. >> lena katib joins from us berlin. thank you for taking the time to speak from us. our reporters on the scene have been cataloging the myriad problems now facing lebanon. you've said that lebanon is in danger of becoming a failed state. we've heard many in lebanon the last few days suggest they're already living in one. why do you think it's so close to the brink? >> well, before the explosion, lebanon was already suffering from one of the most severe economic crises in its modern history. the currency had lost 80% of its value in just a few months. gdp was over 170% debt. the country was heading to bankruptcy. add to this an explosion was so far estimated to have cost $15 billion that the lebanese state does not have and a port that used to import, according to different estimates, between 60% and 80% of what lebanon needs, and a country that relies on imports for the vast majority of anything it needs for medical supplies to food to energy. and you have a situation in which the country is simply not sustainable as things are going. >> when you say that, the challe