Climbing out from the depths of hell four years after Beirut Port explosion

Four years after a massive explosion ripped Beirut apart, the scars have yet to heal. Colin Sheridan talks to one family rebuilding their lives after the death of their two-year-old son

A 25m steel sculpture, 'The Gesture', created by Lebanese artist Nadim Karam from the debris of the blast at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. Picture: Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty

Sat, 03 Aug, 2024 - 01:00

Colin Sheridan

Colin Sheridan is a writer and columnist. A former officer in the Irish Defence Forces he has extensive deployment experience as a peacekeeper with the United Nations, having lived and worked in the former Yugoslavia, West Africa, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine.

At 6.07pm on August 4, 2020, Beirut was calm, and very, very hot.

The streets, empty for so long because of covid restrictions, had returned to a normality commensurate with the city’s reputation for elegant chaos.