Beirut Blast: The Matchstick in the Hands of the Irresponsible

Beirut Blast: The Matchstick in the Hands of the Irresponsible by Fatima Marwa A. Fadzlulkarim

Lives, homes, businesses, and the happy faces of the residents in Beirut, Lebanon were shattered as a colossal blast occurred in the afternoon of August 4 –another appalling news that added to the weight of a tragic 2020. At first, it was deemed as an unintended disaster but with further investigations, the people are starting to question –“Could it have been prevented?”

The disaster was preceded by a fire at the Port where a warehouse containing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was located nearby, as reported by BBC World News. The worst case scenario happened when the roof of the warehouse got caught in the blazing flames. Shortly after 6:00pm Eastern European Summer Time, a mushroom cloud took shape in the skies along with the devastating thunder of the explosion destroying the immediate dockside area where the warehouse is located creating a crater approximately 140m wide. The explosion was the equivalent of 1,000 to 1,500 tons of TNT which is about a 10th of the intensity of the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima in 1945. "Whatever the precise charge size, this is unquestionably one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, far bigger than any conventional weapon," said Professor Andy Tyas, an expert on blast protection engineering.

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, blamed the detonation on the improperly-stored chemical in the warehouse. They have suspected that “a similar amount of the chemical arrived on a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship, the MV Rhosus, which docked in Beirut in 2013 after suffering technical problems while sailing from Georgia to Mozambique.” Sources show that the ship was inspected and banned from leaving, and was shortly abandoned by its owners. The cargo was then transferred to Warehouse 12 and should have been disposed of or resold. However, 7 years later, the enormous amount of chemical was still there, only to be disposed of in the worst means possible –an explosion.

Hundreds of lives were taken, seven people are still missing, at least 6,500 were injured, tens of thousands were left homeless, and the whole world is left in misery. The regular landscape of the place is left in wreck, with the print of devastation engraved on its terrain.

Who should take the blame and be responsible for this catastrophe? According to the United States Ambassador to Lebanon in an interview with CNN News, “What’s wrong with this is, there are many individuals who were importing such chemicals to be used for explosive weapons and no one would own it.” A statement that does not seem to satisfy the question and the right of the citizens to know.

The citizens are left unimpressed with suspicious questions. However, amidst all the angst, tears, and blood, they have travailed more on the idea that they will get back up again. Lives were lost, futures were erased, hopes were broken. This event will surely find its place in history, and will act as a wake-up call for everyone to learn to think about the possible consequences that will occur with the decision they make -that before we act, we must question ourselves of the outcome. Irresponsibility is a matter of leaving everything behind resulting in catastrophes over choosing to face your obligation, and in this case, the Beirut Blast.