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If Only Walls Could Talk: Story Of Blast Survivor Liliane Cheaito Continues
With nothing more than heavy breathing, slow blinking, and fragile hand movements, 28-year-old blast victim Liliane Cheaito silently suffers between the quiet walls of the American University of Beirut’s Medical Center, where she has been since August 4, 2020.
Her two-year-old muffled screams finally broke into one word in July – “mama” – a mother’s despairing cry for her baby whom she has not caught a glimpse of since the explosion after her husband stripped her the custody of her son. Earlier this year, Liliane was unable to continue her treatment abroad once the Jaafari religious court withheld her passport as a result of an ongoing claim filed by her ex-husband.
Her older sister Nassma told Reuters, “Liliane represents the agony of the Lebanese people because she’s suffering from all of this”.
Today, she remains unshielded from the harrowing crises in Lebanon. Back in February, AUBMC informed the family that she would have to move to a specialized rehabilitation center to resume her treatment, after the in-house charity group covering the costs could no longer afford to do so.
“Those special centers are asking for money, and unfortunately we can’t afford it – not even part of it – because our money is in the banks,” added Nassma.
As Cheaito stays mostly paralyzed, neither the deteriorating health sector nor her family’s frozen bank savings can protect her from a further collective paralysis of a whole country and its government. Again, the Lebanese government, healthcare system, and religious courts prove their incompetence in protecting a mother and her child.
Her two-year-old muffled screams finally broke into one word in July – “mama” – a mother’s despairing cry for her baby whom she has not caught a glimpse of since the explosion after her husband stripped her the custody of her son. Earlier this year, Liliane was unable to continue her treatment abroad once the Jaafari religious court withheld her passport as a result of an ongoing claim filed by her ex-husband.
Her older sister Nassma told Reuters, “Liliane represents the agony of the Lebanese people because she’s suffering from all of this”.
Today, she remains unshielded from the harrowing crises in Lebanon. Back in February, AUBMC informed the family that she would have to move to a specialized rehabilitation center to resume her treatment, after the in-house charity group covering the costs could no longer afford to do so.
“Those special centers are asking for money, and unfortunately we can’t afford it – not even part of it – because our money is in the banks,” added Nassma.
As Cheaito stays mostly paralyzed, neither the deteriorating health sector nor her family’s frozen bank savings can protect her from a further collective paralysis of a whole country and its government. Again, the Lebanese government, healthcare system, and religious courts prove their incompetence in protecting a mother and her child.
