5,000 Casualties
200 Casualties
The Beirut Port
ٔ�ﻣﺮﻓ ﺑﲑوت Disaster
The Beirut port has been mentioned in history since the 15th century, through mutual letters between the pharaohs and the Phoenicians, and even during the roman era. It was developed into a commercial and economic centre as it aided in the maritime trade between the east and west. Today the Beirut port functions very similarly as the largest and busiest port of the eastern Mediterranean. It is responsible for 60 percent of Lebanon’s imports solidifying itself as Beirut’s central district and one of its greatest assets since the 1980’s. The civil war had reduced the area to rubble and was later targeted as one of the biggest investment operations in Lebanese history post war. The port is also adjacent to some of Beirut’s most affluent areas, expensive real estate, and host to large amounts of tourism. Controversially it is a site of public antigovernment protest condemned due to the lack of public space and juxtaposing nature to the rest of Beirut, with many Beirutis feeling disconnected to the site. This central economic hub was first recently hit by the corona virus halting much of its trade, But ultimately this was incomparable to effects and aftermath of the explosion.
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The seed sprouts
The cracks are cleared
Vegetation flourishes
The rubble is cleared
A tree stands
The air is cleared
Nature waits for no one, Nature feels no burden, no stress, no sign of being weak. There is no self-pity, not tragedy no torment stands in its way. It finds a way and grows.
I find a way and grow.
We find a way and grow
The process repeats. An ecosystem. A REVOLUTION! My past is not my present, so what is my future, - I ponder, as I walk through the shrubbery of an abandoned past ruin, I might contemplate - Wait! - What is that under the vegetation . . . A remain? – Is that a silo? – Is that . . . wait . . .
Nethermind.
It was a missile It was carried out by an American drone No it was the work of the Israeli fighter jets It is all a plot to put Lebanon back into another civil war It was an accident Its mismanagement from our government – we are corrupt
Self-proclaimed experts, jack of all trades, all knowers of nothing. Fingers pointed at each other, have we lost our identities, we have separated from each other but are united by ignorance and paranoia. – what makes you and you and you and you and I one to question – to talk – to discuss – to blame- to point your finger and say that’s the bad guy. Make anything of what I have made of everything . . . . . . . .it does not matter. I don’t know what happened You don’t know what happened Only god knows . . . Guilty
BOOM!!!!! “The oxygen is sucked out of the air it was like we were at war again.”
Breath in
Breath out
I see a little boy, talking to his grandmother. He looks dead – I thought he was dead – I thought Yet he is here again . . . . Still trembling The man copies the little boy as he steps away from the window doing what his grandmother told him. How can the past feel so present? He feels young again, the sensation of youth passes over him, a memory he thought he lost. I am calm, I have been here before The little boy turns to me
“We have been here before”
Frustrated……. Fist, as it folds into my palms
A view A restricted view A rectangle, panning the Port
The look, smell and sound of wealth
It Burns
But
Refreshing
Costly
But
Free
Mouth watering A panoramic ocean, demarcating value The port of Beirut is the seat of Lebanon’s government Rich Very Very Rich Dry……………………………………………………….………………………….…….We are A glassy eye, reflecting, reflected wealth
Drip
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Drip
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Drip
05 August 2020
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We are experiencing a real catastrophe- Lebanese Prime Minister
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60 Minutes Later
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What we know so far
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180 Minutes Later
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480 Minutes Later
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Cries
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06 August 2020
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120 Minutes Later
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Beirut governor says half the city damaged, estimates cost at $3 bn.
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EU gathers emergency workers and equipment from member states
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Claims ‘nothing was done’ to remove ammonium nitrate from port
Snores
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Shouts
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Business
Lebanon declares two-week state of emergency in Beirut
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Death toll rises to 135 killed, around 5,000 wounded- Lebanese TV
Cars swish by one after the other Swish Swish Roar Camera shutters close and open close and open The sound of wind, as it reaps oxygen Cars can no longer be heard Up and down, to violent from silent- it takes of control - of sadistic intentions to a fragility, it asks of me Can you bear it?
