In Pictures

In Pictures: Grieving Beirut neighbourhood struggles to rebuild

In one of Beirut’s poorest neighbourhoods, people are reeling from the blast that killed many who felt like family.

A woman reacts next to a coffin of Claudette Halabi who was killed in an explosion at the Beirut Port, during her funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon, August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis — Mourners gather around the coffin of Claudette Halabi, who was killed by the explosion at the Beirut port. Her neighbours said Claudette cried out from beneath the rubble of her house for an hour before she died. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Claudette Halabi cried out from beneath the rubble of her house in Beirut for an hour before she died.

Her neighbours could not save her.

“We kept hearing the screams. I heard her voice. But we couldn’t do anything. It still hurts,” said Johnny Khawand, near the remains of the three-storey building she lived in, now crushed by the force of the blast at the port earlier this month.

Four people died in that building alone, among them Claudette, a widow in her 70s he had known since he was a child.

Khawand, born 40 years ago in this neighbourhood, worked with the rescuers through the night after the blast.

In Karantina, one of Beirut’s poorest neighbourhoods near the port, people are still reeling from the explosion that flattened homes and killed many in a neighbourhood where everyone felt like family.

A week later, the neighbours are struggling to find the money to rebuild, without help from the state in a city that was already deep in economic collapse.

The port warehouse explosion killed at least 172 people, wounded thousands and ravaged entire districts.

It shattered walls and ripped out balconies in Karantina, a neglected part of the capital.

The cluster of streets – which house, among other things, a slaughterhouse and a waste plant – saw one of the bloodiest massacres of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

Many said the blast did more damage in a few seconds than 15 years of war. With wreckage at their doorstep once more, families who have spent decades in Karantina have camped out in their apartments.

They sleep on the floor or on ripped couches, without doors or windows, not sure how to go on.

“I’m in a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I still can’t believe I’m looking at my mother’s coffin,” said Claudette’s son, George Halabi, who flew in for her funeral.

People attend the funeral procession of Claudette Halabi, who was killed in an explosion at the Beirut Port, at a cemetery that was also damaged by the blast, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 11, 2020. REUT — Attendees at Halabi's burial. "We kept hearing the screams. I heard her voice. But we couldn't do anything. It still hurts," said neighbour Johnny Khawand. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

The remains of a house that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, stands in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis SEARCH "KARANTI — The remains of a house damaged by the explosion in the Karantina neighbourhood of Beirut. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Johnny Khawand, 40, stands amongst the remains of his kitchen at his home which was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Alk — Johnny Khawand, 40, stands in what remains of his kitchen. Khawand worked with the rescuers through the night after the blast. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

A man looks at the remains of his home that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstant — In Karantina, one of Beirut's poorest neighbourhoods located near the port, people are still reeling from the explosion that flattened homes and killed many in a neighbourhood where everyone felt like family. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

A boy, whose home was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, sleeps outside on a mattress on the floor, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konst — A boy whose home was damaged by the explosion sleeps outdoors on a mattress on the ground in Karantina. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Locals, whose homes were damaged by an explosion at the Beirut Port, sit at the entrance of a building in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis — More than a week after the blast, residents are struggling to find the money to rebuild. There has been no help from the state in a city that was already deep in economic collapse. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Marguerite Dirany, 81, sits in the living room of her home that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konst — Marguerite Dirany, 81, sits in the living room of her damaged home. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Tony Matar, 68, sits on a chair in his living room at his home that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. "Our life''s sav — Tony Matar, 68, sits in his damaged living room. Months before the blast, a currency crash had wiped out Matar's savings from his family's linens store. "Our life's savings are in this house," he says. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Souad Matar talks to Reuters as she sits in the living room of her home, that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. "Ever — "Every time I come back home, I relive that moment. I remember how my daughter fell, and I cry," said Souad Matar. The shockwaves brought doors, closets, and chairs crashing down on her daughter Patricia, 25, who had travelled to Beirut for her sister's wedding. Patricia's her broken bones will take months to heal. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Volunteers carry scaffolding to be set up around a building that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Kons — Volunteers carry scaffolding to be set up around a building that was damaged by the explosion. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Abdou Batrouni sits on the balcony of his home that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis — Abdou Batrouni sits on the balcony of his home. He lost his savings, money he had stashed in a closet in a bedroom that was blown to pieces. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

A Lebanese flag hangs in front of the buildings that were damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, in the neighbourhood of Karantina, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis — A Lebanese flag on a building damaged by the explosion. Many in Karantina said the blast did more damage in a few seconds than 15 years of war. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Cranes stand around the remains of site, that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, stands in Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis — The warehouse explosion killed at least 172 people, wounded thousands and ravaged entire districts. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]