Lebanon's leadership 'needs to step up', says British Ambassador

When an explosion at Beirut’s port ripped through the city in early August, Britain’s Ambassador Chris Rampling threw open the doors to his residence and welcomed staff displaced by the damage.

The explosion shattered glass and collapsed buildings more than a mile away from the port. More than 200 were killed, and thousands left homeless. Four months on and the city is still limping. Nobody has been held accountable.

Almost 60 people, embassy staff and their families, stayed in the Ambassador’s residence in Yarzeh that night. The hill-top mansion is more accustomed to hosting dignitaries and cocktail parties than the displaced. But after the blast the dining room became “the triage area”, he says.

Now the residence is back to normal, its floors are buffed and the bookshelves well stacked – on them biographies of Geoffrey Boycott and Tony Blair – but Lebanon is a long way from normal.

Mr Rampling will leave Beirut in the coming weeks, ending a two and a half year posting, the final few months of which have been dominated by the blast and efforts to secure a functioning government in Lebanon.

Lebanon – a year in pictures

Carlos Ghosn's home at Ashrafieh St., in Beirut, Lebanon. Sunniva Rose for The National

Japanese journalists that were waiting outside, including when they were filming a car leaving Ghosn's house (unfortunately the driver did not look like him). Sunniva Rose for The National

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 17: People wave Lebanese flags and chant to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-government protests with a background of the destroyed silos on the seaport on October 17, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. On the one year anniversary since the unprecedented mass protests of Lebanese demanding political change as the country buckled under social and economic devastation, Beirut remains in rubble after the August 4 port blast. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - JUNE 11: Protesters burn tires as large-scale protests resume on June 11, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanese pound has lost 70% of its value since October when protests began. Although they abated during the coronavirus lockdown, the country's economic condition steadily worsened. (Photo by Diego Ibarra Sanchez/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 04: Protesters hold torches and nooses, which have become symbols of public anger against the Lebanese government, as they commemorate a month since the city's deadly explosion on September 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. On August 4th, a fire at Beirut's port ignited a stockpile of ammonium nitrate causing a massive explosion that killed more than 200 people, destroyed surrounding neighborhoods and upended countless lives. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 10: Firefighters walk through a burned out warehouse as they respond to a huge blaze at Beirut port on September 10, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. The fire broke out in a structure in the city's heavily damaged port facility, the site of last month's explosion that killed more than 190 people. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 08: Protesters throw stones during an anti-government demonstrations on August 8, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanese capital is reeling from this week's massive explosion that killed at least 150 people, wounded thousands, and destroyed wide swaths of the city. Residents are demanding accountability for the blast, whose suspected cause was 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored for years at the city's port. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 12: An anti-government protester gives water to a policeman after other protesters attacked his vehicle during a march toward the Presidential Palace, on September 12, 2020 in Baabda, Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 12: Anti-government protesters clash with security forces during a march toward the Presidential Palace, on September 12, 2020 in Baabda, Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - JANUARY 22: Anti government protesters and riot police clash during a second day of violence, on January 22, 2020 in an upscale shopping district in Beirut, Lebanon. Weeks of bickering between the Hezbollah-allied political factions backing Lebanon's new Prime Minister Hassan Diab as to who gets which ministries has led protesters to decry his new government as partisan and political, and not the technocratic leadership they have been demanding since protests began on Oct 17th last year. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 07: An aerial view of ruined structures near the city's port, the site of Tuesday's explosion, on August 7, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. By Friday, the official death toll from Tuesday's blast stood at 145, with thousands injured. Public anger swelled over the possibility that government negligence over the storage of tons of ammonium nitrate was behind the catastrophe. (Photo by Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 05: An aerial view of ruined structures at the port, damaged by an explosion a day earlier, on August 5, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. As of Wednesday, more than 100 people were confirmed dead, with thousands injured, when an explosion rocked the Lebanese capital. Officials said a waterfront warehouse storing explosive materials, reportedly 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate, was the cause of the blast. (Photo by Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - FEBRUARY 11: Anti-government protesters are hit by a water cannon as they pull down a concrete barricade during a failed attempt to block politicians from accessing Parliament where they will vote whether to accept Lebanon's new government, on February 11, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 5: Destroyed buildings are visible a day after a massive explosion occurred at the port on Aug. 5, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. As of Wednesday morning, more than 100 people were confirmed dead, with thousands injured, when an explosion rocked the Lebanese capital. Officials said a waterfront warehouse storing explosive materials, reportedly 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate, was the cause of the blast. (Photo by Daniel Carde/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 10: An aerial view of the black smoke following a fire that erupted in Beirut Ports Free Zone on September 10, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. The fire broke out in a structure in the city's heavily damaged port facility, the site of last month's explosion that killed more than 190 people. (Photo by Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 17: Family members mourn as the coffins of firefighters Charbel Hetti, Najeeb Hetti and Charbel Karem who were killed in the August 4th, Beirut port explosion are carried to the church during their funeral service in their hometown of Qartaba on August 17, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Najeeb Hetti, 27 his cousin Charbel Hetti, 22 and his sisters husband Charbel Karam, 37 were killed during the Beirut port explosion along with 7 other firefighters from the Karatina fire department, who were the first responders to the blaze. The remains of Najeeb and Charbel were found on August 13th, however the family refused to bury them until the body of Charbel Karam was found, his remains were recovered on August 15th. There has been little visible support from government agencies to help residents clear debris and help the displaced, although scores of volunteers from around Lebanon have descended on the city to help clean. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 07: A general view of buildings heavily damaged in Tuesday's explosion, on August 7, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. By Friday, the official death toll from Tuesday's blast stood at 145, with thousands injured. Public anger swelled over the possibility that government negligence over the storage of tons of ammonium nitrate was behind the catastrophe. (Photo by Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 30: A demonstrator throws stones at police at an anti-France protest on October 30, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Following a series of deadly attacks, France's President Macron declared a crackdown on Islamist extremism by shutting down mosques and other organisations accused of instigating violence. The comments sparked protests across the Muslim world and calls for a boycott of French goods. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)

-- AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2020 -- An injured man lies at the back of a car before being rushed away from the scene of a massive explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. Two huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known. - / AFP / Marwan TAHTAH

-- AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2020 -- A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. AFP / STR

Two of the UK’s closest allies have led those calls for change.