Eruption! “Allahu Akbar (God is Great)” Panic “Allahu Akbar (God is Great)” Flowers become tumbleweeds The white dress, a flag She crawls, paranoid...she raises her hand to open - she opens the door - to open to, her eyes turn her head back to me.. they beg of me to end this - they want this to end - blindfolded where they will not know.
He is separating their body parts, She is separating the anatomy of both their bodies - whether it is separate, or whether they are intertwined. He, She, You and I Don’t feel at home **********************
On the 4th of August at exactly 6:09, with in 33 seconds of the silos catching fire in the Beirut Port we witnessed the largest explosion to hit Beirut. Caused by Large amounts of ammonium nitrate being stored. The rest is unknown, But the chaos that ensued was clear and evident.
Foundations built on corpses, her corpses, my corpses, its corpses, his corpses, their corpses, our corpses . . . . . . In a construct that relates to nothing for us, reveals nothing to us, ... . . . Only to them. I know I do not exist but does a city that’s just a façade to us exist either. We have seen this before ……. Think ? ? ? A metropolis that welcomes us But excludes us. Promises us things But lies to our face. The towering buildings shade us they block our ears they seal our lips they shut our eyes.
“I am building it up again” – I thought Hariri was dead The port mirrors Zaitunay Bay – The prestigious – The luxurious – The exclusive – The beautiful . . . . . . . . . But not for us
Solidere Its creator. Us, non existent
This is where the world
ends…
This is where we fail the system…
The lines are blurred – it’s their private and their public – we have no society, we have no justice, we have failed the system. They mold the cement, and our lives with it. Who have we become?
Are we a voice of the people, or a guinea pig to their work’s….
“I’m lost. I can’t see – I hear cries, screams – I can’t feel. My thoughts are numb, and my limbs are weak. They are taking over. I am no one, I am a puppet to their master works of corruption. “ “I know I do not exist”
I feel the rubble under my feet, I am breathing in the smoke. They have taken over my lungs, my body. They have my soul. I hold tight, but they hold pull tighter. I lose my grip from the force of corruption. I have no soul, they have taken my thoughts, my prayers, and my worth. I am just a part of their plan. Who are we?
Who is in control?
My human identity and my soul is lost within the limbo of time, space, and earth.
This is where the world
ends..
This is where we fail the system.
Darkness It was like we were at war again Deceived, played, and used in their games of duplicity. Timing time until it becomes timed A lacking sense that you and I would not tolerate Eyes turn red, he begins to choke on words Tears of terror, and trepidation I am reliving the violence, blood in his head, hands, and heart I am bleeding… bleeding the blackness of our skies, our wars, and our government. Disaster! Relates to nothing but itself Reveals to nothing,
not even itself
Home that bares bared my corpse
I have lost the sense of time. Where are you? Are you breathing.. is your heart still pure with love. I promised you the world, I promised you a good life… I failed you. …
Carpet that twines politic and war driven conversations Music that drenches you with love, the love for the city It bares my name, a name I love, a name submerged Hidden, never to unearth the truth of my identity. But now, I have been displaced, deceived, and driven away. I am no longer home.
.. She has become my escape. We leave together... a home that is now corrupt.
We take one last glance.. time heals, but we wait no longer. Our books that lay with the literary ideas of our world… hidden with controversial senses.
Your home-made kneffeh, untouched. The roasted nuts, untouched. The coffee pots, untouched.
We will meet again.. somewhere safe – but not here. *************************
The blast injured more than 200 people, injured over 6000 people, and has immediately displaced, more than 300,000 people immediately. The people have lost their homes and their livelihoods, as the blast caused destruction and damage in a 6-mile radius, felt as far as 100 miles away.