Relatives of the victims of the double explosion in the port of Beirut hold their sit-in in front of the Emigré statue, May 4, 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
Amid Israel's deluge of fire, seemingly redrawing the contours of a new Middle East, their absence might almost have gone unnoticed. Yet, it's a significant moment for the families of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion at the Port of Beirut: this Friday, Oct. 4, for the first time since the tragedy that claimed 235 lives, they did not gather under the statue of the Emigrant, across from the port, as they had done every month for over four years.
"Until last night, we wanted to go down, even in small numbers. But the strike that hit the southern suburbs last night was so terrifying that we decided to cancel. Until now, we had never missed this monthly gathering, but now, it is war, and we are all traumatized enough," said Helene Ata, whose twin brother lost his life on Aug. 4, 2020, while her other brother was left paralyzed for life.
"With every raid, with every cry for help from the rubble, the memories of Aug. 4 return to reopen our wounds," reads the statement from the association of families of the explosion victims, published on Friday.
"We are all experiencing post-traumatic stress. After the explosion, my brother spent 18 hours under the rubble. Every image of a collapsed building takes him back to that day of horror," explained Ata. Moreover, after mainly targeting southern Lebanon, the Bekaa plain, and Beirut's southern suburbs, Israeli strikes are now also hitting neighborhoods once considered safe in the capital and cities previously spared.
"All of Lebanon is dangerous. There are families in Aley who thought they were safe, but their town was targeted yesterday," said Ata.
The statement also clarifies the families' state of mind following the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27 in an Israeli bombing and the losses suffered within the party ranks. "After Nasrallah's assassination, many voices said we should be happy to finally have justice. That's ignorance: what we demand is for the investigation to be completed. Certainly, many parties, including Hezbollah, have done everything to hinder it, but faced with the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, we can only suffer alongside the victims," said Ata.
Lebanon is at war, she noted, and "Israeli bombs make no distinction. Today, two more ambulances were hit." Several political and security officials, including some close to Hezbollah, are being prosecuted by investigative judge Tarek Bitar, in charge of the case.
Conversely, the families expressed solidarity with the victims, understanding them better than anyone: "Only those who suffer can feel the pain of others. We feel your wounds and add them to our own," the statement said, condemning "the state's failure to protect its citizens" and that of the United Nations, which is "unable to stop the massacre of the innocent."