Character-driven coverage reveals unhealed wounds of Beirut blast
During an interview at her home in Antelias, Lebanon, July 12, 2021, Chouchan Yeghiyan weeps in front of a picture of her daughter, nurse Jessica Bezdjian, who was killed in last year’s massive blast at Beirut’s seaport. Bezidjian was one of four female nurses who died at the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center that day, including a close friend who was killed instantly. (AP Photo / Bilal Hussein)
By Bassem Mroue, Fay Abuelgasim, Sarah El Deeb, Bilal Hussein, Hassan Ammar, Hussein Malla, Fadi Tawil and Zeina Karam
AP’s Beirut team produced a sweeping set of stories to mark the first anniversary of the massive Beirut port explosion, with the emphasis on character-driven pieces that underscore the suffering experienced by survivors of the blast and families of the victims, one year later.
With that in mind, reporter Bassem Mroue, senior producer Fay Abuelgasim and photographer Bilal Hussein told the tragic tale of a 21-year-old nurse who died at work, weaving her story together with that of a couple whose son was born minutes later in the same hospital amid the chaos of the blast. The result was a stunning all-formats narrative embedded with dramatic family video and hospital-supplied footage from the day of the blast. The Beirut crew worked closely with digital storytelling producers and editors Raghuram Vadarevu and Natalie Castañeda. AP’s online video,created by deputy regional news director Balint Szlanko, was heavily used and widely shared on social media.
Meanwhile, Sarah El Deeb reported — with photos by Hassan Ammar — on grieving families seeking justice and accountability for their deceased loved ones; she also collaborated with news director Zeina Karam on the anniversary mainbar which was accompanied by compelling photos and video by Abuelgasim and cameraman Fadi Tawil. El Deeb and Abuelgasim also teamed up with photographer Hussein Malla for an absorbing piece on conservators painstakingly rebuilding and restoring a landmark Beirut museum. In the days surrounding the actual anniversary,the staff shifted its coverage to breaking news as masses of protesters took to the streets, some clashing with police as they demanded that officials be held responsible for corruption and indifference leading to the tragedy.
Emmanuelle Khnaisser kisses her son, 1-year-old Georges Khnaisser, at their home in the town of Jal el-Dib, north of Beirut, July 10, 2021. Khnaisser was about to give birth to her first son and was in the last stages of labor when the massive port blast tore through the St. George Hospital University Medical Center, smashing windows, doors and equipment in the operating room and riddling her lower body with tiny pieces of flying glass. Her son was delivered amid debris in a hallway of the hospital. – AP Photo / Bilal Hussein
Ibrahim Hoteit, left, and his wife Hanan lead a protest in Beirut, July 10, 2021, in support of the relatives of victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion. Hoteit, whose firefighter brother was killed in the blast, has become the face of calls for justice for the victims’ families. – AP Photo / Hassan Ammar
A sign calling for justice is displayed in front of towering grain silos that were gutted in the massive Aug. 4, 2020 port explosion that claimed the lives of more than 214 people, in Beirut, Aug. 4, 2021. A year after the deadly blast, families of the victims are consumed with winning justice for their loved ones and with punishing Lebanon’s political elite, blamed for causing the disaster through corruption and neglect. – AP Photo / Hussein Malla
Mariana Fodoulian shows a tattoo and a portrait of her late sister Gaya Fodoulian during a protest near the parliament building in Beirut to demand an expedited investigation, July 4, 2021. Gaya Fodoulian died in the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed at least 214. – AP Photo / Hassan Ammar
Pictures of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion hang on a street in Beirut, July 4, 2021. Critics say the political leadership has succeeded so far in stonewalling the judicial investigation into the explosion. – AP Photo / Hassan Ammar
In Beirut Aug. 4, 2021, a priest looks toward the towering grain silos that were gutted in the massive explosion exactly one year earlier. A Mass was to be held commemorating the first anniversary of the deadly blast. – AP Photo / Hussein Malla
