90 Day Fiance star Avery Mills has confirmed her husband Omar Albakour is safe and was not in Lebanon when a large portion of Beirut was heavily damaged and destroyed by a massive explosion in the city's port on Tuesday.
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Avery later captioned an image on her Instagram that reads "Pray for Lebanon," adding, "Donate @impact.lebanon."
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According to the Lebanese government, the explosion occurred when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a dangerous material used in fertilizers and bombs, that had been improperly stored in a warehouse in Beirut's port for six years exploded in a fire, CNN reported.
Over a hundred people have been confirmed dead and at least 4,000 people more are injured, but the death toll is expected to rise as people continue to be pulled from the wreckage, according to Reuters.
Hundreds more, including children and nearly a dozen firefighters, are also reportedly still missing and feared dead across central Beirut in Lebanon, which was already facing a struggling economy prior to the blast.
Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab called the event "a real catastrophe" and Beirut governor Marwan Abboud told CNN the destructive scene reminded him of "Hiroshima and Nagasaki," the two Japanese cities that were destroyed by American atomic bombs during World War II.
The explosion, which generated an enormous mushroom-shaped shockwave, is currently under investigation.
"There was a massive explosion, I mean, something that really shook this city like I've never seen before, and I've been through wars here in Lebanon, and this is something unheard of," CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman said.
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Witnesses told CNN that homes up to six miles away from the explosion were damaged, with windows being blown out of buildings and glass and debris piled in the streets.
Vibrations were reportedly felt as far away as Cyprus, which is hundreds of mile away.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOWA massive crater filled with sea water and indistinguishable from the rest of the harbor now occupies the land where the warehouse once stood.
Avery, who starred on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days with Omar, wrote to her followers, "The Middle East never gets a break. To the people that think that the families in the Middle East don't matter or that they are 'less than' people in other parts of the world, please open your eyes and see that we are all one."
Avery added, "To the countries who constantly deal with devastation and it seems like no one cares, I want to say I'm so sorry that the world has failed you."
Avery is raising awareness on Instagram and has promoted ways for people to help Lebanon, including offering up prayers and giving blood.
Avery also shared the "Impact Lebanon" disaster-relief fund with her followers and its website where people can donate money, which will be used to support the Lebanese Red Cross and provide relief for people affected by the explosion that rocked Beirut.
Avery additionally supports another relief campaign called "Lebanon Needs Us" -- a "United Mission for Relief & Development" -- which she wrote on Instagram is raising "funds for medical supplies and medical aide for the blast victims."
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Avery was a 19-year-old former Christian who converted to Islam from Columbus, OH, and Omar was a 24-year-old Muslim man from Latakia, Syria, when they starred on Season 3 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days last year. They had met on a Muslim dating app.
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Avery therefore made plans to fly to Lebanon to finally meet her fiance in person and get married. The couple decided on Lebanon since it was a safer place for them to meet considering there's a war in Syria.
Despite a U.S. travel ban on Syrian citizens, Avery hoped to eventually bring Omar, a dental student, to the United States on a visa.
Avery and Omar's wedding took place in February 2019, and their wedding was shown on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, but their bliss down quickly when Avery was forced to return to America following her brief stay in Lebanon.
Avery learned once she returned to the United States that Omar realistically couldn't obtain a visa.
"[An immigration] lawyer said he has worked on many travel-ban cases and none of them have been approved. We can apply for a waiver, but only less than five percent of people who get waivers get approved. I would say the soonest is three years," Avery explained on the show.
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Avery learned if she was going to have any chance of Omar coming to the United States, she couldn't move to Syria because the only thing the government would acknowledge -- if they do acknowledge it -- is the fact the married couple was forced to live apart from each other.
"If we make that decision to move out of the country, we make that decision for good," Avery told her husband. "We're just giving up America altogether."
On the two-part 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days' Tell-All special that aired in October 2019, Avery revealed she and Omar were still together but had no idea where they were going to live. She remained in the United States but videochatted with Omar every day.
In March, TLC released three short-form Season 4 episodes of 90 Day Fiance: What Now?, the 90 Day Fiance spinoff available on the network's TLC GO streaming service, that showed Avery traveling back to Lebanon and reuniting with Omar and visiting with his family.
The Blast reported in April that Avery is still trying to sponsor a visa for Omar, and so she's working hard in the United States to make money.
Avery is also reportedly going to college and is patiently waiting for when she and Omar can be together on a permanent basis.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
