Many of us watched the videos of the explosions in Beirut last week, often taken by residents on their phones as they stood on balconies following the first blast. Thousands of tons of highly volatile ammonium nitrate was in storage in the port area and when it detonated a huge portion of the city was leveled or seriously damaged. At least two hundred people died, thousands were injured, and more than a quarter million were displaced from their homes.
We immediately wondered about the fate of a Syrian refugee family which has been living in immigration limbo in the city. A group in Trenton, Ontario, which includes folk from different congregations has been working to sponsor the family for years and it seemed that its efforts were coming to fruition as COVID-19 hit. Despite the diligence and prayer the waiting continues in a country which is overwhelmed by refugees and whose economy was a shambles before this devastation. Providentially, no family members were injured but this makes a dire situation worse.
As is so often the case the United Church of Canada is inviting donations which will be forwarded to our trusted partners in Lebanon rather than to what is a corrupt and incompetent government. Here is the link https://www.united-church.ca/lebanon
We can also remember in our prayers the extremely vulnerable refugees in camps and those living hand-to-mouth in urban centres.
A woman carries a child through the streets of Beirut, Lebanon after the explosion.
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