The devastation caused by the massive explosion that ripped through Beirut on August 4 is beyond any worst nightmare for the country. The blast, which officials have linked to the improper storage of some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port since September 2013, left at least 137 dead and 5,000 wounded. It sent shockwaves across the city, causing widespread damage to buildings and shattered windows even on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital.
Beirut is a city that knows how to rise from the ashes - it is said to have been destroyed and rebuilt seven times during its 5,000-year history. I have seen it destroyed repeatedly by Israeli bombs in the 1980’s and I have seen it revive.
However,
this most recent catastrophe is more haunting than any past war, invasion or
earthquake that ravaged the ancient city, because it was brought on not by a
hostile outside force or natural disaster, but Lebanon's own ruling elites.
It is
still not entirely clear what sparked the blast in cargo vessel loaded with a
highly combustible material recklessly left in a civilian port since it was
abandoned in Beirut port nearly seven years ago. There is no doubt, however,
that what happened on Tuesday was not merely an accident. It was the latest
deadly consequence of the deep-rooted culture of corruption, incompetence, and negligence
in the Lebanese state apparatus.
The Port
of Beirut functions without any real governmental supervision. It is jointly
managed by the Customs Authority and the Beirut Port Authority. While the
former is under the control of President Michel Aoun's loyalists, the latter is
managed by bureaucrats loyal to former prime minister Saad Hariri. Both of
these public authorities are technically supervised by the government, but in
practice, they do not succumb to any official hierarchy or parliamentarian
control like all the other Lebanese authorities and institutions that only
report to the sectarian leader or group protecting them.
Given
Lebanon's abysmal record in investigating governmental negligence and
corruption, many who contributed to the tragedy at the highest level of the
Lebanese state will likely never face justice. This is problematic, as it
contributes to the erosion of public trust in government.
The
explosion is also going to have a devastating impact on Lebanon's
long-struggling economy, fragile political status quo, and international
standing.
It is not
clear whether the government is able to secure the amount of cash it needs to
provide shelter for 300,000 who lost their home and to ensure the flow of basic
commodities in the aftermath of the explosion. It will eventually be forced to
add to its existing domestic and foreign debt to pay for recovery and
reconstruction, causing the Lebanese government to become even more dependent
on foreign aid, and weaken its negotiating position against the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). As a result, the country's existing divisions on foreign
policy will deepen, with rival political groups fighting over where Beirut
should turn for help at this time of grave need. The US, France and Iran are
already weighing in to offer assistance, and some in Lebanon are already
entertaining the idea of inviting China to rebuild the Beirut port.
The
devastation and public anger caused by the explosion, coupled with the
increased involvement of foreign powers in the country, will further weaken the
Lebanese government and add fire to existing domestic political tensions. Prime
Minister Hassan Diab and his backers will likely try to use the explosion to
reduce former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's influence over the state. Hariri, in
return, may team up with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt to launch a campaign
against the Lebanese government and potentially the presidency. Hezbollah,
another major player in Lebanon's corrupt political system, meanwhile, will try
to manage these tensions to maintain its influence in the country.
Today,
the Lebanese people are facing an unprecedented tragedy. After experiencing a
devastating economic collapse and trying to fend off a pandemic with limited
resources, they are now faced with the enormous task of healing their wounded
and rebuilding their capital city and main port. There is a sense of exasperation and fatigue after all what
the country has been going through.
The
Lebanese people undoubtedly need all the help they can get from the
international community. But the country's elites, who are directly or
indirectly responsible for this tragedy, should not be allowed to use
international aid as a life vest to save themselves from scrutiny. The
international community appears to be inclined to view the explosion in Beirut
solely as a humanitarian crisis. Offering assistance to the Lebanese political
system without questioning its role in bringing about this tragedy and the
economic collapse, however, will harm, not help, the Lebanese people. It will
provide yet another opportunity for the corrupt elites to dodge accountability,
shift responsibility and avoid implementing the structural reforms the country
desperately needs. There are ways to help Lebanon without going through the
traditional official channels.
This is why if the international community really wants to help Lebanon heal, it should not only send aid and offer support, but also acknowledge what really happened in Beirut on August 4: a failing political elite that, through negligence, incompetence and corruption, destroyed its own capital and killed its own citizens.
PALESTINA
"When was this settlement so close? I can see the insides of the houses!" has become a common refrain across the occupied and colonised West Bank. "They never built the settlements in a temporary fashion."
In
parallel, Israeli checkpoints have also proliferated throughout the West Bank
to provide security for colonisation activities. "Flying checkpoints"
manned by Israeli soldiers in armoured vehicles would sporadically appear and
disappear, obstructing Palestinian movement at every step, causing millions of
dollars of damage to Palestinian economy. The 25km trip between Ramallah and
Bethlehem, for example, can take a Palestinian hours.
There are
also the more permanent checkpoints, such as the infamous Qalandia, which
separates Jerusalem from the West Bank and through which Palestinians can enter
the rest of historic Palestine (present-day Israel), if they have permits. In
2019, the Israelis added a massive structure to the checkpoint. It looks like
an airport terminal, rather than a checkpoint. It is a massive building with
electronic doors, surveillance cameras and Israeli soldiers sitting behind
large glass windows, barking orders: "Move further, come closer, you can
enter, you cannot, you need to be checked!"
Beyond
taking Palestinians’ freedom to move within the West Bank, Israel has also
annexed their freedom to leave. Allenby bridge, connecting the West Bank with Jordan,
was once meant to be an interim humanitarian crossing. Today it is the only
port of entry/exit for West Bank Palestinians and it is operated by the Israeli
Airport Authority, which can deny Palestinian travellers the right to leave.
