Tripoli has regained some semblance of calm. But a dull anger has crossed the port city of northern Lebanon since the sinking of a migrant boat on April 23. The collision of the boat with a Lebanese navy ship, which was trying to make them turn back, resulted in the death of seven people, and around thirty missing, including a majority of Lebanese. Their families do not intend to be silent until the State has provided them with answers.
“There was a mistake by the army, they have to admit it. We no longer trust the government, we want an international investigation. All the politicians do is instrumentalize our drama to beg for international aid, of which they steal three-quarters”, accuses Bilal Al-Dandachi, from the house in the disadvantaged district of Riva, on the heights of the city, where he receives condolences. The wife and two of the children of this 47-year-old restaurant worker, who survived the shipwreck, are still missing. One of his sisters-in-law and five of his nephews and nieces are also dead or missing.
“They did it on purpose”
At 7 p.m. on April 23, three brothers from the Dandachi family and their families boarded a small pleasure boat, along with other neighborhood families, from an abandoned tourist site south of Tripoli. Destination: Italy. After an abortive crossing attempt six months earlier, the three brothers organized the trip themselves. They bought the boat and the equipment – GPS, satellite phone, fuel oil, life jackets and food – and learned to navigate with one of the other team members. The women and children settled in the single room of the boat, the men remained on deck.
After an hour and a half of navigation, the boat was intercepted by a Lebanese navy speedboat, which tried in vain to turn them back. A navy ship joined them. “When he passed by us, it made waves. The boat was rocking, the captain was trying to control it », continues Bilal Al-Dandachi, who affirms that insults were also uttered by certain soldiers. The ship, he said, moved away for a moment, then sped in their direction twice. “They brushed past us and cracked the boat. They did it on purpose.”he accuses, denouncing “the stupidity of these soldiers which led to a crime”.
The Lebanese Navy rejects this version. Its leader, Haissam Dannaoui, claimed that the captain of the stowaway had himself struck the ship while trying to escape. the ” crime “, denounced the officer, was to cram dozens of people, without life jackets, on a boat 10 meters long and 3 wide, fifty years old and with a maximum capacity of ten passengers. At least 84 people were on board, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
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