An-Nahar Newspaper Breathe a Sigh of Relief after Beirut Blast

Annahar’s employees have reflected a strong commitment to their workplace.

An-Nahar newspaper building has exposed great destruction after the horror of the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4, which is located parallel to it. Hence, its employees experienced terrifying moments and are trying to heal and stay productive.

An-Nahar newspaper building witnessed the horror of the Beirut Port explosion. Photo Courtesy of (Hussein Kassab).

“Everything collapsed and turned into debris on the ground, and the newsroom needs time to be renovated,” says Ghassan Hajjar, Editor-in-Chief at An-Nahar Newspaper. “Nothing has changed in our working performance in general,” he adds.

“Being physically present in the newsroom is more dynamic. Internal communication and engagement give motivation to us,” Hajjar explains. However, he sees that some colleagues might not be productive like before because they didn’t recover from the shock yet, but they are still working.

An-Nahar employees working in their destructive offices. Photo Courtesy of (Hussein Kassab).

“Usually people recover from stressful events in a good way, but still that include displacements impact are stronger,” says Dania Dbaibo Darwish, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. “Sometimes people process things, develop an understanding of what happened, and view things in a different light but for some others, they remain stuck in the original trauma and reexperience in the present of what happened back then,” she explains.

An-Nahar’s employees talk about their status after the Beirut Blast.

One of Annahar’s staff working on his desk. Photo Courtesy of (Hussein Kassab).

An-Nahar large glass facade building was completely fragmented, and its offices turned into a pile of destruction.

An-Nahar newsroom after Beirut Blast. Photo Courtesy of (Hussein Kassab).

“We lost our chairs, our desks, our pencils but we insisted to be better and release an issue on August 5 following the explosion,” says Mahmoud Fakih, Head of Say7at at An-Nahar Newspaper.“It was a challenge to come and work in a destructive place with no electricity.”

A spot of dry blood on the Lebanese Flag on one of An-Nahar’s employee's desk. Photo Courtesy of (Hussein Kassab).

Fakih expresses how it is like a daily adventure living in Lebanon. “You have to wake up and thank God that you are still alive, yet, nobody kills our determination toward our spirit of work and writing,” he says.