Lebanon is on The Brink of an Abyss
Tax deductible
NOTE: 100% of your donations are going directly to the Lebanese people with needs.
Today, a massive explosion ripped through central Beirut on Tuesday, injuring thousands of people and blowing out windows in buildings across the city.
The blast near the port in the Lebanese capital sent up a huge mushroom cloud-shaped shockwave, flipping cars and damaging distant buildings. It was felt as far as Cyprus, hundreds of miles away.
At least 25 people were killed in the blast and over 2,500 people have been wounded, Health Minister Hamad Hassan told reporters.
Footage from the scene captured the injured staggering through streets in the capital; and ambulances, cars, and military vehicles packed with the wounded. One eyewitness described the scenes as "like an apocalypse."
This tragic incident took place when the Lebanese economy is already in freefall, plunging much of the country’s population into poverty and virus cases are spiking. They are railing against a dysfunctional government.
Chronic mismanagement by consecutive governments, complex patronage systems that formed after the end of the civil war and so-called creative engineering on behalf of the Lebanese Central Bank resulting in what many call “a government-run Ponzi scheme” is at the heart of the implosion.
With negotiations on the terms of an IMF rescue failing, the Lebanese pound, which was once pegged to the dollar, has lost 80% of its value.
Hyperinflation has destroyed the spending power of all but a wealthy minority. Ali al Hassan, a retired junior army officer, found his monthly pension of $700 had plunged in value to little more than $100. Bread prices have increased by a third and meat is off the menu even for the Lebanese armed forces, who can no longer afford it. People currently eating from the trash and who don't find enough food end up dying from hunger
Ali is one of the thousands who saw their income disintegrate over the past few months and came to Martyrs’ Square demonstrating against a proposal by the government to introduce an added tax on whatever was left from his pension.
In the gathering dark, a generator man who sells additional power to homes darkened by city power cuts is struggling to make ends meet. “People can’t afford to pay,” he says. “One-third of the 1,200 households I provide electricity to haven’t paid for the past two months.
“I can’t cut them off but I must also get paid. It’s back and forth. I cut the power for 15-20 minutes as a reminder. They come and pay what they can. Last month I ended up putting LBP12m of my own money in order to buy spare parts for one of my generators. This month I am looking at an LBP20m loss. Something needs to change because this cannot continue.”
Right now, Lebanon needs emergency help. The world must respond. Hospitals are at capacity, food is scarce, the economy is in free fall, & parts of Beirut are uninhabitable. We must rise above politics & care for the people. Not next week. NOW
Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit the Lighthouse nonprofit organization which has been focusing on people of all ages and types to help and provide food for them to eat and stay alive, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
Today, a massive explosion ripped through central Beirut on Tuesday, injuring thousands of people and blowing out windows in buildings across the city.
The blast near the port in the Lebanese capital sent up a huge mushroom cloud-shaped shockwave, flipping cars and damaging distant buildings. It was felt as far as Cyprus, hundreds of miles away.
At least 25 people were killed in the blast and over 2,500 people have been wounded, Health Minister Hamad Hassan told reporters.
Footage from the scene captured the injured staggering through streets in the capital; and ambulances, cars, and military vehicles packed with the wounded. One eyewitness described the scenes as "like an apocalypse."
This tragic incident took place when the Lebanese economy is already in freefall, plunging much of the country’s population into poverty and virus cases are spiking. They are railing against a dysfunctional government.
Chronic mismanagement by consecutive governments, complex patronage systems that formed after the end of the civil war and so-called creative engineering on behalf of the Lebanese Central Bank resulting in what many call “a government-run Ponzi scheme” is at the heart of the implosion.
With negotiations on the terms of an IMF rescue failing, the Lebanese pound, which was once pegged to the dollar, has lost 80% of its value.
Hyperinflation has destroyed the spending power of all but a wealthy minority. Ali al Hassan, a retired junior army officer, found his monthly pension of $700 had plunged in value to little more than $100. Bread prices have increased by a third and meat is off the menu even for the Lebanese armed forces, who can no longer afford it. People currently eating from the trash and who don't find enough food end up dying from hunger
Ali is one of the thousands who saw their income disintegrate over the past few months and came to Martyrs’ Square demonstrating against a proposal by the government to introduce an added tax on whatever was left from his pension.
In the gathering dark, a generator man who sells additional power to homes darkened by city power cuts is struggling to make ends meet. “People can’t afford to pay,” he says. “One-third of the 1,200 households I provide electricity to haven’t paid for the past two months.
“I can’t cut them off but I must also get paid. It’s back and forth. I cut the power for 15-20 minutes as a reminder. They come and pay what they can. Last month I ended up putting LBP12m of my own money in order to buy spare parts for one of my generators. This month I am looking at an LBP20m loss. Something needs to change because this cannot continue.”
Right now, Lebanon needs emergency help. The world must respond. Hospitals are at capacity, food is scarce, the economy is in free fall, & parts of Beirut are uninhabitable. We must rise above politics & care for the people. Not next week. NOW
Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit the Lighthouse nonprofit organization which has been focusing on people of all ages and types to help and provide food for them to eat and stay alive, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
Organizer
MICHAEL DIBEH
Organizer
Glendale, CA
Lighthouse Arab World
Beneficiary