In 17 days, Lebanon will mark the two-year anniversary of the surrealistic Beirut port explosion that killed about 220 innocent residents, injured over 6000 others (some of them are still in the coma), and caused destruction worth billions of US dollars in addition to the collective trauma.
Recently, the Lebanese authorities tried to destroy evidence at the port. Families of the victims tried to push back and criticize “their” so-called government. “Mysterious” port fire broke out in a grain silo and lasted for an entire week (https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/lebanon/2022/07/15/relatives-of-beirut-blast-victims-criticise-). government-response-to-port-fire/). Some attributed the fires to “the summer heat and fermenting wheat in the northern part of the silos“, as per the National.
As a reminder, the August 4, 2020 massive criminal negligence, and/or crime, remains unaccountable even after almost 24 months. This despite ALL the heroic efforts of Judge Tarek Bitar who is still facing SEVERAL “legal challenges and hampered by political interference” (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-beirut-port-explosion-victims-file-complaint-us-court) and who deserves a Peace Nobel Prize, to say the least.
Today, Bambi read in the Claims Journal the following promising piece of news: “Families of some of the victims of Beirut’s deadly port blast have filed [in Texas] a $250 million lawsuit against an American-Norwegian firm suspected of involvement in bringing the explosive material to the port, a Swiss foundation announced Wednesday” (https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/international/2022/07/14/311586.htm).
Always according to Claims Journal citing Accountability Now, this legal action “names U.S.-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS, which owns the British firm Spectrum Geo“. The latter is suspected to “had entered into a series of highly profitable but suspicious contracts with the Ministry of Energy in Lebanon… In 2012, Spectrum chartered the Moldavian flagged vessel Rhosus to come to Beirut while carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate on board“.
Yes, you and Bambi read the above well: Ministry of Energy. This is the exact same apparently highly corrupt ministry (among other ones?) that has resulted in unprecedented power outages paralyzing Lebanon.
Bravo and best wishes to the families filing this lawsuit! For them and for Beirut, Bambi will end her post with Mr. Ghassan Saliba’s moving song featured on this blog in an older post, which is shown further below with her own English translation of its powerful lyrics.
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