A huge white cloud swells around the Port of Beirut, a warning signal for the disaster to come. People begin to film the smoke around 6pm, capturing the blood-red explosion which pummelled shock waves throughout the country and felt all the way to Cyprus 240 kilometres away.
Windows are smashed from the pressure and officials say half the city is damaged and around a quarter of a million people are now left homeless.
In the ammonium nitrate explosion, Lebanon’s main grain silo was destroyed. The wheat which survived the blast was rendered inedible, leaving less than a month’s reserves of the grain. At the time of destruction, officials say the silos only held 15,000 tonnes of grain, only around 13% of its capacity. The limited supply is an indicator of Lebanon’s financial crisis which predates the explosion.
Elias Hanna, a retired general and now a senior lecturer at the American University of Beirut, told Dateline, “There is now no port. We have to rebuild it anew. It will take time, at least one year if it is worked on 24/7 and we need the money. We don’t have the money.”
The collapsed local currency, rising unemployment rate and wavering exchange rate was already pushing the middle class into unemployment and poverty. Lawyer and political activist Nadim Souhaid says, “Besides the fact we have the destruction of the port, we have also the economic crisis that already affects all the imports”.
The economy and trade minister Raoul Nehme insists there is enough supply to meet the country’s needs. He said on Wednesday, “The amount of flour in the market and on its way to Lebanon covers the market’s needs for a long period, and therefore there’s no flour or bread crisis”.
The port is Lebanon’s largest maritime gateway. Analysts are concerned about how Lebanon, a country which relies on 85% of food imports to feed its people, will bring in desperately needed supplies. In Elias Hanna’s view, “it’s going to be a problem because most imports are through this port [and now] it’s totally destroyed.” According to S&P Global the port takes in 60% of Lebanon’s imports and wheat makes up more than 80% of its agricultural imports.
The second biggest port in Tripoli, to the north of Beirut, is now acting as a replacement, potentially alongside those in Sidon and Tyre to the south. But these are much smaller ports in comparison and do not have grain storage. Also, many of the confirmed deaths are port and custom employees which will have long term effects on the import sector.
A drone picture shows smoke from the scene of an explosion at the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 Source: AP
Panic and first rescue services in Beirut, Lebanon on August 4, 2020. Source: ABACA
International economic relief is on its way, but will it make a difference?
International emergency relief is being offered from countries such as France, Britain and Iran, offering food relief and field hospitals.
The Lebanese Red Cross has set up shelters to distribute food and water. However, they can only attend to a small fraction of the displaced population. Mariam Farida, a security studies and criminology lecturer at UNSW told Dateline, “We’re getting enough to maybe get us out of the tragedy and to attend to the wounds… But that money will eventually run out in the next few months.”
Emergency relief is a bandaid for a bigger food security issue. In June, the UN World Food Program said almost half of Lebanese people were worried about accessing food. And now the country is looking at a bill estimated between $3 billion to $5 billion to repair the disaster. A big ask from a country which already sought $10 billion dollars aid from the International Monetary Fund.
A helicopter at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. Source: Getty
Mariam says, “Even the IMF indicated that they don’t really trust how the government will be using the money. If they will be using the money for reforms or if the money will be lost in the pockets of the leaders”.
Twitter users have warned against donating directly to the Lebanese government due to fears of corrupt behaviour. Lawyer Nadim Souhaid says many organisations are trying to fix the disaster to replace the lack of government aid. “The government and all the political class should immediately go, there is no more place for them in the future of Lebanon” he says.
Despite such criticisms, the Human Rights Watch says “The Lebanese government should ensure that those affected by the blast have access to adequate food and water”. It is difficult to visualise how Lebanon will drive down inflated food prices after this disaster, and what its effect on supply chains will be.
Recent and prolonged protesting shows that many Lebanese people have lost faith in their government's ability to be transparent and protect the people against food insecurity. Mariam says in order to provide tangible outcomes in the future of policy, big steps need to be taken.
“There needs to be resignation, overhauling of the government and holding new elections to show the Lebanese citizens and also world leaders who are happy to step in but are cautious of whether their money will be going in the right direction.”
Despite the piling concerns over food and housing security, people remain rich in spirit.
Nadim Souhaid says “I believe that we will be facing a catastrophic situation, but we still have hope in a better tomorrow”.
