For residents, the silos have been a kind of living proof of the tragedies the Lebanese have endured over the decades, in which events that shock the country go unexplained and no justice is delivered.
The silos that fell Tuesday were the last of the structurally unsound northern block, according to Emmanuel Durand, a French civil engineer who has volunteered to work alongside emergency workers to monitor the structure. Grain that had been fermenting and toasting in the sun for two years burst into flames last month, weakening the silos and starting the process of collapse — most recently on the second anniversary of the blast.
In April, Lebanon’s government said it had ordered the demolition of all the silos, fearing their eventual collapse. But activists, families of the victims and engineers fought the government decision, with engineers stressing that the southern block remains structurally sound. Families of victims and independent lawmakers have demanded that the southern portion be left as a landmark of what happened until an independent investigation has been carried out.
A judicial probe began in 2020 into responsibility for the alleged official negligence that allowed 2,750 tons of highly combustible ammonium nitrate to be stored for six years on the edge of a densely populated city. The probe has been stalled repeatedly, as the judges leading the investigations were mired in court complaints by officials accusing them of a lack of neutrality and arguing for immunity from investigation.
“When you don’t get justice, you’re still hurt, and you still don’t have closure,” said environmental activist Samer Khoury, 31. “To me, this is not called PTSD anymore,” he said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder, but rather CTSD — constant traumatic stress disorder.
If the silos are removed and no longer there as a monument to be seen, Khoury continued, “somehow, you will stop thinking about [the blast] or even consider that it happened.”
An urgent draft law was submitted to Parliament in July by an independent lawmaker, aiming to classify the silos as a national site for heritage. But when the draft law came up for a vote, the legislative session devolved into name-calling and accusations of voter fraud. Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri adjourned the session.
Officials who are members of Berri’s party, the Amal movement, are among the many named in the judicial investigations of the explosion.