Between The Port of Beirut and St. Anthony the Great, a Story of Neighbors, Blood, and Tears
Parish Priest: “Resilience is the word of the year, it is impossible to forget”
“100% of the parish children sought emigration, but church remained their only safety net”
Explosion victims: “They killed us and nobody cared to check on us!”
On the first commemoration of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches published a special issue of its quarterly magazine “Al Muntada” in August 2021, entitled "Beirut, in the Heart of the Church, Beirut, a City of Resurrection". The issue includes a special investigation article written by Elia Nasrallah about St. Anthony the Great church that suffered along with its parish from deep wounds.
Investigation and pictures by Elia Nasrallah
Before the evening of August 4, 6:07, the port of Beirut was considered one of the most important ports of the Middle East, and a breather to Lebanon and its neighboring countries.
Before that unfortunate seventh minute, St. Anthony the Great church facing the seaside, neighboring the port, was engulfed with trees, its dome nested birds, one step closer to heaven.
Time was running out, soon ward n.12 would explode after maybe hours of fire and destroy by that the whole port devastating half of Beirut, including St. Anthony the Great church that suffered along with its parish from deep wounds. These wounds did not heal, even after the rehabilitation of the church bringing life back to its heart, pumping with the strength of the Holy Spirit.
We visited St. Anthony the Great church, holding our questions and memories at heart, about those painful moments, about the hope that rose from ashes, about defeating tragedy with cooperation. We met with the parish Priest who survived the explosion, still carrying a cross weighing with the church’s material and human losses. We sat in his humble office and took a trip down memory lane to talk about what happened one year ago, in front of us, a window uncovering the port ruins. This sight leaves you speechless, as you can only ask for God’s mercy and the intersection and prayers of St. Anthony.
Hope Amidst Tragedy
The parish Priest talks about his memories of the day of the explosion, at around 5 pm when he left the church to go back home. He lives close to the church but he says: “had I stayed in the church, I would’ve definitely be one of the victims right now. My neighbor passed away and my house was deeply destroyed. During August, we put evening masses on hold and, instead, only celebrate morning daily masses, this is why there was no one inside the church when the explosion happened.”
We ask him about the damages of the church, he answers: “there are no words to describe what happened. The body of the church stood still but everything on the inside was blown away. We found the benches in front of the church, doors were broken, the altar utensils were dispersed, and the hall of the church suffered severe destruction…”
The Priest continues: “My parish and I were so happy to find the cross, the statues of the Holy Spirit and the angels and the offerings still in their places. The mosaic picture of St. Anthony on the back outer wall of the church was untouched, despite it being on the wall directly facing the port. The parish witnessed signs of hope amidst destruction and tragedy. The church remained their home during everything they’ve been through.”
He adds: “The church was damaged like everyone else, it will not rise alone when everyone’s homes are still destroyed. Instead, it went through the stages of cleaning, rehabilitation, and restoration like every other house, depending on the donations and initiatives it received. The church healed at the same time as its neighborhood, not one day faster, nor one day slower. People took care of their church to be able to celebrate the holy mass, and they did a great job as we were able to celebrate a mass on the Sunday following the explosion.”
Regarding the rehabilitation, the Priest states: "On the day following the disaster, we started to remove the rubble with the help of volunteers who came from many Lebanese regions. We did not want masses to be suspended. Thus, the residents helped each other to rehabilitate the church and restore the glass, windows, doors, and the altar… with the support of the archdiocese. They also cleaned and repaired the water and electricity supplies… " he emphasized that: "Believers did not leave their church. They sought shelter in it. Their faith increased as well as their attachment because it was their only place of refuge when they felt that they were betrayed by the State, the security forces, and some of the people and organizations that did not keep their promises…"
Initiatives to Save the Region
With a heavy heart, the parish Priest describes the reality of the neighborhood: "the scene was immensely violent and homes buildings have suffered from a tremendous destruction. Unfortunately, most people were inside their homes and the injuries were serious. Some of them went into comas…" the humanitarian conditions were extremely difficult and misery took over. Therefore, rising above this tragedy was not easy and understanding what had happened took a tremendous amount of time.
What about the aids? What were the initiatives that supported the parish and the residents of the neighborhood? He responds: "some people helped us and we received aids from generous individual initiatives until non-governmental organizations started to carry out their field work. Initially, the work of some of the organizations was very good and it contributed in the restoration of houses. However, other organizations did not keep their word."
