Beirut Explosion

M.I., Assyrian, 54, has no stable work. He's been living in Ashrafieh, Lebanon, since 2015 with his wife and son, aged 22, who is also unemployed. "I was sleeping in my bed when the explosion happened and thought it was all a dream. The lights started blinking fast, the house was shaking, and then out of nowhere the door flew to the other side of the room. Glass was raining from everywhere, so I had to take shelter under a wooden plank. I couldn’t even open the main door because I was so scared; I had to take a deep [...]

N.D., 52, is living in Ashrafieh with her parents with no income. She receives money from her family abroad. "While I was in Sin El Fil, my parents were home when the blast happened. I was scared that something might have happened to them since they're old and can't protect themselves. I remember hearing people shouting, screaming, and panicking. I started crying thinking I lost the two people close to my heart since I wasn't able to reach them. But thank God they turned out to be fine; however, I thought things will get better, but it got worse." As [...]

Y.I., 44, Assyrian, is living with his wife and three children, aged 14, 13, and 3.5. They arrived in Lebanon in 2014. He is the only provider for his family and used to fix refrigerators for a living. Due to the bad economic situation in Lebanon, he lost this job and is now working as a concierge at a building in Ashrafieh for 650,000 LBP ($450) per month. His wife is unemployed since she has to take care of her youngest child (age 3.5).Y.I. has no money to put his kids in school, even before the pandemic; and they can’t [...]

We spoke to one of the survivors – K.Z., 27, Assyrian, married, and working as a concierge for 750,000 LBP. He's been living in Lebanon for almost one year and two months. The couple were in their house in Ashrafieh when the blast happened. "I thought a rocket had hit us at first. It felt like an earthquake; the whole building was shaking and was going to collapse over our heads. Everything exploded around us and fell apart: glass, walls, the television. We thought we were going to die." "I hugged my wife and told her to wait for a [...]

M.Y., Assyrian, 63, is the mother of 2 sons: the oldest is 38 and the youngest is 35 and works as a part-timer for half a salary due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Her sister also stays at her place from time to time. They've been in Lebanon for almost 20 years now. "I was with my sister at home the day the blast struck; we thought it was an earthquake. We left the house quickly, not knowing where to head for shelter. Our main concern was to stay safe, so we headed towards the highway as we didn’t know what [...]

K.C., Assyrian, works as a concierge. His wife helps him with some tasks, however, his eldest son, 24, was fired from his work when the Lebanese revolution started. He also has two daughters: one in grade 12 and another in grade 9. "When the blast happened, I was with my friend near my house. It was a very terrifying few minutes, everything was blurry. It felt as if there was an earthquake and a bomb explosion all at once. My friend thought it was a car wheel that exploded. I headed towards the house to check on my family and [...]