Troy doctor who survived Beirut blast in wedding dress returns home, awaits husband
August 4th was supposed to be the happiest day of Dr. Israa Al Seblani's life. She and her husband were getting married in Lebanon when a massive explosion decimated part of the city.
Dr. Al Seblani was standing in her wedding dress in Lebanon that day with a videographer when a blast suddenly rocked the entire area.
She was just 300 meters from the Port of Beirut when nearly 3,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used to make bombs that had been improperly stored for years, exploded. Roughly 150 people died and thousands more were injured.
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In the middle of it was Dr. Al Seblani. She was in Beirut for her wedding because her husband's immigration papers weren't yet approved.
"I started to tell myself Israa, you're going to die. Your life is about to end, instead of starting a new chapter of your life," she said.
Dr. Al Selbani and her husband ran to a restaurant nearby for safety but when she saw people screaming and injured, she ran to their aid in an incredible act of heroism.
"I always used to tell myself, Israa you are living for others, to help people. You're not living to yourself or for yourself."
Dr. Al Seblani lives in Metro Detroit and returned home this past week but her husband is still in Lebanon, waiting for his visa to be approved. She said Senator Gary Peters and Congresswoman Haley Stevens are helping with the process.
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"They sent me an email telling me that they contacted the embassy and the embassy told them that they sent a request to the embassy in Beirut," she said.
Lebanon was once known as the 'Paris of the Middle-East' but has dealt with decades of civil war, corruption, political conflict, and even more destruction and riots following August's explosion.
Dr. Al Seblani says the country can return.
"If Lebanese people stay beside each other, if they stay strong, they keep hope, never lose hope. Lebanon can rebuild again and be better than it was before," she said.
The people of Lebanon need peace and more accountability from their leaders. The country faces day-to-day struggles, a broken economy, and many homeless.
"I I remember a person who was walking in the street, he was asking everybody - 'did you see my son? Did you see my son?'" Dr. Al Seblani said.
If you want to help Lebanon, download the Lebanese Red Cross app on your phone to make a donation.