A woman walking by the Beirut port silos, damaged in the Aug. 4, 2020 blast. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/ L'Orient Today)
TRANSCRIPT.
The end of the year has finally arrived, and you all know what that means : it's time for a recap. Here are six things that Lebanon will remember from 2023.
1) The conflict on Lebanon's Southern border due to the war next door. Since Oct. 8, over 50,000 people from Lebanon South have been displaced, according to UN figures. At least 13 Lebanese civilians, three journalists and over 100 militants have been killed.
2) The February earthquake. Did you wake up panicked on Feb. 6, when the earth shook in the middle of the night? The devastating earthquake that hit neighboring Turkey and Syria killed over 50,000 people and injured thousands more. In Lebanon no one was killed but everyone was shaken to the core.
3) Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh leaves office and the economic crisis continues. On July 31st, Salameh stepped down after 30 years in office. He left amid a plethora of charges of embezzlement, money laundering and fraud.
4) The continuing vacuums and vacancies. We're entering another New Year without a president. Aoun's term ended back in October 2022 and we've been without a president since. To avoid a similar vacuum at the head of the army, Parliament extended General Joseph Aoun's term by one year on Dec. 15.
5) The stalling of the Aug. 4 investigation. It's been over 3 years since the Aug. 4 Port explosion devastated Beirut and killed over 200 people. Back in January 2023, judge Tarek Bitar, who was leading the investigation into the blast, was stopped for a fifth time when he tried to revive the efforts for justice.
6) On the bright side, Lebanon's manousheh made it on UNESCO's list of Intangible cultural heritage traditions.