Locals are calling for justice to be served before memorials can be erected
A new sculpture by artist Nadim Karam commemorating the victims of the deadly explosion that shattered the city of Beirut last year has been met with criticism. The Gesture, a 25m-high human figure made of steel savaged from the rubble, was erected on the site of the tragedy as ‘an act of memory and a gesture towards the immensity of sadness that marks the people of Beirut’. The project was funded by various private companies.
The explosion in the city’s port on 4 August 2020 killed over 200 people, with thousands injured and large portions of the city destroyed. A year later, no top officials have been investigated or held accountable for the devastating blast, although the Lebanese parliament recently announced they would no longer have impunity.
However, the artwork has been met with anger and suspicion from some citizens, who feel it is too early for a public memorial when justice hasn’t even been done. ‘The killers have complete impunity and we are already pretending something is in the past and we are trying to transcend it through art,’ filmmaker Rawan Nassif told Reuters. ‘I feel this is a crime scene that can’t be touched yet, and it has to be investigated.’
Others demanded more transparency as to the commissioning of the work after a social media campaign blast accused Karam of receiving funds and collaborating with the government on this project. Karam denied such accusations and defended his gesture: ‘All our intentions are positive and we have no affiliation to any political party nor to any politicians… The statue reflects Beirut in its sadness and its scars.’