Though often participants in a united front, there are obvious differences in approaches to Lebanon between the UK, France and the United States. The US has charged forward with sanctions, most recently designating former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil – son in law of the country’s President Michel Aoun – over alleged corruption. There are reports the country’s Central Bank could soon be designated, isolating Lebanon’s once-flourishing financial sector from the global economy.

In the aftermath of the blast, French President Emmanuel Macron launched the so-called French initiative, dressing down the political class as he demanded all sides give up ground for increasingly vital reforms.

“We strongly support the intent behind President Macron’s initiative and I think his words have been sound,” Mr Rampling told The National.

Yet a Macron visit in the aftermath of the blast offered indications France might be willing to look beyond traditional sticking points, especially when it comes to Hezbollah, if the Iran-backed group is willing to give ground on other reforms – namely government formation and a forensic audit of the central bank.

Lebanese Red Cross officers carry an injured woman following an explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. AFP

A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of the explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. AFP

Smoke billows from an area of a large explosion that rocked the harbour area of Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

The aftermath of blast in Beirut. Sunniva Rose / The National

The scene of the explosion that rocked Beirut. AFP

The harbour area with smoke billowing from an area of the explosion, Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

A man reacts at the scene of an explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP

The scene of the explosion at the port in Beirut. AFP

The scene of the explosion at the port in Beirut. AFP

The scene of the explosion in Beirut. AFP

People gather near the scene of the explosion in Beirut. AFP

The scene of the blast in Beirut. AFP

The scene of the explosion in Beirut. AFP

A wounded man is checked by a fireman near the scene of the explosion in Beirut. AFP

A resident stands in the street by a destroyed car, following the explosion near by at the port of Beirut. Bloomberg

Smoke rises after the explosion was heard in Beirut. Reuters

Firefighters spray water at a blaze after the explosion in Beirut. Reuters

People walk at scene of the explosion in Beirut. AFP

The blast at Beirut port. Twitter/ @borzou

Army personnel around entrance to port.

The aftermath of the blast in Beirut. Sunniva Rose / The National

The aftermath of the blast in Beirut. Sunniva Rose / The National

The aftermath of the blast in Beirut. Sunniva Rose / The National

The aftermath of blast in Beirut. Sunniva Rose / The National

Sailors leave their damaged ship near the explosion in Beirut. AP Photo

A vehicle stands damaged on a road following a large explosion at the port area of Beirut. Bloomberg

Firefighters try to extinguish flames after a large explosion rocked the harbour area of Beirut. EPA

People and journalists gather at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP

An injured man sits outside American University of Beirut medical centre on August 5, 2020. Reuters

Men stand before wrecked buildings near the port. Getty Images

A man walks by an overturned car and destroyed buildings. Getty Images

Lebanese soldiers stand outside American University of Beirut medical centre. Reuters

Injured people stand after the explosion. AP Photo

People gather by cars destroyed following an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP

Wounded people wait to receive treatment outside a hospital following an explosion near the Beirut port. AFP

Britain considers Hezbollah a terrorist organisation and is ferociously strict about contact with the group. Her Majesty's diplomats have been known to slip away from events where the group’s representatives are present.

Might this overture by Mr Macron suggest differing approaches? Mr Rampling thinks not.

“A lot of people say the Brits, the Americans the French are all in a slightly different place and pulling in different directions. I don’t recognise that; I don’t see that. I think that fundamentally, the US, the French the Brits, we all want the same thing for this country,” he says.

“I think you’ll find there is much more overlap than there is difference.”

Lebanon is also fighting the flight of its educated classes. Doctors and engineers are increasingly moving overseas, with many feeling Lebanon has nothing to offer them professionally.

“As a friend of this country, the dramatic nature of this brain drain, of course, worries me,” he says.

“I think there is a political crisis, but I think there is also potentially a social crisis around this, the number of people that one talks to who are thinking about how they can get out, or how can they get their children out – there is a sense of despair here at the moment.”

Mr Rampling is among a number of foreign diplomats and officials, including Mr Macron, who have done away with diplomatic language recently to air their frustrations about Lebanon’s stalemate.

“It beholds all of us to talk frankly, and in a way that wakes people up. The leadership of this country needs to step up and bear its responsibilities,” he says.

The frustration animates the ambassador, “Are they going to allow this country to continue to slide away and fall into the sea? Or are they going to make a decision that that is no longer what must be allowed?” he adds, leaning forward in his seat.

It might be easy to pin the current situation on the convulsion of the blast, and the global pandemic, but not so fast, he says.

“There are enormously profound challenges in the country, but the issues are deeper even than that blast. The causes of the economic crisis were baked in before the 4th of August.”

Acknowledging the impunity that has protected Lebanon's ruling elite, he says: “Corruption is only a part of that, there is going to be a need to define what kind of economy this is going to be, what kind of society this is going to be.”

“I think a lot of political taboos have been broken down,” he says, striking an optimistic tone in what may be one of the final interviews of his posting.

“There are no conversations that you cannot have in this country, and there are no conversations that people don’t want to have actually, and I think that is a source of hope."