Writing in the dark without electricity, Bissan Fakih recounts the blast that devastated Lebanon’s capital one year ago, and charts the country’s dizzying collapse into utter dysfunction and despair ever since.

Is it time to leave Lebanon? The question, posed with renewed urgency after Beirut’s port explosion, is as old as the country itself, writes Dr. Sara Mourad, who returned in 2016 after seven years abroad.

Beirut’s wounds are starting to heal, but its system is more broken than ever. That must change before rebuilding becomes feasible, writes the owner of a popular hostel, café, and bar destroyed in the giant port blast.