Last week’s massive explosion in Beirut was felt 7,000 miles away by the small and tightknit Lebanese community in Las Vegas.
Many belong to St. Sharbel Catholic Church in the Silverado Ranch area of southern Las Vegas. It has long been a focal point for the area’s Lebanese Christians and today is working with other houses of worship to aid victims of the explosion.
More than 200 people died in the Aug. 4 blast, which devastated the port of Beirut and much of the city.
One of the people who was killed is connected to Las Vegas dentist John Nassar.
A relative of Nassar's sister-in-law died while he was visiting his 6-year-old daughter in a nearby hospital. The girl survived but the hospital was damaged to the point that it is out of commission.
Nassar's sister was in Beirut just a few days before the blast. Her husband, Nassar's brother-in-law is still there.
Protests and unrest have followed the explosion. Many Lebanese are blame the government for the blast, saying it was a result of corruption and negligence among the country's ruling class.
Nassar said the unrest was happening before the explosion.
"It started about a year ago with protests," he said, "People wanting a change in the political structure. A lot of corruption, decades of nepotism and people just not wanting to relinquish their powerful positions, which led to a financial meltdown in the banking sector."
Nassar said people have not been able to withdraw money from banks. He also said unemployment is high and the coronavirus pandemic is making it all worse. When he talks to family and friends still living there, the conversations are "depressing," he said.
He is hopeful the explosion and subsequent protests will bring attention to the problems.
"This explosion with all its misery and sadness that it's brought has, I feel, galvanized the world community into looking at really finding a long term solution for Lebanon and the Lebanese population," he said
Nassar said there is a long-standing community of a few thousand Lebanese people in Nevada. The church he attends has been around for about 30 years. It has raised funds to help survivors of the blast.
The church's pastor is in Beirut helping people who are displaced by the explosion.
Nassar said the Lebanese community in Las Vegas comes from a variety of religions and backgrounds. Every year they have a Lebanese-American Festival. This year's festival was canceled because of concerns about the coronavirus.
"We just love to share our culture, food, music with the population at large," he said.
Nehme Abouzeid is a Las Vegas businessman who is also from Lebanon. He lived in Beirut and worked at a newspaper there. He said his offices were not far from the blast area.
"I actually watched in horror the other day last week when I saw the images on TV and on Twitter as well," he said.
Abouzeid explained that the area that was impacted by the explosion is an older neighborhood with a "tapestry" of old buildings and homes. He said because it is close to the parliament building there are lot of foreign dignitaries who live there.
The explosion happened at the port, crippling this vital route into the country, Abouzeid said.
"Lebanon is a net importer," he explained, "So, they import most of their food, most of their clothing. It's a very small country so they don't produce a lot of that on their own. So, now with the port damaged, they're going to have a lot of trouble bringing food into the country."
He said some estimates suggest that half of the country's population could be living in poverty very soon.
Abouzeid has worked in the hospitality industry and he said that is where many Lebanese ex-pats and Lebanese-Americans have found work. He said by their nature the Lebanese people are hospitable and the resort industry is often a natural fit.
"There are many of them. There are hundreds of them here that contribute because of their ability to speak languages and because hospitality is in their nature, they do extremely well in food and beverage, in casino and business management positions," he said.
Those looking to assist the victims can support the Lebanese Red Cross, which helped coordinate a national medical response. Other organizations aiding in recovery can be found here.
John Nassar, Las Vegas dentist, native of Lebanon; Nehme Abouzeid, Las Vegas businessman, worked in Beirut