EASTON, Pa. (WLVT) - Last week, Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church would’ve hosted its annual Lebanese Heritage Days, but COVID-19 forced the church to cancel. However, people still came to the church, but for an entirely different reason.
Parishioners lifted up their homeland in song and prayer, just days after one of the biggest blasts in history. More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the capital of Beirut, killing more than 200 and displacing as many as 300,000.
The news hits home for Lebanese-Americans in the Lehigh Valley. Some were born in Lebanon, and others have strong family ties.
"This country cannot take any more bad news, cannot take any more disasters, really," said Lebanese-born parishioner Marta Gabriel. "My heart just sank."
"It brings back flashbacks from the civil war," said Dr. Mirna Trauger, a Lebanese-born assistant professor of Spanish at Muhlenberg College. "I lived during a big chunk of the civil war in Lebanon, and it brings back a lot of that trauma."
"It's a major blow to the people there," added parishioner Peter Karam, who has family in Lebanon. "They deserve better than this. They're already facing a lot of political corruption and a hyperinflation that's currently going on with their currency being devalued -- and all we can do at this time is pray for them."
Lebanon has a strong Christian base, and the church in Easton has welcomed people to pray for friends and family in the homeland.
"In every crisis, we turn to our faith," said Deacon Anthony P. Koury, "and our faith will get us through this, as it has in our beloved Lebanon for those 60 years of civil war and the ongoing pandemic there as well."
The blast in Beirut is the latest setback for the country. Lebanon was already dealing with a struggling economy before the pandemic, and citizens accused the government of being negligent. The prime minister admitted the ammonium nitrate from the explosion was stored for six years "without preventative measures."
"This has brought all of that back to the surface and then some," Trauger said, "and so, people have taken to the streets with reason and with a lot of anger in order to demand the resignation of this particular government right now and an end to the established political order."
"There's always anger when your government is not necessarily responsive to you, and when you feel like there's no sense of hope," Gabriel added, "so, the anger is understandable."
The anger has turned into action. Monday, the prime minister announced that he and the entire Lebanese cabinet were resigning. Locals say cleaning up the government and the streets offer signs of hope and resilience.
"It could take years and years to recover, but right now, our brothers and sisters in Lebanon need to know that there is support," Koury said.
"President Trump has sent aid. I know other countries -- President Macron was just phenomenal, getting there on the ground, right from the beginning," Gabriel added.
Locally, the community is collecting donations through the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, New York, working with certified charities in Lebanon to help the country rebuild.
"The Maronite community, we have strong faith in the Lebanese saints like St. Charbel, St. Rafka," Karam said, "and, as long as they're protecting Lebanon, we know we will prevail from this."
"Seeing people out in the street helping one another, that gives me hope," Trauger said. "Seeing international aid pouring in, that gives me hope. So, there's always hope."
To donate towards relief efforts in Lebanon, click HERE.
You can also learn about the "Lehigh Valley for Lebanon" fundraising campaign HERE.