On August 4, 2020, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored since the end of 2013 in a warehouse, exploded in the port of Beirut. In this devastating double explosion, more than 190 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured. The adjoining neighborhoods suffered significant damage.
Reconstruction in the years 1990-2010: the absent state
Since its creation within its current borders in 1920, the State of Lebanon has known several devastating conflicts. At the end of the civil war (1975-1990), downtown Beirut, around the Place des Martyrs, was thus devastated. This district was renovated by Solidere, a private company created in 1994 by Rafic Hariri, then Prime Minister. This project is part of a logic of expropriation and excessive demolition-reconstruction: 80% of the buildings are destroyed, while the irreversible damage caused by the war is of the order of 40%. The objective is to attract capital and the wealthy classes there. This is partially achieved, to the detriment of the original inhabitants and of the function of social mixing that this district assumed.
After the 2006 summer war, which pitted the Israeli army against Hezbollah fighters, the Haret Hreik district, the latter’s stronghold located south of the capital, was reduced to ruins after intense aerial bombardments. More than 230 buildings were destroyed and 1,200 damaged. Via the organization Waad (“promise”), the Shiite militia party decides to rebuild identically, thus promoting the rapid return of the inhabitants. While the social fabric has been preserved, no urban improvement has been made to this dense, poor neighborhood with no green spaces.
Tomorrow: the challenges of reconstruction
The social issue
Some of the neighborhoods most affected by the blast in the port, such as the Quarantine, are home to a precarious population and refugees, housed without a lease and working without a contract. The humanitarian crisis and the lack of response from the state risk exacerbating its vulnerability. Due to the economic crisis, small homeowners cannot afford the repairs.
The heritage stake and the risk of speculation
The challenge of the reconstruction to come will be to respect both the heritage (640 damaged historic buildings, especially concentrated in Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhael) and social diversity. Gentrification, at work since the 1990s, could accelerate in mixed, historic and tourist neighborhoods. Small buildings destroyed risk attracting the greed of real estate developers whose interest is to erect towers, in the style of Dubai, more profitable than small buildings. This choice would encourage real estate speculation and the arrival of richer populations.
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