As the death toll continues to rise following Tuesday’s massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, members of Calgary’s Lebanese community are mourning the loss of life.
A public vigil was held outside of city hall in downtown Calgary on Wednesday to pay tribute to those injured and killed in Lebanon’s capital city.
Calgary Lebanese Association president Alex Harat told Global News he was able to speak to his family in Beirut, and even though they live as far as 60 kilometres away from the site of the explosion, they said it still felt like it happened right outside their home.
“To them, it felt like their house was going to go down,” Harat said. “Speaking to them, their hearts dropped. They didn’t know what was going on either. So, it’s comforting to hear their voice right now, but at the same time, our thoughts and prayers go out other members in our community that have family members that have perished or still injured in the rubble.”
In a show of solidarity that Canada stands in support of Lebanon, the crowd at Wednesday’s vigil sang both the Canadian and Lebanese national anthems.
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Elie Ghanimé, the Honorary Consul of Lebanon in Calgary and Southern Alberta, attended Wednesday’s gathering and said he is still in shock.
“It is definitely more than we (Lebanon) can handle. Lebanon has been hit lately with an economic crisis, hit with the pandemic and now the devastating explosion,” Ghanimé said. “It is definitely, as I say, more than we can handle.”
Ghanimé says he’s appreciative of a statement issued by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, which said, in part, “to the many Albertans who have family living in Lebanon, we join you in hope that your loved ones are safe, We offer you our thoughts, our prayers, and our love.”
While responding to a user on Twitter on Wednesday, Mayor Naheed Nenshi tweeted that “the City of Calgary will be lowering our flags to half-mast to honour this tragic loss of life.”
Calgary, which Ghanimé says has an estimated 40,000 people in its Lebanese community, was not the only Canadian city that held a vigil on Wednesday.
In Vancouver, around 50 people gathered outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery to honour those who were killed.
Further east in Montreal, hundreds of people lit candles at Dorchester Square.
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