Damages were also significant in terms of furniture and house necessities such as kitchens, bathrooms, electricity supplies, water tanks, and necessary electrical tools…" people did not have the financial resources to restore and repurchase them, given the aggravated economic crisis in the country. Until this date, this restoration phase is not yet completed. He adds: "there are a lot of homes whose restoration has not begun in the first place and we have witnessed unfortunately a spate of robberies increasing our tragedy."
The parish Priest praised the work of volunteers and indicated that there was something special amidst all that was happening in Beirut which is that: "people worked in collaboration and cooperation which positively affected the general atmosphere."
The neighborhood residents received food boxes. However, the distribution process was not organized and fair. There was no coordination between the concerned people and beneficiaries. The parish Priest underlines here: "the need was not limited to food. There were many residents that could not make use of them because they lost their electrical machines and utensils. The church served as the mediator between the people who wanted to help and beneficiaries, particularly in regards to the distribution of the individual financial initiatives generously provided and helped many families acquire their necessary needs, in addition to the aids which were provided by the Lebanese armed forces.”
Human Damage and Displacement
As soon as we asked the parish Priest about human damage, we noticed a sad look upon his face. He said: "the parish suffered from an immense number of victims. There were 16 or 17 victims, in addition to injured people whose injuries ranged between severe and serious". The most distressing thing for him was that: "due to the explosion, the parish witnessed a 100% displacement wave. Everyone left their homes. The first person to return came back two months after the explosion and restored his house at his own expense."
Why did the majority of residents not return? He replies: “at the beginning of last November, a small percentage of the residents of the neighborhood began to return to their homes. Until this date, the percentage of the residents who returned home did not reach 30%. Regarding the remaining 70%, some did not restore their homes, others got into a dispute with the owner, and some do not want to conduct the necessary rehabilitation in the first place."
Between cleaning and funerals, the Priest talks about the amount of pain he went through. On the day following the disaster: “while we were removing the rubble and sweeping the glass, despite all the dust that covered me, I wore my cassock and went to the cemetery to pray for the soul of one of the victims. Then, I came back to the church to continue working… I no longer knew what to say to some people. Between the ‘thank God for your safe return’ I said to a girl who was injured from the explosion and ‘may the soul of your mother rest in peace’, I was lost. The situation was extremely difficult.”
Jesus Christ, our Only Strength
Until this date, the psychological wounds of the survivors, the people who witnessed the explosion, Beiruties, and all the Lebanese people, have not healed. Everyone is still under the shock and horror of the blast and its repercussions. What about the psychological state of the people? Has their faith wavered?
The parish Priest answers: “The explosion destroyed all the parish, but St. Anthony remained a sign of hope despite all difficulties. In front of all disappointments, faith remains our only strength. People were strong in faith and spirituality when they were morally weak after the humanitarian and material losses they suffered from, adding to the tormenting loneliness they went through.”
He adds: “many are those who cried alone, fighting tragedy, broken. They couldn’t believe how the State handled the blast nor its victims. It pained them that their deputies, leaders, and investors of the region didn’t care to check on them… they lost hope in their political and civil authorities… ‘thank God for your wellbeing’ became their only consolation, for they still need moral support after the tragedy they went through.”
The Priest describes the terror the neighborhood residents went through went the Beirut port took fire one month after the explosion. In that moment, horror came back! It is true that people don’t believe in their worsening security systems anymore, but during the holy mass, we do not fear, nor worry.”
On the spiritual level, he says: “as long as people will see their church destroyed, they will still live in fear. This is why we worked on reviving our church so it is not just a place for funerals and mourning, but a place for hope. Had the church failed to resist destruction, its children would’ve had no refuge, no spiritual guidance, and no hope.”
He stresses: “what’s important here is that the parish stayed together. Believers came back to their church, we even celebrated weddings last summer despite the remaining damages. The church remained the home of all, where we unite in Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus will never let us down, no matter how many times people fail us. What brought hope were the neighborhood churches, people held tight to their faith and their churches and found refuge in the house of God.”
A Passage from Death to Life
One year after the unfortunate explosion, the Priest hopefully describes the course of events with one word: Resilience. People resiliently faced the blast and its horrific repercussions. Residents resiliently stayed in the neighborhood where they were born and grew up, constantly repeating: ‘We want to stay, we don’t want to leave.’ It is true that they are very resilient, however, the war they are facing is great, and defeat is still a possibility.”
