Lebanon’s Protestors Set Banks on Fire Amid Currency Crash
A father recently killed himself because he couldn’t provide for his little daughter, another man set himself on fire, also as a result of the economic situation. According to reports, Lebanon’s economy is sinking fast; the Lebanese pound has lost 40% of its value since October, leading to the massive increase in prices of everyday imported goods.
Following the lockdown measures and the existing political instability, as well as the economic crisis the country is experiencing, dozens of people decided to take to the streets in several cities last Monday. The local currency’s crash and the increase in food prices, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown, set off the protests which ended in the death of one protester and the vandalism of several banks.
Anti-government protests initially started in Lebanon in October as a nationwide protest against the economic crisis, sectarianism, and corruption. However, the protests stopped in March as the government imposed a curfew to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Since then, the Lebanese currency value vis-a-vis the US dollar has continued to deteriorate.
The World Food Programme warns that the world is on the brink of a hunger pandemic, projecting multiple famines within a few months.