The
Palestinian population is facing the looming annexation divided, not just
politically and geographically, but also in their experience of
occupation. Palestinians
in Area C - de facto under the control of Israel - or in Gaza have a different
reality than those of us residing in Areas A and B.
A
Palestinian who lives in Ramallah feels that the imminent threat to be expelled
is less acute than for Palestinians living in Ramallah than in Area C or
in East Jerusalem, who are regularly evicted and their land and property
confiscated to make way for Israeli settlers. They also know that unlike
Palestinians in Gaza, they are safe from Israeli bombardment, because the West
Bank is surrounded by Israeli settlers and settlements. Bombing is not an option. Perhaps
that is why the Palestinian Authority officials do not defend their people’s
interests as they should.
Living in
Ramallah also means that a Palestinian does not face the hostility of a host
nation, denied the right to work or receive healthcare, like millions of
Palestinian refugees in Arab countries. Living in Ramallah, also means that they
do not experience the discrimination faced by Palestinians living in the
West.
They too
face the violence of the occupation and the precarity of being Palestinian in
this world. If they are not shot randomly at a checkpoint, their homes can
still be raided at any Israeli official's whim, or attacked by settlers
surrounding their villages. And if not that, then the Palestinian Authority
(PA) may decide that a resistant is a political threat and detain him or her.
In this
sense, the annexation will be felt differently by different Palestinian communities.
And this is probably what the occupier is counting on - that divided in their
experiences, they will not be able to unite in our response.
Many
Palestinians live in such destitution due to the occupation and their expulsion
from their lands that their main concern is physical survival. This further
erodes their ability to mobilise politically.
The 1994
Paris Protocol meant as an interim measure, has effectively ensured the
economic insecurity of Palestinians through its "customs
union" model
making the Palestinian economy dependent on Israel. This allowed Israel to rein
in the Palestinian resistance.
In the
West Bank and Gaza, hundreds of thousands of families depend on salaries from
the PA, which itself is depending on Israel to allow the transfer of its budget
and its Western backers to donate the funds for it. The private sector is
completely dominated by and dependent on the Israeli economy and political
mercy. The PA's talk about "economic disengagement » from Israel is
simply laughable.
Palestinians
who cannot make a living in the economically underdeveloped West Bank and Gaza
are forced to seek employment in Israel, where they are thoroughly exploited
and left at the mercy of their Israeli employers. They face the risk of their work
permits being revoked if they or their relatives show any sign of political
resistance.
After 13
years of a military-imposed siege aided by Egypt and the PA and several
murderous Israeli assaults, Gaza is a living human catastrophe. The strip is unliveable
and its economy is in shambles. The Palestinian population there is left in
permanent economic, health, nutritional and sanitation crises. In the Arab
neighbourhood, Palestinian refugees are barely scraping a living.
The
occupier hopes to starve Gaza population into apathy. But just in case, it constantly
deploy military force, political oppression and control.
Palestinian
resistance is more than 100 years old. They have fought the British empire, Zionist
massacres, Israel colonialism and international complicity with Israeli
crimes.
As far as
I can remember, the Palestinians have tried to stop Israeli colonisation of our
lands by any means available to them.
They have
tried armed resistance, and have been met with the brutal response of a nuclear
army; we have attempted peaceful protest only to be shot at, arrested and
tortured; we have appealed to international institutions and law and have been
foiled by Israeli and American diplomatic bullying; and we have also tried to
promote the non-violent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which
has been viciously attacked with various laws seeking to criminalise it as
"anti-Semitic".
Nothing
has worked on the ground for the Palestinians. Nothing has stopped Israeli
encroachment on their rights and theft of their land. They have been abandoned
by friendly governments and Arab allies, while the international community has
continued to maintain its complicity in Israeli crimes.
Apart
from Israeli colonialism, they have also had to face the authoritarianism of their
own Palestinian leadership. The Palestinian Authority has deliberately quashed
our ability to mobilise by imprisoning political activists, violently
repressing protest, and pumping more resources towards their security forces
rather than community development and empowerment.
Under
these conditions, a 1987 or 2000-style mass uprising seems unlikely. Israel has
learned its lessons and has worked hard to undermine their ability to mass
mobilise.
This, of
course, does not mean they will not resist. The Great March of Return of 2018
demonstrated to the Israelis and the world that they can and will march for their
rights even as live bullets rain on them. The Al-Aqsa protests of 2017 proved they
can mobilise momentarily without or even despite the Palestinian political
factions. The Bedouins of Araqib rebuilding their homes after they were
bulldozed 173 times by the Israelis shows they can persevere. Resistance will
most likely be carried out at a community level. The residents of the Jordan
Valley have already vowed to remain on their land, no matter what.
I admit,
with all that is happening in Palestine, freedom seems to be increasingly more
distant. It is a heart-breaking experience to drive between Palestinian towns
and villages in the West Bank and observe how blatant the violence of the
occupation has become in taking over what little remains of Palestine.
It makes
me think of cities like Yaffa, Safad and Haifa. They too were once Palestinian
cities but now almost no one remembers that. They have been annexed,
Israelised, their Palestinian population ethnically cleansed, their Palestinian
character and flavour completely scraped off.
I leave
the last word to a Ramallah resident : “I can see the Tel Aviv skyline
from my balcony and I wonder, will Ramallah wake up one day to the glitzy new
buildings of a European colonial city, thoroughly sanitised and scrubbed free
of its Palestinianness? And will I survive the violence that this process will
entail?»
INTERACTIVE: Palestinian Remix
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement – Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom
BRASIL
AOS FATOS:Todas as declarações de Bolsonaro, checadas
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