Explosion, fatalities in Beirut evoke anger, sadness among Lebanese in Tallahassee

Byron Dobson Nada Hassanein
Tallahassee Democrat

Jessika Malo was returning from a visit with her daughter to an animal farm in Tallahassee when some of her Lebanese friends started circulating early videos from a horrific explosion in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon.

She immediately reached out to family members in Zahlé, one of eight provinces making up Lebanon. It is about 30 miles east of Beirut.

“They said an explosion happened and it was scary,” said Malo, a professor of Arabic and Film Studies in the Arabic division, Modern Languages at Florida State University.

More:What we know about the massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 135, injured thousands

Jessika Malo, a professor at Florida State and native of Zahle, Lebanon

She frantically tried to reach a sister, who works in Beirut. She couldn't be reached. 

A few hours later, she learned her sister rushed out of her work building during the explosion’s aftermath, but was safe.

“Some glass had fallen in the same room where she worked,” Malo said in an interview. “She panicked and had to leave the building. She left with her shoes off.

"Some people were outside with blood on their faces and later she found out one of the people who works with her and works at the port was killed.”

More:Lebanon launches investigation into ammonium nitrate at port after Beirut explosion

Malo has since learned that friends in Tallahassee are suffering after their houses in their homeland were destroyed.

Another friend was in her house less than 5 miles away from the port explosion, and had to be rushed to the hospital with injuries from glass shards.

“She lost a lot of blood and went into a coma, but she woke up later,” Malo said, choked up as she spoke.

The massive explosion killed more than 100 people, injured thousands and caused catastrophic damage to Lebanon's capital city, according to multiple news reports. 

More:These 7 videos show the massive Lebanon explosion from street level, across Beirut

The aftermath of a blast that tore through Lebanon's capital on Aug. 5, 2020 in Beirut.

The Lebanese government says it is putting an unspecified number of Beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation and declared a two-week “state of emergency,” effectively giving the military full powers during this time, USA TODAY reported Wednesday.

The blast severely damaged numerous apartment buildings, and Beirut's city governor Marwan Abboud said between 200,000 and 250,000 people had lost their homes. Authorities are working on providing them with food, water and shelter, according to reports.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be officially determined, but Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese General Security, said it might have been caused by highly volatile material that was stored at the port after it was confiscated from a ship.

The material was identified as ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizer and explosives, in a tweet on the Lebanese presidential account.

More:What is ammonium nitrate?

People gather near the scene of an explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020.

“There were four hospitals in Beirut that were destroyed,” Malo said. “This is the downtown area that is heavily populated. This is the heart of our capital and now it is destroyed.”

Malo said she believes the explosion is another example of what she described as the “corrupt” government in Beirut.

“And now they are going to investigate themselves. They need to step down because all of them are responsible,” she said. “And a lot of Lebanese people here and abroad are disappointed by what the government is doing.

"... I am very angry because this is negligence. This is another form of this government corruption.”

More:Even before explosion, Lebanon teetered toward ruin

Samir Abou Shaheen, a fifth-year doctoral student in chemistry at Florida State University

Samir Abou Shaheen, a fifth-year doctoral student in chemistry at FSU, said his Twitter feed started buzzing with the news around 11 a.m. Tuesday. He is from Manara, about 40 miles from Beirut.

He reached family who told him everyone was safe, but the heavy chemical smell in the air forced people back in their homes.

The explosion came just a few days after Muslims in Lebanon were celebrating the major holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Abou Shaheen added the tragedy comes at a terrible time for Lebanon, with its government issues, a decline in the economy and its battle with containing the spread of COVID-19.

Plumes of smoke remain in the air in Manara, Lebanon  on Tuesday, about 40 miles from the massive explosion that crippled Beirut.

“We can’t afford anymore casualties, any money losses,” he said. “The situation in Lebanon is really catastrophic. The explosion yesterday added a new disaster to many that were already there.

"Besides the pandemic, people have been suffering from financial crisis and shortage of the minimum rights such as electricity, water, medical supplies, clean air ... So this makes the extent of this new damage devastating and left all Lebanese heartbroken and desperate," he added. 

Walid El Kayal, on the other hand, didn't talk politics — he only shared his recollection of the horror.

He was walking from his kitchen toward the living room that evening, a coffee in one hand, when the ground began to shake. He thought it was an earthquake. Seconds later, the explosion thundered – and the force blew open his front door, breaking it.

A man walks through debris on a residential street, devastated by an explosion a day earlier, on Aug. 5, 2020 in Beirut.

“The explosion didn’t last very long, but … every second counted as one hour,” said El Kayal, a former Florida A&M research scientist who studied Florida muscadine grape diseases. El Kayal, who is Egyptian, now lives in Lebanon.

An agriculture professor, El Kayal lives with his family on the American University of Beirut campus, less than two miles from the explosion.

His three kids were frightened. His 12-year-old daughter burrowed into her dad’s arms for safety. “She wanted to be inside me, not just beside me, not even just holding my hand,” he said.

His wife “thought it was the end,” he said. A day later, El Kayal says his limbs are still trembling. He described the feeling as constant jitters.

“I can’t stand for a long time,” he said. “I don’t feel 100 percent normal. But I’m getting better.”

Contact Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson. Reach Nada Hassanein at nhassanein@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @nhassanein_

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