This blog from King’s College London features a personal reflection by Maya Yamout, Vice President of the Lebanese NGO Rescue Me and a survivor of the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, six years after the disaster. Drawing on both her lived experience and her professional work in conflict and violence prevention, she argues that the explosion remains an ongoing crisis due to the lack of accountability for those responsible. She reflects on the lasting physical and psychological impacts on survivors, the role of civil society in preserving public memory and demanding justice, and the wider consequences of impunity for trust in state institutions and social cohesion.
Six years on, the Beirut port explosion is still not over
Six years on from the Beirut port explosion, the struggle for accountability remains a defining test of Lebanon’s institutions and public trust.