Lebanon, the situation today

In Lebanon, the Covid situation seems to be under control, infections have decreased, the vaccination campaign is proceeding even among young people and, with due precautions, all activities are open. As in the rest of the world, the Delta variant is increasing and could lead to further complications. It is still the economic crisis that scares the most. The dollar exchange rate continues to be uncontrolled and this has a major impact on a country that lives mainly on tourism and has few raw materials available. Many of the products needed in daily life are imported, from food to medicines, and are now in short supply and have reached exorbitant prices. Fuel, whose price has more than doubled in recent months, is also in short supply, which also limits the possibility of having public transport to get to work or school. For several weeks, electricity has been cut off frequently during the day. Young people, who have the possibility of leaving the country, are leaving. The general impoverishment of the population is causing the middle class to disappear, who used to live peacefully and now find themselves having to fight every day for subsistence. Adults and elderly people who have worked all their lives now find themselves with their savings blocked in the bank and without the means to survive. Lebanon seems to have entered a “survival mode” , where everyone must be able to think of themselves or their family, gradually losing the sense of community. The importance of the “Lebanon Emergency” intervention is not only in economic assistance, but in the ability to create connections and relationships. Support and accompany people who in turn, in an act of reciprocity, continue to take care of those who are even more in difficulty.