BEIRUT: In a hospital room in the mountains of Mount Lebanon, 47-year-old Lara Hayek lies motionless. Five years after the catastrophic Beirut port explosion left her in a vegetative state, her mother Najwa maintains a daily vigil, clinging to hope that justice will finally arrive.
“Every single day, I wait for Lebanon’s courts to prosecute those who perpetrated this crime against defenseless civilians,” Najwa told Arab News.
The blast’s impact on Lara was devastating. Shrapnel from the explosion penetrated her eye, causing severe brain hemorrhaging that led to cardiac arrest.
A ship is pictured engulfed in flames at the port of Beirut following a massive explosion that hit the heart of the Lebanese capital on August 4, 2020. (AFP)
Her frail body now depends entirely on medical intervention — breathing through a tracheostomy tube and receiving nutrition through a feeding tube inserted into her abdomen.
