Why the people of Beirut desperately need your support
YouTube reporter Nick Fisher launches fundraiser in support of Lebanon following devastating explosion
Lebanon needs our help. Its capital, Beirut, was rocked by a massive explosion this summer that took hundreds of lives, injured thousands, and made hundreds of thousands of people homeless in just a matter of seconds. Ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port caused a blast comparable to a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that almost instantly wiped out basic infrastructure along with homes, schools, and hospitals.
With the cold of winter nearing and a global pandemic raging, the humanitarian crisis in Beirut is growing with every day that passes. People in the city lack access to basic needs, including safe housing, clean water, food, and medical care. In fact, on top of mounting economic problems, it’s expected Lebanon is heading for a famine. The situation is heartbreaking and needs an acute response.
There are ways you can help. After I saw the news reports of the Beirut explosion this summer with the shocking video of the blast on repeat, I tuned in to YouTube vlogger and reporter Nick Fisher (also known as Indigo Traveller) who traveled to Lebanon very recently to document the aftermath of the explosion. His vlogs feature first-hand reports and interviews with people in Beirut and across Lebanon. Nick partnered with Human Appeal, a British NGO, to launch a fundraising campaign to collect funds in support of Beirut.
Nick’s a fearless reporter, gifted storyteller, and compassionate observer. I’m such a fan of his work. He travels all over the world to show the different sides of war-torn places that have a reputation for being dangerous and hard-to-reach. Nick’s recent series have included reports about his travels to Afghanistan, Venezuela, Somalia, and Iran. He really takes vlogging to another level and uses social media to do good.
I started watching Nick’s videos after finding his series about visiting North Korea a couple of years ago. Despite the scrutiny he was under while filming, Nick was able to show a side of North Korea that we don’t often get to see. Nick produces riveting content that easily matches the edge-of-your-seat quality of your favorite Netflix show you’re currently binge-watching. No wonder his Indigo Traveller account on YouTube boasts nearly a million subscribers.
For his most recent YouTube series, Nick traveled to Lebanon to document the aftermath of the Beirut explosion. He chats with the locals about the blast and how it has impacted their lives. Nick also travels to the Lebanese cities of Tripoli, Sayda and the Syrian border to report on the wider scope of the economic, sociocultural, and geopolitical issues that are impacting the country. (In Tripoli, Nick even gets caught in dangerous celebratory gunfire that creates a moment of panic.)
Nick’s stories about the people of Beirut are absolutely heartbreaking. They have lost their homes and businesses, their bank accounts have been frozen, and many have no access to critical medical help. In a matter of seconds, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people changed forever. They had no chance to prepare or escape. It’s moving to see the optimism and hope the Beirut people continue to have in the face of such adversity.
Following his trip to Lebanon, Nick launched a fundraising campaign in partnership with Human Appeal to gather funds for the Lebanese people. Join me in supporting the campaign. It’s been a year full of tragedy and hardship, but if you can spare a few bucks to help the people of Beirut, please do so if you can. A little bit will go a long way.
chatted with Nick about his experience in Lebanon and the fundraiser to support the people of Beirut. Nick answered my questions via voice notes from Hungary.
Arjan: You’ve launched a fundraising campaign to benefit the work of Human Appeal in Beirut. I believe you also partnered with Human Appeal to help you navigate Beirut to film your current YouTube series. How did you get in touch with them? Do you usually work with local organizations/NGOs to produce your videos?
Nick: A friend of mine got in touch with me and Human Appeal, and we got the fundraiser off the ground in that way. They helped me travel throughout Beirut and meeting the people in need. It depends. Sometimes I team up with NGOs in countries, and sometimes I meet up with locals. It varies. It depends on what angle I want to see of the country. If there’s fundraising perspective, it’s obviously great to raise through the NGOs.
The Beirut people are so forthcoming with their stories. Many of their accounts are heartbreaking. Do these stories ever get overwhelming and emotionally taxing?
Yes, the Beirut people were very forthcoming. Not just in Beirut but all throughout Lebanon. They were very forthcoming with their stories and very accomodating to me and my videos. It’s quite emotionally taxing, but it’s great to be able to raise funds. Even though it can be emotionally heavy sometimes it’s worth it for the overall result.
Your reporting in Beirut features people from all walks of life who are really struggling to cope in the aftermath of the explosion. Is there a story that particularly gripped you?
There was one story with Jad. He was living in an apartment with his mother and was filming the explosion as it happened. It’s in the Lebanon Is Falling episode [watch]. He tells the story about how he’s filming the explosion and he was only a kilometer away from the center of the explosion. It kind of knocked him back, you can see it in the video, and when he got back up he saw somebody falling from a high-story building. There are bullet holes behind him [in the building’s wall] from the previous wars. It’s quite intense to see everything colliding like this. It all compounds. He had lost his job previously so it’s a lot to hear. Definitely one of the most everwhelming stories.
Thousands of people are supporting your fundraiser for Lebanon on JustGiving. How does it feel to have created a community of viewers on YouTube who come together in support of this cause?
I feel very privileged to have the audience I have. They’re supportive of the work I do and not only of me but also the NGOs I work with. It’s really beautiful to see the changes we’ve been able to make. In Venezuela, Afghanistan, and now working in Lebanon, the Lebanese people and the Syrian refugees that are living in Lebanon. It’s a huge honor. I’m so proud of the audience that I have and I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. I owe them everything.
COVID-19 has made creating content a lot more difficult with travel restrictions in place. What places are you looking forward to going to as soon as the travel bans are lifted?
COVID-19 of course has caused some issues with travel. There are still some opportunities to travel during this pandemic. Like Lebanon during the pandemic — this is very recent footage. I hope early next year to head to possibly Latin America. I’m still working on that at the moment, but hopefully that will be the next series. It’s a difficult time for everybody. I travel for a job so I’m definitely privileged. I try to be grateful for what I do have in these times.
If you are not traveling to war-torn and dangerous places, where in the world do you like to recharge?
I love to travel to European countries. I love France and the mountains, Spain, and Portugal. I also like Southeast Asia, like Thailand for example. All these places are really good to recharge and relax.
A big thank you to Nick for answering my questions to get some of his personal thoughts on his experience in Lebanon and the fundraiser. Please join me in donating if you can.
Follow Nick’s Indigo Traveller account on YouTube and Instagram to keep tabs on his travels and reporting.
