Lebanon is among the countries that own a tumultuous current history, marked with violence at the hands of both foreign and local forces that have scarred the population’s mind, body, and soul and lead to deep sectarian divisions and an exploitative, corrupt, and sectarian political land. The Lebanese civil war caused around 150,000 deaths, with 100,000 displaced and up to two-thirds of the population injured. The Israeli invasion in 1982 and then again in 2006, the existence of Syria that remained in the country from 1976 until 2005, and then the assassinations and explosions that followed the death of the former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri lead to an ongoing political unrest and instability in the country[1].
These events, in addition to Lebanon’s political history, have led to major consequences faced by the Lebanese population. Moreover, they are not dissociated from the current crisis. Multiple warlords that are directly responsible for outrages committed during the civil war belong to Lebanon’s hereditary political establishment and are major figures in Lebanon’s sectarian political parties that are connected to military families and militias from the civil war era. Based on these origins, the Lebanese political establishment is rife with corruption. Clientelism and nepotism are common, including the sectarian parties and political families that typically provide support or “wasta” which translates into favor of anything, from basic services to jobs, in exchange for votes and political commitments. Lebanon stands among the 150 most corrupted countries of 2020 based on the Index of Perceived Corruption within its [the country’s] public sector[2]. Transparency International reports that 68% of Lebanese citizens think that all or most of the government are involved in corruption and 80% have no trust in the government. The state has failed in its commitments to provide many services that involve basic human needs. These failures led to the striking consequences reflected on the population’s health and well-being.
The failures range from the impacts of the 2015-2021 ongoing garbage crisis, to cancer clusters that are related to the industrial dumping of factory pollutants by factories that are owned or aligned by politicians, to diesel-based generators that have increased exposure of the household to airborne carcinogens, to corruption worsening social and health inequalities that impacts access to health care, to complete state failure that was highlighted during the Beirut Port explosion.
In Lebanon’s raging modern history, the current economic crisis is described as the worst. The World Bank reported in 2021 that the current economic and financial collapse taking place in Lebanon is among the most severe ones since the mid-19th century[3].The ongoing failure to form a government and the political stalemate has led to the depreciation of the Lebanese currency, which hit a record low in July 2021 – unofficially trading 24,000 LBP for every 1 U.S. dollar[4]. The World Bank report warned that poverty in Lebanon will continue to aggravate, reaching half of the population as the country faces arduous and continuous collapse. Many report that the current situation is worse than what the Lebanese experienced during the civil war, where now food and medication shortages are widespread throughout the country. Subsidized goods are reportedly being smuggled outside the country, including medications, which exacerbated the supply-chain shortages that the country was already suffering from. Also, the gas and oil sector are collapsing, petrol is scarce and being sold at black market prices (soaring prices), with strict supplies imposed, queues for fuels stretching for kilometers in front of stations, and transportation heading to a halt.
As the lift of subsidies on essential items approaches along with the ongoing devaluation of the Lebanese currency, this will lead to a decreased purchasing power among the people. Also, the lift of subsidies on fuel raises the concern that Lebanon will be left in complete darkness, as they put electricity supplies at risk. Since July 2021, fuel shortages have led to extensive power blackouts, with electricity cuts lasting up to 22 hours per day, affecting more than 90% of the country.
The healthcare system in Lebanon has been ravaged, and places a concern by the brain drain, where one in five doctors have already left the country or intend to do so. Hospitals are short on supply for oxygen that is used to support patients, leading to tonnes of oxygen having to be shipped from Syria. Violence and petty crimes have soared, along with social tensions, resulting in mental health professionals describing the situation as a collective psychological trauma.Unfortunately, corruption and ancient dysfunctional political establishments are the root of all the crises that the Lebanese are suffering from.
____________________________________________________________________________
[1] Abouzeid, M., Halwani, D. A., Mokdad, A. H., & Habib, R. R. (2021). A generation at risk: The impacts Of Lebanon's ESCALATING humanitarian crisis on children. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.704678
[2] Corruption perceptions index 2019 for New Zealand. Transparency.org. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl.
[3] El-Khalil, Z., & Al-Saeed, A. (n.d.). Lebanon sinking into one of the most severe global Crises EPISODES, amidst Deliberate Inaction. World Bank. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/01/lebanon-sinking-into-one-of-the-most-severe-global-crises-episodes.
[4] Abouzeid, M., Halwani, D. A., Mokdad, A. H., & Habib, R. R. (2021). A generation at risk: The impacts Of Lebanon's ESCALATING humanitarian crisis on children. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.704678
Sources:
Abouzeid, M., Halwani, D. A., Mokdad, A. H., & Habib, R. R. (2021). A generation at risk: The impacts Of Lebanon's ESCALATING humanitarian crisis on children. Frontiers in Public Health.
El-Khalil, Z., & Al-Saeed, A. (2021, June 1). World Bank News. Retrieved from World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/05/01/lebanon-sinking-into-one-of-the-most-severe-global-crises-episodes
n.d. (2021, September 19). Corruption perceptions index 2019 for New Zealand. Retrieved from Transparency.org: https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl
