Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon has entered a period of national mourning after a massive explosion tore through the city, leaving a smoldering crater in the city’s port. The government has declared a two-week state of emergency and has begun investigating the source of the explosion.
The port before the blast. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
Pierre Houssney of Horizons International says the country was already struggling with an economic crisis and political instability. “This is the triple crisis. Lebanon was just hanging by a thread, and now it just gets rocked by the biggest explosion that’s ever happened in the country, even during the Civil War.”
But Houssney says all of these crises share a connection: corrupt leaders who ignore the welfare of the people for their own gain. “I think we’ve seen the depravity in Lebanon, the human depravity, go to such extents that it’s like how can we blame God for this? We’ve seen that the corrupt leaders have reduced Lebanon to a bone. And now they’ve broken it and they’re sucking out the marrow. They have milked the infrastructure just drained all the resources that that could have brought prosperity to the people.”
The cause of the explosion
The port after the explosion. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
As the investigation into the source of the explosion continues, it has been discovered that huge amounts of volatile chemicals sat in a warehouse on the docks for 6 years after being confiscated from a ship. They were not properly stored, and the authorities did nothing to deal with the potential danger.
Houssney says, “I feel like in the West, people may be saying, ‘Where is God?’ But in the Middle East they’re saying, ‘When will human hearts soften, and repent and come back to God?’”
Houssney says Lebanon desperately needs aid right now, even in terms of repairing all of the shattered windows in Beirut. “The cleanup job has been just ridiculous with how much broken glass is all over the city and how much blood has been spilled.” You can help Horizons International provide financial help for the situation here.
Continue to pray that the people of Lebanon will not only get the humanitarian aid they need but also find freedom from the corrupt leaders that have ignored their needs for so long. Houssney says, “Now that the port is gone now the electricity company’s headquarters has been destroyed, we just don’t know what further could happen.”
The header image shows smoke from the explosion. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