The Priest ends his story with: “believers sought their church to participate in the holy mass and the church service, holding tight to God, their only source of hope and strength. What happened was very hard, we still need a lot of time to get over what we went through and understand what happened in order to move on and plan for the future. People did not heal in moral, society, politics, and security… it’s not easy to forget what happened…
Stories and Tales: “Our Lives Changed Forever”
The Priest tells us about the stories of the parish residents who rose from beneath ashes and rubble. These stories would be shared from generation to another, keeping the memory alive forever.
We wanted to hear them each tell their own story. Are the wounds still deep? Is there still hope for a better future to this country? We moved across the street from the church, where we met Mrs. Therese Saleh and her friend Mrs. Najwa Hayek.
Mrs. Therese Saleh
Mrs. Therese is haunted by painful memories of that unfortunate day, she tells us: “on the day of the explosion, we first heard a loud noise and saw fire coming from the port of Beirut. We saw a plane fly over the port. Upon the explosion, window glass started to break, and doors and furniture were destroyed. I was buried with a pile of wood and glass…I was severely wounded and bloody… everything around me was destroyed as I lie there on the floor for hours… I remember having glass in my mouth, hair, and back… there was water on the floor but I didn’t know where it came from…”
She goes on: “I remember our neighbor’s son yelling as he saw those horrific sights: “Mommy, mommy… Mommy died!” our foreign worker was wounded in the head. I lost all my electric supplies and necessities like my fridge and my stove… it was total destruction!” She adds: “the night of the explosion, I stayed home, in the dark, because of the spate of robberies that took place. Within a month, restoration works in my house was complete and I was able to move back in.”
Despite everything that happened, Mrs. Saleh still holds on to her faith, but lost hope in the country rulers giving the circumstances. With a heavy heart she yelled: “This is inacceptable!” After one year, she says: “We are mentally drained, we changed from who we used to be. We do not know the meaning of laughter and joy anymore amidst all the pressure we live in, putting us in a state of despair.”
We ask Mrs. Najwa Hayek about her own experience. She answers painfully: “when the explosion happened, I was at work in Hamra, and my daughter at home. At first, we didn’t know what was going on. My son called me and told me not to be afraid. However, a few minutes later, my niece sends me a voice note yelling her lungs out, asking for help: ‘please help me! The explosion reached our house, my dad lost his sight, my mom is on the ground, and my husband is wounded.’” But her biggest shock was when she learned that her daughter was severely injured: “I started running from Ashrafieh to home to save her.” Mrs. Najwa recalls the glass on the floor and the blood covering the streets, she continues: “I couldn’t understand what was going on! All I wanted to do was to get home and see my daughter.” Her daughter Lara, a 43-year-old HR director, full of energy and life.
She Adds: “when I got home, I saw her bleeding. First thing I did was find an ambulance, then we started looking for a hospital. When we arrived to the AUB Medical Center at 7 pm, she had already passed out and her heart stopped beating. They tried to rescue her, and she gained her conscience back. She then entered a coma and stayed in the Medical Center for two months, then we moved her to Bhannes Hospital where she is still in a coma till this day.”
In Najwa’s house, prayers are still going. She reveals honestly how challenging it was to hold on to her faith: “God, why us? Why my daughter?... this is how I started losing hope. Then, we started making vows for Saints and kept on praying. Each time I started doubting that my daughter would wake up, I would try to hold on to my faith and pray to be able to have patience, since I have a long road ahead and doctors gave us little to no hope.”
Najwa says in faith: “I ask God to heal her! I lost hope in medicine, this is why I put her fate in the hands of the Mother of God. Some days were unbearable. We never thought such a tragedy would happen in Lebanon.” Najwa’s brother-in-law lost his sight, her sister escaped death by a thread, and her niece and her husband were gravely wounded.
Najwa says with grief: “This is not us, our lives turned upside down. I’m not me anymore, there’s something wrong with me! I lost my strength and my energy. They killed us on the inside! They killed us mentally, spiritually, and emotionally! Nothing makes us happy anymore!” she asks herself how to be happy when your soul is mourning, when you don’t feel safe, in a loop of endless crises? She cries: “What is the meaning of this? Not one of the leaders cared to check on the citizens! Shame! Where is their conscience?”
Where is their conscience? What happened to human dignity? To justice? Who is responsible for the misery of Beiruties?... so many questions we hope to find an answer to… one day!
Communication and Public Relations Department