Once again, the Lebanese people are standing up in front of extreme hardships to help each other in the absence of a functional government.
As witnessed during the first months of the Revolution in 2019 and during the aftermath of the Beirut Port Explosion, the Lebanese are demonstrating outstanding resilience under duress to ease it on their fellow citizens.
This time, that noble characteristic is starting to be seen with restaurants and stores in Lebanon, calling on people to benefit from their generator-powered electricity, as imminent darkness takes over the country.
People are being welcomed to use what they need or want of electricity, free of charge, to recharge their phones and electronics, and even use the Wi-Fi.
No string attached! The invitations popping up on social media are clear about that. People are not required to buy or order anything from the stores or restaurants.
This remarkable initiative was started on Friday by Mayrig Restaurant, which has branches in Beirut, Metn, and Kfardebian, when it posted on its Instagram page the following:
The initiative was picked up at once by many restaurants, cafes, and bookshops, including Aaliya’s Books, The Duke, Falafel Sahyoun, Haven the Cabin, and Mood Broumana, among others.
The caption of The Duke’s post reads: “We know that you are feeling down and that you’re fed up. But hey, we are always here for you. Together for a positive change for the community that we belong to and love.”
People all over social media have been sharing these businesses on their stories in order to let everyone know.
This initiative is a product of Lebanon’s power outages caused by a fuel crisis where not even private generators are able to provide electricity.
The crisis was made worse by the decision of the governor of Central Bank, Riad Salameh, to lift subsidies on fuel, which has skyrocketed the prices of diesel to even higher prices.
Emotions are soaring high, as these businesses are providing solace to people who have been out of power for days now.
The Lebanese people have long come to realize that, in order to survive the country’s hardships, they can only count on each other as they have been abandoned by those whose primary duty is to take care of them.
