Rivers of Glass

The glass crunches beneath my feet, thousands of tiny shards piercing my skin, leaving a trail of crimson footprints in my wake. I am running, racing for help, my two-year-old son in my arms, whimpering quietly. A woman sees me and screams, her face recoiling. I don’t know it at the time, I can’t feel … More Rivers of Glass

Justice for Isaac

One year ago, a devastating explosion ripped through the city of Beirut, killing over 200 people, including my two-year-old son Isaac Oehlers, the youngest victim of the blast. Every night since that horrific day, I have gone through the same ritual. Climbing into bed, I cuddle one of Isaac’s favourite teddy bears close to me … More Justice for Isaac

Can the Lebanese Investigation Deliver Justice?

On 10 March 2021, I spoke on a panel for a high-level side event to the 46th Human Rights Council. Hosted by Legal Action Worldwide and Human Rights Watch, the topic of the panel was “The 4 August Beirut Explosion: Can the Lebanese Investigation Deliver Justice?” Panelists included Ralph Tarraf, Ambassador of the European Union … More Can the Lebanese Investigation Deliver Justice?

The Speech

When Isaac was just over four months old, he was baptised in the Catholic Church. I am not religious, but my husband Craig was raised Catholic and it was important to him and his family, so I agreed. Truth be told, despite my initial hesitation, it was a lovely day. We held the ceremony in … More The Speech

Five Months

Five months ago, my son died. As I write these words and read them over and over again, they are so incomprehensible that they might as well be in a foreign language. Again and again I read them, unable to grasp that they relate to me, that they form part of my story. These words … More Five Months