Other

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Assignment

Factual

Investigations and journeys into the heart of global events from BBC correspondents.

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

Assignment: Rebuilding Beirut’s village in a city

Documentaries

News

Rebuilding Beirut’s village in a city

29/07/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Assignment, Rebuilding Beirut’s village in a city

Can Beirut’s unique Karantina district survive after the blast that rocked the city?

A year on from the explosion that devastated Beirut, survivors in one close-knit district are trying to rebuild their lives, helped by passionate volunteers, but not the state.

A year ago Johnny Khawand saw the home he grew up in ripped apart by the massive explosion in a chemical dump in the port of Beirut, Lebanon – one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history.
For hours Johnny fought to save neighbours trapped in the rubble, seeing some die in front of him. Now, after months of restoration work, he’s coming back to try to rebuild his life, hoping that the unique spirit of his close-knit, multi-faith neighbourhood – Karantina – will survive. As he enters his house again for the first time, memories flood back – both comforting and distressing. Johnny and other survivors have formed close bonds with some of the volunteers, including engineers and architects, who’ve spent the last year rebuilding the district for free. They’re passionate about restoring its ancient buildings exactly as they were before. But they’re angry that they’ve received no help from the Lebanese state, which is accused of negligence over the explosion. And Johnny and others now fear that wider redevelopment plans will bring in big money and change Karantina’s character forever. Tim Whewell asks if Beirut’s “village in a city”, with its many layers of history and memory, can survive?

Reporter and producer: Tim Whewell
Producer: Mohamad Chreyteh
Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Beirut explosion survivors Manal Ghaziri and Johnny Khawand outside the ruins of a neighbours' house in the Karantina district. Credit: Mohamad Chreyteh/BBC)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Assignment

Rebuilding Beirut’s village in a city

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service