Lebanon's Abandoned Children
The children left behind after Beirut's devastating explosion
Nearly one month after the deadly explosion in Beirut's port, which killed at least 190 people, the situation in the country is critical. Already in crisis, today the pressing need is to reconstruct the city and help the abandoned children.
Living in an abandoned movie theatre, two homeless Lebanese children sell metal scraps to survive. 'Sleeping here is better than sleeping on the street', explains 11-year old Oudia. Since the explosion, 8,000 children were left homeless, with Beirut's only hospital to shelter abandoned children left in ruins. 'It took ... five years for [the hospital] to run smoothly. After five years, it went away in a minute', explains one of the hospital's doctors. With adoption a complex process in Lebanon, most children rely on charities for support, such as the charity run by Father Majid: 'I'm not shutting anyone out. I don't care about their religion or skin colour', says Majid.
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