Both the head of the port as well as the head of customs claim they wrote to the Beirut judiciary on multiple occasions requesting that the hazardous materials be moved to a secure facility or exported to ensure port safety. It appears that the request fell on deaf ears if it was made at all.
Big wig government officials have fired back, including a statement from Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad declaring that all port officials “who have handled the affairs of storing [the] ammonium nitrate, guarding it and handling its paperwork” would be placed under house arrest while the matter is further investigated.
As the Lebanese government scrambles to get a grip on the disaster, public support for domestic institutions has plummeted. A prescient example of this is French President Emmanuel Macron’s Thursday visit to Beirut where he was mobbed by incensed residents pleading for assistance while simultaneous bashing the government.
One resident yelled out “Help us, you are our only hope,” while another said, “Please don’t give money to our corrupt government” before further adding “We can’t take this anymore.”
