'Standing together' only hope for Lebanon, say NGO volunteers

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 16: After the devastating port explosion earlier this month, NGOs have been working tirelessly to revive Beirut, with armies of volunteers flooding the blast-hit streets to do what is needed to heal the city’s people. On Aug. 4, the explosion of a warehouse in the Lebanese capital filled with nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate took at least 200 lives, also leaving around 6,000 injured and 300,000 people homeless. Amid political uncertainty and growing public anger against the government, NGOs, at least for now, have been focusing one basic task, namely saving human lives. Coming from all corners of Lebanon, thousands of volunteers are striving to help the areas hardest hit by the explosion, distributing food, clean water, and COVID-19 protection supplies to the most vulnerable. "We don't really care about the damage to buildings but the harm done to people," said Sara Abi Kanaan, a well-known local actress. After the horrific blast, she joined the civilians working to dig Beirut out of the wreckage, volunteering for the most vulnerable in society. Coordinating with local bodies and communities, she said the volunteers now have a mission of rescuing society. "The only hope is us being and standing together," she stressed, adding that all Lebanese feel traumatized but now is the time to show resistance and resilience. Marwad Atasi, the founder of a medical initiative established right after the blast, said they are continuing to treat the injured. Explaining they turned the warehouse of a building into a clinic, she said the solidarity of the Lebanese is the only thing giving them hope at the moment. Mohammed Al- Elani, a volunteer engineer assessing buildings damaged by the explosion, and Linda, one of the ad hoc medical tent's organizers, spoke in interviews on Sunday in Beirut. (Footage by Enes Canli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)