“We are alive. But not at home "

Witnesses of the explosion in Beirut told Medusa how they survived the disaster and what is happening in the country now

On August 4, two explosions occurred in Beirut - the capital of Lebanon - in the port area of ​​the port, and the second was much more powerful. Presumably, he detonated the cargo of ammonia nitrate, stored in one of the port warehouses. Governor of Beirut Marvan Abbud calls the consequences of the explosion of a national catastrophe. More than 100 people died, thousands were injured, many houses were destroyed - and at least 300 thousand inhabitants of the city and outskirts were left without housing. Residents of Beirut and the neighboring city told Medusa how they survived the explosion and what is happening in the country now.

Ahmad Mardini, 26 years old, businessman

During the explosion, I was in my mother’s house. We discussed that we are now [in the country] difficulties, the court will soon say who killed the [Rafik] Hariri , and this can create a very tense situation.

And then two explosions occurred. The first explosion was not as strong as the second. After the first, my mother and I ran out of the house. The second explosion occurred when we already ran up to the house. Mom cried, and I yelled - either in surprise, or from fright. All the neighbors screamed.

All the glass knocked out in the house. This is severe material damage, but, fortunately, no one was injured in our family. Although I have many friends who have lost their homes. And all this happens against the background of the difficult economic situation that the pandemic aggravated. For many, the situation is much worse than mine: some lost their family members, someone completely lost their homes, someone died pets.

At first we decided that the explosion occurred in our building, and we were afraid that at any second we could die. Then we thought - maybe Saad Hariri killed? Or did Israel intervene and the war began?

In addition to the economic, political crisis and problems with healthcare, this tragedy killed our spirit. People want revenge. In private conversations and in the news, some say that the Israelis are to blame for everything. Others believe that this happened due to the fact that the government stores explosive materials without any precaution. Some say that the Hezbollah will take responsibility for this ( in the movement , involvement in the explosion is denied - approx. Medusa ). But it is known for sure that one of the causes of the explosion is the irresponsibility of politicians.

Yesterday I went to donate blood, but there were no blood bags. This is how serious the problems we have in Lebanon. Today we get a lot of medical care from the outside, especially from France. But many countries are not ready to entrust money to our government. And our hospitals are already crowded due to pandemia. My aunt went to the hospital because her leg was damaged. She was driven away with the words that now there are more serious problems than her, and she should give way.

Chloe, 23 years old, an employee of a medical company

I live in Brumman, this is a 30-40 minutes from Beirut. And although it is far from the capital, we heard a powerful explosion. I sat at home and worked on my dissertation. Suddenly the whole house began to shake, things hit the floor, then everything stopped. We thought it was a strong earthquake and it ended. Literally after a split second after that, we heard military aircraft flying over our house, and heard an explosion of even greater power, which shook the whole building even more and knocked out the glass. Everyone began to scream, a car alarm turned on. We ran out of the house, thinking that the explosion occurred in the building of the electric power company about 500 meters from our house - as happened many years ago. And as soon as we turned on the news, we saw that the explosion occurred in Beirut. It was terrible! We are all in shock now and still cannot understand what happened. Each person lost something: his own house, his loved ones.

Today, every Lebanese student is preparing things and documents to return to his own country. Everything is closed. Medical companies - I work in one of them - try to deliver oxygen cylinders and artificial respiration apparatuses to people who were distressing. This is the end of Beirut. Unfortunately, I do not think that in the near future it will be possible to restore everything. Many people organize volunteer groups to help the victims. Lebanese are well known for their love for each other, so yesterday everyone forgot about the pandemic with which we are still fighting, and opened at home for those who lost their housing. Many of my friends have destroyed houses, my father’s aunt died under the rubble, and I know a lot of wounded.

That's all. We are still in shock! And we just learned that the government knew about the existence of these explosives since 2013. But, as usual, the government did not care until an explosion happened.

Elena sphere, 55 years old, guide

I already had experience with explosions: once there was an explosion in our area, they killed the leader of one of the political parties. Apparently, therefore, I identified the first wave as an explosion, not an earthquake. I rushed to call my husband, but the usual phone did not work, and Wotsap worked. We have a quiet area, it is 25 minutes from the place of the explosion, and the feeling that somewhere in the yard bombed.

Our yard was covered with a wave less, and in the houses that are perpendicular to our, the windows climbed almost everywhere. The sound of a blow was heard, I remembered these sensations. Someone decided that this was an earthquake or gas, because the first impetus was from below. Everything immediately rejected, the plate flew away. I decided that this was an explosion, and rushed to the bathroom. [Shock] I did not feel. I miraculously open all the windows - I managed to open them between explosions. But slippers from the balcony flew away, the balcony table turned upside down, antimoscate nets flew inside, a woolen rug from [shock] waves curled into a tube. I had a choice - to hide or run down. And I live on the seventh floor and realized that maybe I would not have time to run, suddenly there would be an explosion. I decided to hide in the bathroom and three minutes after the second explosion went out.

