To all who knew, yet chose to remain silent prior to August 4, 2020, as they deemed it beyond their remit. In 2014, they sanctioned the MV Rhosus, laden with 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, to berth at the port of Beirut and discharge its precarious cargo, which remained undisturbed until the explosion on August 4, 2020.
To all who were aware, but withheld information until August 4, 2020, viewing it as outside of their duties. Despite their cognizance, they authorized firefighters to venture into the port of Beirut at 5:30 p.m. to extinguish a blaze that had erupted in warehouse number 12, where the hazardous ammonium nitrate was stored.
To all who held this knowledge, yet abstained from action until August 4, 2020, under the guise of professional boundaries. At 6:08 p.m., a door was blown off its hinges, striking a mother who, in response to the first detonation, had raced to shield her young daughter. The child had been tranquilly playing with her dolls, seated in front of the living room windows.
To all who were cognizant, yet refrained from speaking up until August 4, 2020, because they saw it as not within their sphere of responsibility. Nonetheless, at 6:08 p.m., they allowed the windows to shatter, mortally wounding the infant who was peacefully seated in her highchair, under the watchful eyes of her parents.
To all who held this knowledge, yet maintained their silence before August 4, 2020, as they considered it beyond their obligations. Yet, at 6:08 p.m., they permitted the kitchen wall to collapse, burying the young woman who had come home that day to attend to her plants.
To all who were informed, but did not speak up before August 4, 2020, justifying it as not part of their role. However, at 6:08 p.m., they allowed the porcelain tiles in the kitchen to detach and fall onto an elderly woman, who was peacefully seated in a chair, back against the wall, quietly smoking a cigarette and sipping her coffee.
To all who were privy to the information but chose to remain silent before August 4, 2020, considering it outside their job description. They nonetheless allowed the double explosion to occur at the port of Beirut at 6:08 p.m., perhaps to safeguard their own interests. This event instantly rendered over 300,000 people homeless, injured 6,000, and claimed the lives of more than 200 individuals.
Three years later, the ensuing frustration of witnessing these individuals enjoying complete freedom and immunity is intense, primarily because certain judges responsible for the case appear to be in cahoots with all those who knew yet said nothing before August 4, 2020, as it was not their duty.
The insincere stance of the international community is reprehensible. To this day, no entity has provided the satellite imagery that could elucidate the cause of the explosion and, therefore, identify the culprits and bring them to trial.
There is an air of desperation about us Lebanese. Crimes committed from 1975 to the present day remain unpunished, with the real perpetrators neither named nor judged. Worse still, we perpetually manage to re-elect those responsible for our plight, seemingly undeterred by the horrors inflicted upon us. In essence, we are reaping what we have sown: we are lying in the bed we have made.