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Port of Beirut (in July 2021)
Photo: PATRICK BAZ / AFP
On the first anniversary of the massive explosion in the Beirut port, the bereaved angrily and tearfully called for the causes to be clarified. "It's a sad day for all Lebanese - although we survived this massive explosion, we are dead inside," said Rita Hassan, whose home was destroyed in the disaster. "Since yesterday I've been feeling pain all over my body, as if the scars from my wounds had opened again," said Enaam Kajal, who was seriously injured and had to be sewn with more than 200 stitches. Relatives, doctors, nurses and demonstrators with national flags gathered at the port and in the city center of Beirut.
On August 4, 2020, hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate were detonated in a warehouse in the port of Beirut.
The explosion killed more than 200 people and razed entire districts of the Lebanese capital to the ground.
At a donor conference, the USA, France and Germany pledged millions in aid.
The government in Paris promised 100 million euros on Wednesday, the Federal Republic 40 million euros.
"A real and long-term improvement of the situation can only be brought about by the formation of a capable Lebanese government, which aims to implement the reforms demanded by the population," declared the Foreign Office.
The US pledged aid to Lebanon amounting to almost $ 100 million (84 million euros). US President Joe Biden also urged reforms: "No outside support will ever be enough if the Lebanese leadership does not commit to doing the hard but necessary work to reform the economy and fight corruption," he said. French President Emmanuel Macron also criticized more sharply at the beginning of the video conference: "The Lebanese leaders seem to be relying on a delay strategy, which I regret and consider to be a historical and moral mistake."
The Lebanese President Michel Aoun appealed to the solidarity of the international community.
"Lebanon is currently going through the toughest times," he said, but emphasized: "Today we are in a new phase." He hoped that a new government would soon be formed that could implement the necessary reforms.
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, also called for a government to get the country's ailing economy going again.
At the same time, it promised the country reserves in the amount of 860 million dollars.
as / AFP / dpa
