The crisis in Lebanon is under-covered, but finally getting some attention in the Washington Post. The economy has largely collapsed, and the collapse has happened quickly. Perhaps $100 billion is missing from the banking system and the “Lebanese pound has lost over 60 percent of its value in just the past month.”
Earlier in July a Turkish Airlines flight had to abort a landing attempt because runway lights had gone out due to lack of electricity.
This seems to be the flight that tried landing but then went up again and made a turn. pic.twitter.com/XWu0KcXReS
— Sako Hasserjian (@SakoLB) July 2, 2020
This happened a day after media invited to the airport’s re-opening after the Covid-19 shutdown were kicked off the property.
إذا مطار ما بتعرفوا تديروا بدنا نصدق انوا رح تعرفوا تديروا بلد🙄
فعلاً "أنتم لا تؤتمنون على إدارة دكانة"#لبنان #مطار_بيروت #الفوضى pic.twitter.com/Tl0VHqCemg— Walid Ghanem 🇱🇧WG🇱🇧 (@walidjghanem) July 1, 2020
Lack of electricity at the airport, an underreported story, feels like 1985 in fact until the reference to a hijacked TWA flight I wouldn’t have known this Los Angeles Times article was 35 years old, back then the problem wasn’t electricity but that the runway lights were stolen,
On a day not long ago, all flights into Beirut International Airport stopped precisely at dusk. Someone had stolen the runway lights.
The airport’s “follow me” truck has been stolen, too. It was hijacked by gunmen as it guided an airliner toward its parking place and was last seen speeding off toward the slums of south Beirut that surround the airfield.
The airport doctor was kidnaped a few blocks from the airport’s main gate not long ago, the day after Shia Muslim leader Nabih Berri gave his personal assurances that airport employees would not be harassed.
By the way Lebanon’s Prime Minister, who left his university job to re-enter government, is suing for severance and retirement pay – and he wants the money in US dollars deposited outside of Lebanon – meanwhile the government of Lebanon owes the university about $150 million…
I’m really sad to see the struggles in Lebanon. I cancelled a trip there last year, visiting only Paris and not continuing to Beirut because it just seemed easier with my young daughter, and now I’m regretting it because the current pandemic aside it may be awhile before I make it back.
This has been reported fairly extensively outside the USA (BBC especially) and the underlying scandal wherein corrupt government officials procured unusable low grade fuel with falsified quality tests in a no bid contract from mysterious sources which can’t be used by the power stations and as a result need to shut down so that the tainted fuel doesn’t destroy the power grid completely. All while one of the largest natural gas discoveries – so large that much of it goes to waste – was found next door in Israel, but which can’t be used because it would annoy Lebanon’s Colonial masters in Teheran.
Lebanon is a sad story of a proud, tolerant, and successful nation destroyed by foreigners who invaded on the basis that “The Road to Jerusalem Leads Through Jounieh,” occupied and laid waste to the country on that basis, destroyed the liberal polity in favor of foreign elements and religious radicals who still effectively control Lebanon and hold its population hostage, while the rest of the world is blind to the entire obscenity.
I did visit Lebanon past Oct for 3 or 4 days – mainly Lebanon and surrounding area and even visited AUB campus. Everything was OK back than. Beautiful views and great people. The current news are very disturbing.
Even in some of the best of times flying in and out of that airport ( if one calls it that) was challenging with an approach similar to landing in San Diego, just picture instead of a 737 its a 747 one could reach out and grab laundry off the roof tops ! In my service days I had to go in and out a few times and never comfortable. Its sad because their waterfront was once considered the “Riviera” of the mid east. perfect place for Ghoen to hide out.
Lebanon is great but I wouldn’t be surprised if they face turmoil like Venezuela and end up on the short list of countries that wouldn’t feel safe to visit (Venezuela, Syria, Iraq, Yemen etc.) Sure hope I’m wrong but from my acquaintances there, people are worried what’s coming next.
@Mak summed it up very(!) well IMO. It is sad. I’m in Israel, and I know for a fact that many, many Lebanese would very much wish to have normalized relations with Israel, but Iran now has a stronghold on this country by way of Hezbollah having it’s own military basically, and indeed is keeping the citizens of Lebanon hostage to the Iranian regime’s ambitions.
Unfortunately, for those citizens – as things also heat up in the Israel-Lebanon-Syria borders (see what happened just last night!), if Hezbollah makes a “move” that might blow a powder cake here, the state apparatus of Lebanon, along with it’s citizens will also pay the price. Unlike past conflicts where Israel mostly targeted Hezbollah, it’s backers and Shia-dominated enclaves, this time since Hezbollah has become a part of government – Israel will make sure the *state* of Lebanon hurts as well.
Pray for peace I guess?:(
This reminds me of when our flight to Saipan was delayed overnight — an electrical short had taken out all of the runway lights. It took them several days (and several km of cable) and the chief engineer of Guam to get it fixed before we left!
The economy in Lebanon has been in the toilet for quite a while; and Lebanese protests due to even the lack of affordability of food has been going on for quite some time.
And between the economic crisis in Lebanon and the coronavirus crisis, things have gotten even worse this year …. and worse for even the most marginalized people in the country: the migrant servants/laborers no longer needed by Lebanese employers and who also have little to no means of their own to get back safely to their home countries in say Africa or S/SE Asia.
Mak,
Lebanon’s colonial master is France, but France doesn’t do all that it used to do and Lebanon has long been a playground for dirty political games by way more countries than just Iran.
The Lebanese majority aren’t a fan of Israel either, for Israel’s behavior in the region and with regard to Lebanon remains a destabilizing factor for Lebanon. Lebanon is still the grounds for running proxy wars of sort that are fought by regional powers and neighbors with Interests and aspirations that run contrary to stability in Lebanon.
Imagine what the Mid-East would be like if Iran stopped with all their meddling & proxy wars.
Imagine the standard of living people could regain…
The children that would grow up to be adults.
I was swimming in tyre south of Lebanon yesterday ( Sunday 27 July 2020 ), it was amazing place alot of poeple having fun ,music , eating , swimming and dancing and in my way back I visited the city of saida specifically east saida there are some nice clubs overcrowded of poeple , I had a drink and a lot of fun .
The only problem I fear Israel air jets all the sudden come and start pumping as they usually do in the past
The situation is not meddling proxy war , Lebanese resistance in lebanon was in South of Lebanon even before Shah of Iran left Iran .
It is actually resistance established to fight against the aggressor which is Israel .
Before 1948 lebanon , syria and Palestine were living in peace despite off they were under British and France colonization , but it was much better living and stabilized compairng what happened after 1948 .