Staff proud of Quaker school’s students’ response to Beirut explosion
David Gray, the principal of Brummana High School, and Rima Habib, head of the BHS Intermediate Section, have told of the inspirational response by their students to the catastrophic explosion that rocked Beirut on 4 August 2020 killing at least 200 people and injuring at least 6,500 people.
“There is little doubt that Lebanon faces very hard times ahead,” says David Gray. “Before the explosion occurred there was over 50% poverty and 35% unemployment in the country with terrible levels of deprivation caused by the collapse of the currency (worth only 20% of what it was worth 6 months ago) and hyperinflation in the shops. The awful explosion in Beirut on 4 August and its devastating aftermath were the last thing that the suffering Lebanese people needed. Around 350,000 people have lost their homes, at least 200 deaths and many thousands were injured.
David remains impressed by his students and how they responded to an emerging crisis. “There were many heartwarming stories immediately after the explosion. Lots of our older students went into Beirut to help with the rescue and clean-up operations. Girls and boys became women and men overnight. At school the student council turned the playground into a massive centre for donations of food, clothing and other essentials for those who had been made homeless or impoverished by the blast. Members of the school and local communities brought their donations to the school after we had advertised and promoted our food drive for the poor. The student council had connected with various non-government organisations (NGOS).”
“Parents and others would arrive at school each day in cars to collect food parcels and clothing and other items which Brummana High School students had collected sorted and packed for delivery to the NGO’s in Beirut,” David explains. “They also raised substantial sums of money for the Lebanese Red Cross. They worked tirelessly and learned just how much can be done for others in a time of crisis. This is a lesson which those who participated will carry throughout their lives.”
A vivid example of the impact that Brummana students had is at a hospital in the Jeitawi area of Achfrafieh, Beirut, just over a kilometre away from the blast site. There, students worked with Brummana High staff and old scholars to clear a floor of the hospital that had been damaged in the blast. “The hospital we helped to clean up was Hospital Rosaire,” explains Rima Habib. “It was so sad and shocking to see the great devastation to the hospital, yet the energy and spirit of all the young volunteers working together was uplifting. I noticed that even though the hospital we were cleaning is one in a Christian area, many of the volunteers were Muslims. One of the most inspiring aspects of the clean-up of Beirut was the fact that we were Lebanese from all parts of Lebanon and of all religions working hand in hand in one mission which is to save our dear beloved city Beirut.”
Physically, Brummana High School, situated on Mount Lebanon overlooking Beirut, was unscathed by the explosion although David says that it felt like a major earthquake when the blast happened. Miraculously no staff or students were injured, but many parents have lost their shops, businesses or employment. There is no soft landing to cushion the blow. If you lose you lose everything, there is no compensation.
“We live in hope,” says David, “and we shall not give up. Lebanon is in a state of collapse: our job as educators is to provide a beacon of light and rebuild. We must not fail the next generation in whose hands lie all hopes for the future. Amid growing numbers of coronavirus, we begin teaching again, starting online, on 8 September.”
You can make a donation directly to the school to support the bursary scheme here: https://payment.bhs.edu.lb/
If you are giving from the UK you can also give via the Quaker International Education Trust charity. Information here: https://bhs.edu.lb/giving/giving-from-the-uk/ and Just Giving here: https://www.justgiving.com/q-u-i-e-t
There is more about the Quaker history and traditions at Brummana High School here: https://bhs.edu.lb/about-bhs/quaker-heritage/quaker-tradition/
Donations go to provide education at Brummana High School for children for whom the devastation, combined with economic collapse, has threatened their futures.
