A Filipina domestic helper who was inside her employer’s home was amongst the more than 4,000 injured in a massive explosion that ripped through the central Beirut on Tuesday night.
In the wake of the blast that killed at least 78 people, Mariz Guira went on Facebook live crying in fear, while blood was dripping on her head.
She was more than a mile away from the ground zero, but the impact of the explosion reached their place. Pieces of shattered glass from their window injured the Filipina.
Two hours after the incident that damaged even the outskirts of Beirut, Guira took to Facebook again to update her relatives wary of her safety.
This time, the wounds she sustained from the explosion became evident. Aside from bruises and scratches on her body, she also sustained a deep cut near her forehead and left arm that won’t stop bleeding.
“Actually, hindi nila ako pinauwi. Pero sa dami ng tao sa ospital, ako ‘yung umuwi. Talagang nakikita ko kasi na hindi maaasikaso. So, ang choice ko na nalang ay umuwi nalang dito [sa bahay ng employer ko] kasi may gamot naman dito. Gagamutin ko na ‘yung sarili ko kasi nga malakas yung tagas ng ulo ko,” she said while talking on the phone to a staff of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.
She narrated that she immediately went to hospital to have her wounds treated, but the staff were struggling to treat thousands of people who were injured. She said she could feel glass fragments lodged in her wounds.
“Hindi ko pa nakikita ngayon ‘yung ulo ko. Ayaw kong tingnan. Pero, as of now, okay lang siguro ako… Medyo masakit lang ang ulo ko kasi maraming bukol yung ulo ko,” she added.
In the latest video she posted on her Facebook account, Guira said she is already seeking the help of the embassy to have her repatriated. However, the Lebanese government reinforced coronavirus lockdown after a spike in new cases threatened to overwhelm the country’s health care system.
Lebanon, a nation of 6 million people, has recorded a total of 3,879 cases of COVID-19, including 51 deaths.
The Philippine Embassy in Lebanon is urging all Filipinos there to contact the following numbers for any requests of assistance: 03859430; 70858086; 81334836; 71474416; and 70681060.
Meanwhile, the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, but authorities stated that the tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate that were being stored in a warehouse at the port for six years could have been the cause of the blast.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday. A state of emergency is expected to be announced.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed, Wednesday, that there were two Filipinos who were killed and six were injured in the massive explosion.
DFA spokesman Ed Meñez, citing a report by the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, said the casualties were all staying in their employers’ homes during the explosion.
Meanwhile, the Philippine government said it will intensify efforts to repatriate Filipinos in Lebanon who want to go home following the incident.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, “We’ve issued [a] series of advisories against working in Lebanon. I believe the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] will intensify our efforts to bring home our kababayans in that war-torn area.”
