The cataclysmic explosion of ammonium nitrate on August 4 at Beirut port jolted the world. Humanity watched the catastrophe unfold on television and social media. The fire, smoke, resultant shockwave and the orange mushroom cloud of fire was seen ripping through the beautiful city of Beirut, which is also the Lebanese capital. It wreaked havoc and killed around 190 people, injuring 6,000 others and rendering 300,000 homeless. This explosion has been compared in magnitude to the atomic bomb, codenamed Little Boy which was dropped at Hiroshima and Fat Man which was dropped at Nagasaki. It has led to even worse when analyzed amidst the present situation of Lebanon. The country was rife with corruption and incompetence. It was facing an economic crisis and now a humanitarian and food crisis confronts it as well.
Lebanon as a country reminds us of the beautiful Kadisha Valley. Its rich history is demonstrated through the National Museum of Beirut and the American University of Beirut, which has been a centre of education and culture for a long time. The land of Kahlil Jibran has also been known as the ‘pearl of the Middle East.’ Lebanon has been a country of many faces and a melting pot for cultures and civilizations. However, this explosion altered its face and even fate at the very outset!
As many as 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse for seven years led to the deadly blast and also brought to light the incapacity and inefficiency of the ruling elites. This stockpile came from the ‘Rhosus,’ a Moldovan-flagged ship in 2013, originally considered to be leaving for Mozambique, from Georgia in Europe and was impounded at Beirut port. Some cite non-payment of duties and others, the non-seaworthiness of the ship, as the reason. Recently it came to light that the same ship was sunk and sits on the seabed close to the Lebanese port where the explosion took place. Over the years, Lebanese customs officials also claimed to have written six letters to the judiciary to determine the fate of the ammonium nitrate, but to no avail.
Emmanuel Macron is giving the ossified Lebanese politicians the carrot and stick treatment
This is not the first time ammonium nitrate has been introduced to the world. It has civilian use as a fertilizer and military use as an explosive. The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 was the deadliest domestic attack in America at the time. Ammonium nitrate was the explosive used. It has a very tragic industrial history as well. The Texas City disaster of 1947 and the disaster of the Port of Tianjin in 2015 in China have also led to massive losses in life and property. Thus it isn’t a Beirut-specific tragedy. Instead the dark cloud of fear still looms overhead with regards to stockpiles of ammonium nitrate or any similar chemicals with explosive tendencies present anywhere in the world.
The aftermath of the deadly explosion has made Lebanon sink deeper into the abyss of being a failing state. It is quickly drifting towards lawlessness. On one hand are the teary-eyed who are mourning the loss of their loved ones, whereas on the other are the shells of teargas being aimed at the protesters demanding justice. Justice from the corrupt and inept political elite, those who make the difference between Lebanon having a government or not having one, negligible.
Lebanon has seen revolution, forest fires, the Covid-19 pandemic which is a burden on the already fragile healthcare system, an economic crisis that sank the value of the local currency by 80 percent over the last year, as well as endemic corruption and mismanagement in government and politics. And to make matters worse, this disaster ensued, which could have been avoided with some management and efficiency.
However, that was not done and now a humanitarian and food crisis has crippled the very social fabric of Lebanon. An inability to deliver as basic a service as bread might be the final straw for the nation. Now, the second largest port in Lebanon, Tripoli has become the hub of all activity and faces bottlenecks in operations. Food supplies coming through the land borders isn’t a viable option, as Syria and Israel, the hostile neighbouring countries do not enjoy a very good rapport with Lebanon. So the Mediterranean is the only route that can be used for incoming food supplies.
As the Beirut port undergoes reconstruction work, the prices of glass, aluminium and concrete have skyrocketed. This is the only business that has flourished in Lebanon in a while. The issue of missing people still remains significant. Rescuers are looking for any signals of ‘a heartbeat’ in the debris. Widespread searches through concrete and rubble have all proven futile and people are unable to find their loved ones, or even any traces of their bodies. This even includes the “Platoon Five” of the Beirut fire fighting unit who were the first ones sent to extinguish the fire in the warehouse. They were told that there was ‘wheat’ that had caught fire. How were they to know they were heading straight into the inferno! Such negligence on the part of higher officials and such disdain of human life!
The Lebanese public has realised no one is coming to save them and they have to save themselves. Widespread protests starting after the explosion led the Lebanese prime minister, Hassan Diab to resign under the pressure. This was followed by jubilant crowds and a fireworks display by the public, who were sprayed with teargas and shot with metal pellets in turn, to disperse them. But nothing seems to shake their resolve now. Many say they have nothing left to lose. Their families, houses, jobs, all are gone. Hence, they are now demanding that the president and speaker should step down as well.
The Lebanese customs chief has been arrested and detained for interrogation regarding the stockpile of ammonium nitrate which was the reason behind this catastrophe. On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron is the only world leader to have visited Lebanon twice after this explosion and large sections of the public demanded France save them by making them a French protectorate again. To this, France has responded by forming draft proposals for the overhaul of public policy in Lebanon. Emmanuel Macron is giving the ossified Lebanese politicians the carrot and stick treatment and is determined not to give them a carte blanche with regards to the state. Not anymore!
After Hassan Diab’s resignation, Mustapha Adib, a former Lebanese diplomat has been appointed as the new prime minister of Lebanon and has been given the task to form a new government. France has also promised to garner international aid for Lebanon, but it is conditional on the equitable and efficient use of the resources and an understanding that they will not be misappropriated!
The Lebanese need a robust and competent government, so that they can live at peace and get rid of the corruption and a sheer disregard of the rule of law. It is quickly eating away at the very roots of the country and will only end once explosion-ravaged Beirut and the whole of Lebanon is destroyed, which is already bleeding profusely from the wounds that have become an abscess!
The writer is a lawyer
