A catastrophe of the magnitude of the Beirut explosion should not pass without a major political transformation in the country, writes Rima Majed for CNNopinion
Rima Majed is an assistant professor of sociology at the American University of Beirut. The views expressed in this opinion are her own. View more opinion here.
Beirut, Lebanon I was meeting my friends at a sidewalk café in the Hamra district for a coffee when the earth shook under our feet. Someone yelled,"Earthquake!" But my friend, who'd lived through the 15-year Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990, screamed,"It's an explosion!" Before I could even reply or acknowledge what had happened, there was a second explosion, even bigger than the first. As buildings crumbled and glass rained down upon us, I was paralyzed by fear. Rima MajedWhen the dust began to settle, all I could see was devastation -- bloodied people, a café turned to ash, rubble where an entire street once stood. The sirens that followed were deafening.Lebanon has been plagued by political corruption and crony capitalism for decades.
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