As day broke in Beirut, millions woke up to near-apocalyptic scenes as the city was shrouded in smoke and dust from Tuesday’s deadly explosion. Whole apartment facades had fallen, windows were blown out and furniture strewn in the streets of many neighborhoods. Hundreds of dazed and blood-soaked Lebanese — many used to catastrophe having lived through decades of civil war — fled to the nearby mountains for safety last night. “Our shop is destroyed, our home is destroyed, our life is destroyed,” said one distraught wedding store owner. “Why are we stuck in this country?” |