The husband half a way between his store and the house drove into the supermarket, stood with a cart in line of the box office. The first explosion was not heard, it was felt like a cotton. And when the cotton went, it began to shake everything. The husband was experienced, fought, so he immediately rushed away from the window, threw the cart, ran away from the windows, found the wall and clung to the regiment. She was screwed up to the wall, and only banks sprinkled, her leg was smeared. When he turned, people flew past him. All the glass knocked out. He walked through the blockages to the street. He had a niece in the area of ​​the explosion, and she had to scratch her from there, the car was injured. He immediately left, and when he returned, he was shocked. He said that it was Hiroshima. And then it became scary, and sad, and [clear] that it was not just some kind of explosion, but a tragedy.

My friend lives in the area near the port, 10 minutes on foot. They have a new building, a good expensive area. The first message from her was “we are alive”, and the second: “But not at home.” There are not all the walls whole, everything was knocked out.

Everything that is in Lebanese news is voiced in the world. In the evening, a message passed that this is a terribly combustible material of ammonium nitrate, poisonous, and that urgently need to close the windows and doors. We all together closed the windows and doors with oilcloth, spent the night in closed rooms. There was a lot of smoke, and the wave brought a lot of dust, the surface fell asleep. They also said that these were fireworks lit up.

In the morning, Israel said that it had nothing to do with it and that we have settled ourselves. It turned out that it was a nitrate. The damage from our explosion was compared with 1800 tons of TNT. Half a city fell under it. Now we are terribly happy: planes from Russia flew out. France, Iran, Türkiye, Qatar, Egypt, Tunisia - a whole list who is ready to send help. The government will not help us. Maybe Hezbollah will help yours. People hope for their parties. Three days of mourning were declared. Declared blood donation. Many girls in groups write that if someone was injured, then come, we will accept.

Lyudmila Aun, 43 years old, owner of a sewing workshop

I live in Beirut for 22 years. During the explosion, we were at home. I was in the room, my daughter came to me and said: "Mom, the port burns there." A few seconds before that I heard the sounds of flying aircraft, and I immediately had a conjure that it was Israel. Everyone, I say, hit. We have an apartment opposite the port, all windows overlook it, we stood and looked at the fire. The daughter said that she would go to the bathroom to wash. At this time, fire was burning for five minutes. I moved away from the window - and suddenly a sharp sound. When I turned around, I saw this wave. I have a disorderly girl, I grabbed her and pushed her into the room next to the kitchen. Everything flew somersault. My daughter is crying, screaming, she was in the bathroom, her forehead was broken by the door, now six seams have already been put. I thank God that where we were saved us. We were saved by seconds; If I were not in the center of the room, but at a different point, then all the doors would fly on us. A neighbor under us downstairs died, a husband at death. All windows in our 12-story building completely flew out, a couple of doors only remained.

My housekeeper stayed at home, and my daughter and I went to look for a hospital so that her forehead was sewn. We went on foot, it was impossible to drive there, the mountains of glass everywhere. People came out broken, bloody. Then the acquaintance took us by car. We found the clinic far from Beirut; All clinics are near [with the port] - there is nothing left there. There are even no traces of the dead in the port - there was such a power.

Now we are at my husband's sister. Today I went home - there are no doors, anyone can go and take our things. The first time I returned at night with a flashlight from a mobile phone to find a passport and documents. It was impossible to find anything in this mess. We spent the night with relatives. When I saw the apartment during the day, I could not stand it, I had a tantrum, I sobbed. You can’t even imagine this in films, a feeling of untruth. The explosions are systematic here, this is Lebanon. But so that this ... it does not fit in my head, this is some kind of unreality. Beirut is not completely.

In the vines in the fall, strikes began, roads of roads with shooting. We had fires for three days. This is systematically this happens, and here is still coronavirus. There is no money, no work, people are dismissed. Here life is completely impossible for normal residence. My eldest daughter is studying in Moscow, the youngest also submitted documents there for training. I thought the children would be equipped, they will live, study in Moscow, and I will stay in Lebanon. Now I understand that I have nowhere to live. It is unrealistic to restore the apartment on your own.

The daughter is sobbing now, heroically departs. I asked what size the scar, I showed her - the dissection of the eyebrows eight centimeters. I tell her - everything will heal, [scars] with a laser are cleaned. We saw in clinics people broken and without eyes. And we, despite the fact that we were in the epicenter, and remained alive - this is a miracle.

Talked Alexander Sivtsova