Between Faith and Confusion, We Won’t Forget the August 4 Tragedy
Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah from the Evangelical Churches of Beirut:
“We try as much as possible to encourage one another, putting our fate in the hands of Jesus Christ”
This interview is also available in Arabic.
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 an exclusive interview with Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah. It focuses on the humanitarian and material damages caused to the Evangelical Churches of Beirut, and on its role in helping its affected children and healing their wounds on many levels.
On the August 4 of last year, joy turned into sadness and hope into despair. A tragedy targeted us all. Even churches were wounded crying from their children’s pain. It is true that churches were severely damaged, but it stood tall and remained the one refuge that spread strength and will. It saved people from despair and put them back of the path of hope, tranquility, and safety, for there is no savior other than Jesus Christ who tell us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The Evangelical churches in Beirut got their fair share of damages. They fell victims, mourned, stood up, and held on to their divine faith accompanying their children in sickness and in health. This Church family contributed greatly to offering spiritual, psychological, moral, and financial support to heal the wounds of Beiruties and wipe the tears of Beirut.
We remember what happened to our churches, material and human damages. How did churches overcome this tragedy? What are the needs of the parish one year after the explosion? Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah answered our questions going through the stages of this tragedy once again. That unfortunate event froze time at 6:07 pm of that date, engraving it in our minds forever.
Dr. Rima first described the state of the evangelical churches in Beirut after the explosion: “Churches were severely damaged, like the Armenian evangelical church in Ras Beirut and Berj Hammoud… our church in ashrafieh was also destroyed due to its close location to the port of Beirut. It lost windows, doors and was trashed on the inside… this is why its rehabilitation took such a long time. The Episcopal church in Zeitouna lost its windows, doors, benches… its floors and offices were demolished…”
The pastor explains: “destruction wasn’t only limited to houses of worship, it also hit our church’s institutions like the Armenian Evangelical School in Ashrafieh, and the two evangelical churches of Ras Beirut, and the Faculty of Theology that suffered from severe destruction. The houses of the people of the parish were damaged as well, some partially and some entirely, in Ashrafieh, Mar Mekhael, and Geitaoui …”
We asked if anyone passed from the parish and Dr. Rima answered: “One old man passed away after being in a coma for a month, but a lot of people got injured. Trying to understand what happened wasn’t easy between destruction and injuries.”
How did the Evangelical family stand next to its people? Dr. Rima says: “the four evangelical churches exerted efforts to meet the needs of its people and help the most vulnerable. First, we surveyed house damages because a lot of people didn’t have a place to stay anymore. Then, we worked on distributing food and water to families. We also provided daily necessities like mattresses, tissues, pillows, kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, sanitary products, and many more.”
She mentioned that “Tahanan” organization affiliated to the evangelical Synod rushed to help with restorations. A lot of people lost their jobs and their sources of income, this is why we helped them look for jobs or rehabilitate their businesses… this initiative took the whole year to complete.”
The wounds of the Lebanese people didn’t mend, even after a year has passed. Their needs are continuously increasing while the country dives deeper in its crises. The explosion was the last straw of the different political and economic issues burdening the country and its people. Reverend Dr. Nasrallah explained: “People are torn daily between confusion and hope while they live a life that lacks dignity and the possibility of a better tomorrow.”
Nasrallah concludes: “amidst confusion, people hold on to their churches and try to encourage one another putting their worries in the hands of Jesus Christ.” Dr. Rima reminded us of the daily increasing needs of people. Many cannot afford their rent, others are in desperate need of food, or necessities like medicines, oxygen machines, diapers, and school supplies. We followed up with families about the latter, we paid school fees and provided electronic necessities for online education along with backpacks filled with copybooks and pens…”
One year after the explosion, Pastor Rima Nasrallah can still not contain her grief, the one common feeling amongst people nowadays: “We try to encourage one another, relying on faith and putting our fate in the hands of Jesus Christ.”
Communication and Public Relations Department
