Content warning – If you or someone you know needs to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the friendly team at Embrace by calling 1564.
It has been three quarters since the revolution first began in October 2019. People across Lebanon participated in massive demonstrations for months on end to no avail.
Then the pandemic hit and put a halt on the protests for a while until the life for an average Lebanese citizen became about survival.
And grimly, recent suicides show that some Lebanese have even lost the will to live…
A spate of suicides was recorded in the last three days. The suicides were attributed to economic pressures and hunger.
“He killed himself because of hunger,” shouted the cousin of a 61-year-old Ali El-Haq, who shot himself in a cafe in Hamra.
An unemployed van driver, aged only 37, was found dead in his home, having hung himself due to economic pressures.
A third case, also on the same day, was that of a man in his late 60s who jumped to his death from the balcony of his home in Babdaat in the Metn area.
In a matter of 24-hours, local news also reported a fourth suicide: a Lebanese citizen named Khaled Youssef who shot himself in south Lebanon.
Lebanon has not seen days as bad as these. Even during the 15-year civil war, the lack of money was not a crisis as it is today.
For the first time, the exchange rate is hanging around 10,000 Lebanese Liras to the dollar on the black market. Meanwhile, the official rate is still fixed at 1,507.5.
Facing the dual effects of the pandemic and the economic collapse, Lebanon may soon have 1 million unemployed people, believes a Lebanese research company.
Average Lebanese citizens have begun trading their personal items online for basic goods like diapers, cooking oil, and baby formula.
Those who can, are planning to leave the country with a one-way ticket and possibly never look back.
Alarming as the situation is, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai urged in his Sunday sermon President Aoun to take action. He accused the country’s politicians of thinking only of their own vested interests.
“It appears politicians want to hide their responsibility in emptying the treasury and not enact any reforms,” he said, as reported by Al-Bilad Press.
Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi had the same strong stance on Sunday, bashing the political elite:
“Oh respected leaders, I address whatever conscience remains in you. Do you sleep comfortably at night while those under your care starve, and die of thirst and by suicide?”
For some, it’s hard to believe while looking at what has become of neighboring countries like Iraq and Syria.
But others are holding on to any shred of hope that Lebanon can regain its Golden Age status or some of it that could make life bearable.
Lebanon is a rising Phoenix, after all, a country that has always survived, home to a nation of resilience.
Content warning – If you or someone you know needs to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the friendly team at Embrace by calling 1564.
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