbollah member, who was shot dead in the area on Saturday. The attack on the funeral was followed with exchange of gunfire and rocket propelled grenades between followers of Hezbollah and armed locals. Shibli is known as owner of a mini market in Khaldeh and official of Hezbollah. His store was set afire a year ago when one of the locals was shot dead.

The Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Sunday that he had called on the army to take immediate measures to restore calm in Khaldeh area that witnessed armed clashed in the wake of the murder of a citizen on Saturday. In a statement, the presidency said the president followed up on the sorrowful security incidents in Khaldeh, south of Beirut, that led to the killing and wounding of some citizens. Aoun called for the arrest of the shooter and safeguarding the ,obedient of citizens. Meanwhile the Lebanese Army announced that its forces have intensified their deployment in Khaldeh. The army command warned that its forces will open fire on any armed man on road, or any person planning to shoot from any place. National News Agency reported earlier in the day that gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were heard at Aaramoun and Khaldeh during the funeral of a Hezbollah official.

The Lebanese Army said on its Twitter account that it had deployed units to Khaldeh town to “control the situation” and restore calm. The Lebanese Army and the security source said gunfire was exchanged. Local media showed footage of heavy gunfire and fires blazing in buildings in the area. Several hours following the initial clashes, a senior official said tensions had calmed down. The Lebanese Army said it had arrested four people in connection with the clashes. Several political parties voiced concern over the incident as it continued to unfold, reflecting a country on edge amid fears it could escalate and compound Lebanon’s multiple crises amid a political vacuum. — Agencies

الجيش في الاول من آب هو دائماً الاول في ” شرف “حماية لينان ونظامه الديمقراطي، الاول في “التضحية”والتصدي للارهاب ومناهضة العنصرية والتعصب، الاول في “وفائه” للانسان وحقوقه، الاول في صمته وصيانة حرية التعبير. في هذا الاحد ليبارك الله الجيش وقيادته ويحفظهم من الشرور والبلايا ليبقى السبّاق في تحمل المسؤوليات واخذ التحديات بصدر ه برحابة ورضى […]

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: A Lebanese child, Zahra Tleis, died on Friday, after being stung by a scorpion, and her family being unable to find an antidote to treat her, due to medicine shortages in the country. Some vital medicines can only now be found on the black market, but are sold at exorbitant prices. The director of Rafik Hariri Governmental Hospital, Dr. Firas Abiad, said “unfortunately, losing patients due to medicine shortages will become more common.” The head of the National Health Authority, Ismail Sukkarieh, revealed to Arab News that even treatments for dog bites were missing from shelves. “Such injections should be be available in large quantities in hospitals, and especially governmental hospitals, but have gone missing due to negligence and the medicine crisis.” Sukkariyeh said the Lebanese people “are paying the price for the irresponsibility of officials and the accumulation of ill-conceived, corrupt and scandalous policies.” He warned that the country will completely collapse if the situation persists.

Lebanon has been facing an economic collapse since 2019, described by the World Bank as “one of the world’s worst crises since the 1850s.” More than half of the population now lives under the poverty line as the local currency, the lira, has lost over 90 percent of its value against the US dollar. With the depletion of foreign currency reserves at the Lebanese central bank, the Banque du Liban (BDL) and delays in opening lines of credits for imports, the health sector has been facing increasing pressure and fuel shortages. The country’s electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL) has also been unable to provide power due to fuel shortages, and some regions have had to ration electricity for 22 hours a day. Owners of private generators have also been affected by the diesel and fuel crisis, and have resorted to rationing as well.

by uk.news.yahoo.com — Forget packing clothes, perfume, sweets and the other usual gifts. As Lebanon experiences a severe shortage of medication, many Lebanese expats going home for summer vacation are packing their suitcases full of medicine for their families and friends. Lebanon is still in the throes of an economic crisis, marked by the extreme devaluation of the Lebanese pound, which has led to unrest and shortages of essential goods. With pharmaceutical importers in debt to suppliers abroad and unable to open new lines of credit from the Bank of Lebanon, drug imports have been halted for more than a month. In protest of the shortages, a pharmacist association organised a nationwide general strike for several days in early July. To help alleviate the strain on their families and friends, Lebanese expats returning home for the summer have packed their suitcases with out-of-stock goods: essential medicines, first-aid supplies and even sanitary pads, as shown in photos posted on social networks.

Paulina Queralt, a singer living in France, made a call on social media asking any Lebanese expats heading to Beirut to take along a suitcase of medicine she prepared for a relative who was hospitalised after an accident. “I’m ready to pay for an extra suitcase,” she wrote in this tweet. However, Beirut-based journalist Anaïs Renevier warned expats against sending expired medications to clinics in Lebanon, saying: “Here, medicines are not recycled. This will create additional pollution.” ‘I had to bring three months’ worth of diabetes medication for my mother’ Jessy El Murr lives in the United Arab Emirates and travelled to Lebanon on July 20. The past few weeks, videos showing protesters breaking into warehouses filled with boxes of medication have been circulating on social media. The video below, posted on YouTube on July 7, shows activists in a medication warehouse in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon. They said they discovered boxes of medications – blood pressure pills, anti-inflammatory drugs and fever and cough medicines – that were out of stock at pharmacies. ‘In Lebanon, everything is in short supply: I even sent baby diapers and pacifiers’ Rima Tarabay, a psychologist, has started a solidarity drive initiative from Paris.