Six days after the explosion:
A month later:
For whom did little Sama lose her eye? For what? Her family escaped war in Syria, thinking they were safer in Lebanon, as you can see in the CBC documentary below.
What about the 192 victims who lost their lives and the 6500 injured citizens?
What about the 300, 000 homeless citizens? They are now relying on international and national food donation. What about those who are living in their heavily damaged houses, still unable to fix them? They are all, slowly but surely, smiling to a new dawn… but deep inside, their hearts are still shattered.
Many Lebanese citizens are leaving their country. Some are unable to do so. Remember, they still do not have access to their savings. They are like prisoners in their own country. Some are fortunate to be able to travel whilst some are trying illegal and risky ways. Yet others are dreaming to see their kids living in more stable countries abroad (despite the pandemic in the world).
Anyhow, here is the CBC piece for the National mentioned above:
A couple of days ago, Beirut lost a lady, Ms. Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane. She died in her beautiful yet damaged palace at age 98 of Beirut port explosion injuries. May her memory be eternal and thanks to her for all what she did to defend heritage!
Mind you, her place is near Bambi’s cousin, Dearest Joumana. Thank God the latter just left her apartment before the blast. This neighbourhood is not far from Bambi’s own parents. Her palace (a museum) means so much to Beirut citizens, to Lebanese people, and to tourists… Perhaps more so to Bambi’s mom who grew up nearby. Let’s hope this museum will be rebuilt soon. Thanks to the Louvre Museum in Paris who expressed solidarity with Beirut Sursock Museum. The latter has been renovated after civil war. Indeed, it took 20 years to fix it, as you can see in the pictures below:
https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1231003/lady-cochrane-disparition-dune-icone.html
Yesterday, another sad story came out of Beirut: an injured man in the blast, called Mr. Tanios Antoun, lost his life. He was an inpatient at the Saint George Hospital. He had to be rushed to the American University of Beirut Healthcare Centre. Despite the best medical efforts, he lost his battle against his injuries. Mr. Antoun comes from a beautiful village called Sghar. Bambi could not find an online picture of this man to honour him. To do so, she will show you two pictures of his village.
This will be followed by a song she would like to dedicate to his memory as well as to Ms. Sursock-Cochrane’s memory, if she may. It is the famous Li Beirut song of Feiruz, acapella performance by a talented artist that Bambi just discovered. Her name is Ms. Abir Nehme.
A picture taken from the internet.
A picture taken from the internet.
To conclude this post on a lighter note, Bambi will share pictures of two beautiful guests in Beirut. One gave citizens hope of finding life under the rubble, even after a month. Flash, a clever and cute dog, came with her rescue team from Chile. Sadly, the heart beating she discovered and they sensed stopped. Thanks to them and to their Lebanese peers for searching the destroyed site for three days. At least, they can tell themselves that they did their utmost. Well, Flash became a star in Beirut in both real life and social media. Thank you Ms. Roula Douglas for sharing her picture!
Following Flash’s picture, you will see a few pictures, taken as screenshots from Roula’s’ Twitter account. Bambi tried to find ways to share the original video but was unsuccessful. Anyhow, you can still see an adorable pelican who made friends in Beirut with a café owner and fishermen. The video comes from a Bloomberg Beirut-based journalist, Ms. Lin Noueihed who wrote the following: “So I was having a bite with a couple of friends by the corniche when this fella wonders in. Apparently, he’s been visiting for the past month, looked after by the cafe owner and fishermen. And for a few minutes, the world was beautiful again. #Beirut“.
As a conclusion to this post, Bambi is happy to virtually meet you, beautiful pelican. She hopes you are having a good time in Beirut. Who knows? Perhaps you brought to citizens a message of hope about any international investigation as well as more prosperous and healthy days to the Lebanese people. Until then, long live your friendship with the Beirut café owner and the fishermen!
