A tale of a failed state

[airiefairie]

A civil war. An economic crisis. Catastrophes of all sorts. Lebanon has had it all. But the massive Beirut explosion surpasses everything in terms of scales and horror. I doubt anyone in Lebanon has seen such a thing even in their worst nightmare. 300 thousand people were left homeless. Thousands more had their hopes of a better life ruined. This is a very dark moment for Lebanon. And this tragedy reflects with particular deepness on the young Lebanese.

And it is all because of the monstrous incompetence of the Lebanese government. That is the worst part: seeing the gargantuan collapse and failure of your country, your society, and the people who are supposed to be your leaders. This is something we shouldn't wish even to our worst enemies.

The search for missing people goes on for days. The citizens are cleaning up the debris on their own, in the absence of their so called state. No one is offering an apology on behalf of the corrupt elites. The government did resign, yes, but that was too little too late. Their initial instinct was to instead praise the resilience of the Lebanese people, a clear sign that they obviously were not feeling responsible for the six year neglect of the port warehouses hosting such a vast amount of highly volatile materials.

The authorities knew full well the horrible condition of those stores, located at the very center of the capital city, and so close to the main residential areas. And the only thing they could come up with was to detain a few workers at the port. As usually happens, when things get sour, they opted for washing their hands with someone else.

Whichever way we look at it, the monstrous explosion is a direct result of the chronic corruption of a whole sequence of Lebanese governments. For many years, politicians of all stripes had been ruining that country. Even when they were supposed political opponents, the ruling elites united for the sake of fortifying that corrupt system, for their own benefit. Indeed, when it comes to their own wealth and interests, the Lebanese politicians have always shown tremendous unity.

The catastrophe is a painful reminder that the Lebanese governments come and go, and none of them ever honours their main responsibility: to take care of their people's well-being. Take the constant power black-outs for example. The electricity supply suffers daily interruptions for a few hours, every day, for years. And why? Because the so called energy mafia, wealthy business people originating from those same political elites, or being closely tied to it, actually profiteer when the population is forced to get additional energy from them.

Or take the mountains of trash. For years, huge trash heaps have been growing near the airport, and the beaches are stuffed with plastic garbage. Chemical waste is not being processed safely, instead it is disposed of in ways that create risks for people's health. Add the illegal import of garbage from abroad here, also not processed properly, and the resulting profit for those cliques - and you get the idea.

Last year the worst forest fires in decades broke out in Lebanon (in October). The government failed to send planes to fight those fires in time. Just because the people responsible for this job had forgotten to maintain the machines properly. Need I comment any further on this?

The economic crisis, the devaluation of the national currency, all of these problems in Lebanon are self-made. Because at the end of the day, the rulers only care about their own profit at the expense of their people. And none of them have ever taken responsibility for any of their actions or inactions.

The Lebanese have suffered through a protracted civil war, decades of Syrian occupation, two wars with Israel, several economic crisis, an ongoing unemployment crisis, and a series of high-profile political assassinations. They have been protesting against corruption for a year now. Even after all the political changes and resignations and changes of government, that country is still being ruled by the same people who plunged it into a civil war, then signed a peace, and have fed religious conflict and division ever since, always profiteering out of it all.

The Lebanese people are deeply wounded. They are desperate, but they have not given up yet. But how much more misery and pain and humiliation can a nation take? Will it be strong enough to rise again, after another big hit? Lebanon has been forever cursed with living through "interesting times", and it will keep returning to the same dark place as it has now, until the very root of the problem is removed. That is, until the same warmongers who rule it now, are kicked out.

We will certainly be learning more details about the explosion in the weeks to come. But one thing is certain. This incident cannot be investigated by the very same people who had allowed tons of explosive materials to rest in the port for years. This case has to be investigated by an international team, and it has to get to the bottom this time. The whole chain of institutions and individuals responsible for this should be uncovered. Now is the time to finally put an end to the lawlessness and irresponsibility reigning over Lebanon. Now is the time for justice.