BEIRUT: As Syrian refugees, Moayad Obeid and his family had it hard even before the massive explosion that tore through Beirut last August, killing his 26-year-old brother Ayman. In the six months since, life has become all but impossible.
As well as supporting his own family, Obeid, who makes the equivalent of about $100 a month working odd jobs in Beirut, now sends money to his brother’s widow and baby daughter, who returned to Syria after the blast, unable to make ends meet.
Six months on, he has still received no aid.
“Everyone’s story is harder than the other, Lebanese or Syrian, we are all suffering,” Obeid said. “But I will do anything, even sit on the street and beg, if it means I can feed my brother’s daughter.”
Syrian refugees were among those worst hit by the August 4 port explosion that killed 200 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless.
They made up a significant proportion of those killed in the blast, with 41 confirmed dead and two still missing, according to Kayan Tlais, who represents the victims’ families.
Most received little aid and struggled to afford food and shelter even before the blast. Now, with many Lebanese families also having lost everything, aid agencies say what little help was available is having to stretch even further.
— Thomson Reuters Foundation
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