After the violent explosions of August 4th in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, INTERSOS immediately launched an emergency intervention responding to the basic needs of those affected.
Clarita’s story
When the blast occurred Clarita, 11 months and big eyes, was sleeping in her small bed. Her mom, Micheline, positioned her under the window so she could stay fresh despite the hot muggy weather. Clarita’s family lives in Karm El Zeitoun, in one of the old traditional buildings that conserve the old fashion of Beirut golden age. When Clarita’s mum saw the windows exploding she looked at her daughter’s bed covered with glass and started shouting. Her body was paralyzed, refusing to go and check. She was sure Clarita could not survive to that rain of debris. Micheline’s son understood the situation and run to check her little sister. Clarita was safe and alive, without any wound. When they arrived for an assessment, Micheline showed the INTERSOS operators her smiling daughter in the house devastated by the explosion. A miracle in a catastrophe, said INTERSOS team that is carrying out the assessment of the needs of the people affected by the Beirut disaster.
The explosion and the consequences
On August 4th 2020, the area of the Beirut Port was rocked by two explosions, the second was a massive explosion of 2,750 tons of high-intensity ammonium nitrate. The blast unleashed a shock wave on the Lebanese capital that badly damaged city landmarks and houses up to 10 kms away, killed at least 220 people and wounded 7,000.
More than 500,000 individuals have been directly affected, including Syrian refugees, Lebanese and migrant workers who were living in neighbourhoods close to the port and most affected by the blast, Karm el Zeytoun, Karantina, Bourj Hammoud, Geitawi and Nabaa. They are in need of immediate assistance including food, clothing and medicines and psychosocial support. An estimated 300,000 residents from these areas have lost their homes and belongings and are in need of shelter. In the blast rayon area, it is estimated that at least 150,000 people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, particularly cash and access to basic services in these areas.
The explosion occurred as Lebanon faces a multi-faceted crisis. In recent months, the socio-economic situation of the Lebanese population and refugees has continued to deteriorate, with the cost of basic needs exponentially rising as a result of the deep financial crisis, exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.
INTERSOS’ intervention
In this scenario, INTERSOS immediately mobilized to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of the population through the staff of the mission – active since 2013 – and counting on a vast network of volunteers. 160 shelter kits (kits containing insulating plastic sheets for the construction of emergency shelters) and 208 dignity kits (composed of personal hygiene materials such as soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitary napkins, towels) have already been distributed in the neighborhoods of Geitawi, Bourj Hammoud, Karantina e Karm el Zeytoun.
In coordination with institutions and humanitarian actors on the field, INTERSOS is providing psycho-social support and psychological first aid to those who have been most affected, and supporting the community in debris cleaning actions. Additionally, staff are conducting door-to-door assessments for 168 affected families to identify and help particularly vulnerable people, including children with disabilities or victims of gender-based violence. At the same time, INTERSOS has outlined an emergency response plan which includes:
- Cash assistance to provide immediate relief to the most vulnerable families for the purchase of food and to support repair and reconstruction of homes.
- Reduction of the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through the distribution of emergency hygiene kits that include personal protective equipment.
- Assistance to vulnerable people affected (Lebanese, Syrian refugees and migrant workers) through psycho-social support, protection and legal assistance for those who lost important documents in the explosion.
INTERSOS will participate in the reconstruction efforts of the second phase of emergency response, concentrating the forces in the rehabilitation of damaged homes and in the assistance interventions to the displaced people in winter time, continuing the cash assistance for the subsistence of families and small businesses and carrying out protection actions, trying to prevent the deterioration of social cohesion and tensions between the displaced and the host community.
INTERSOS has been operating in the Land of the Cedars since 2013 in response to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the Syrian conflict, supporting both Syrian refugees and the most vulnerable Lebanese. The interventions cover different areas of the Governorates of Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Beqaa, Tripoli and Tyre. Our activities focus on the protection of the most vulnerable, with particular attention to children and the fight against gender-based violence, with specific psychological and psycho-social support activities, legal assistance and informal education.