Lebanon: An economic crisis and the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion | DW Documentary

Tripoli, in Northern Lebanon the poorest city  in the country and located around 30   kilometers from the Syrian border most of  the shops in the center are closed down   a booming business just two years ago today  the gold Market District resembles a ghost town   the only customers now are residents looking  to cash in their remaining belongings   I came to sell you this ring and  this one too that's 18 karat gold this pensioner is parting with her last  items of jewelry they're all she has to   ensure her survival our situation is terrible  our government is letting us die Shame about   the jewelry but I have four children to feed  155 dollars that's all I've got some silver too   she's selling her husband's wedding  ring to buy some food for her family help us Tripoli is bearing the full brunt of the  economic crisis that has crippled the country   and for a bunch of Chad stalls still have a full   range of products on offer but  the prices of food have shot up the fish 70 000 pounds we've  dropped the price by five thousand thanks how much for those chicken legs 40 000  pounds in the next cell for 28 000. we used to   feed them to the dogs today we eat them ourselves  the chicken legs and the fish fillet cost 15 times   more than they did two years ago but while prices  are going through the roof wages across Lebanon   have remained static and as seen in Tripoli  getting enough to eat has become a daily challenge   just imagine back in the days of our former  prime minister who the government now calls   incompetent this bag of rice costs 2 500  pounds today it's seven times that how's   that supposed to work how are poor people in  this country supposed to eat of all the 128   Representatives or rather complete idiots there's  not a single one of them who's decent and humane raging disc has been building  now for several years yes October 17 2019 it exploded thank you for the first time since the end of the Civil  War a broad cross-section of Lebanese Society   joined together and took to the streets in unison  to demand that the corrupt government resigned   it wasn't so long ago when Lebanon was  described as the Switzerland of the Middle   East the economy was strong and the country  attracted investment from all around the globe   the small country shares borders with Syria  and Israel for decades now government cabinet   positions have been assigned by religious  affiliation and distributed among Christians   Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims a delicate  compromise that had long been stable but everything changed in 2019 the banking system  collapsed investors and dollars fled the country   inflation Rose to higher than 140 percent  the highest rate in the world at that time and or Lira lost 90 percent of its  value lots of Monopoly money thank you this unprecedented crisis has plunged a large  portion of lebanon's population into poverty if   it hadn't been for the Christian Community  they would have starved literally starved the government failed to maintain Investments now  electricity is supplied for just a few hours each   day that's Lebanon today and for over a decade  now Lebanon has also had to master an influx of   1.5 million refugees from Syria some blame the  government for driving the country to bankruptcy   also given its supposed control over entire  sectors this is one of the most corrupted areas   not even in Lebanon I believe in the universe   crisis has reignited tensions between  the different religious groups for many Lebanese their last resort is to leave   the country hands up if you want  to leave Lebanon after college   it's the only hope of a better future and  reflects a Lebanon fighting for its survival this is ashrafier a Christian District of Beirut  father Gabrielle is getting ready to say Mass   he's Catholic a Jesuit and french-speaking  like his congregation and the majority of   the country's Christian middle class people  come here to do more than hear the word of   the Lord many are also in attendance to hear  the critical words of the priest's sermons today's Gospel is really Timely   what should we do Christmas is just around the  corner and we can only hope for the penitence of   our political class you can only hope that our  political class asks in the sense of Saint John   what should we do he would tell them give back  the money you stole and leave this land go work on   your Tans on the French Riviera I won't say more  because I want to sleep in my bed and you do too Gabrielle makes politically  charged digressions like this   because he's experiencing the crisis firsthand you've gotten too thick I'll  give you 10 kilos of mine every week the priest leaves Beirut and travels  to Becca a mountainous region in the eastern part   of the country just like he does every time he  gets in his car Gabriel checks the fuel gauge foreign every time the tank is down to two-thirds you get  gas so it doesn't feel like you're paying so much fill her up please the price of gas has risen six-fold  within one year how much my brother   three hundred thousand here you go thanks so we're full again 300 000. that's Madness 20 liters of gas costs half the  monthly minimum income in Lebanon   exorbitant prices that severely limit  the ability of people to get from A to B   it's amazing there's hardly any traffic  imagine the Octo Triumph in Paris at   rush hour on a Monday with about two-thirds  fewer cars that's the way it is here foreign Gabrielle's consternation stems from  the fact that three years ago Lebanon   was doing pretty well gasoline was cheap  people had work the currency was stable today it's all falling apart and members  of the country's middle class are among   the first to lose out they've been  called the nuvopov the new poor after a two-hour Drive father  Gabrielle arrives in zachle   since the start of the crisis the Christian  city of 80 000 residents has become a ghost town there's not a soul to be seen on the  traditional shopping Street the elderly   and isolated residents are experiencing the  worst societal degradation in their history a   local charity group helps the poorest of the poor  Gabrielle lends a hand with its members every week how are you father fine thanks Keith  we've got a lot to do today our goal is   to give hungry people who don't have money  something to eat they're prepared meals   here are the salads here we have  desserts and those are the warm meals today Father Gabrielle is working alongside rahida  let's go to Jeanette I put everything on the   table for you and how about the bills my brothers  helped me every month they give me a little money   God bless you my sister the charity supports  more than 200 families where can I put this how are you my dear father  thank you for coming thank you in Lebanon pensions can be paid out  monthly or be received in a one-time   payment sabowa was a teacher for 30 years  and chose the lump sum option 300 Euros   it's lovely here we used to be better off and  could buy heating oil and wood now everything's   extremely expensive I have trouble with my eyes  and need injections but a single injection costs   800 000 pounds plus the doctor's fee of 350  000 he didn't give me the injection this   month because I couldn't pay for the one from  last month so what if you missed an injection   he prescribed drops and said that I should  come back in six weeks time what can I do   how can you live like this when you  only earn a quarter of what you spend injection costs the equivalent of 50 euros  Gabrielle does all he can to help her   here take the three hundred thousand that's for  the shot it's from Jesus thanks it's too much at   the end of the street they find greater hardship  and rage didn't mean this family has lived here   for 20 years the father used to be a painter he's  jobless now in the current economic situation it's   impossible to find another job they simply have no  income inside there's a tiny kitchen a toilet and   a living room which the entire family also uses as  a bedroom and the refrigerator is desperately bare what do you do when you want to make  a meal for the family sometimes I go   to the market and the vendors give  me food they haven't sold otherwise   they're still the Johanna restaurant  we can get some food there too foreign the mother puts her faith in God while  her husband looks to Human Assistance   such as that provided by Gabrielle do you  use the heating so what's the stove foreign and I've got five people to feed  them do you hate this date the state   what state we'd starve without the help of these  Charities if you were working before the crisis   you could pay your electric bill no trouble but  with the inflation we have today that's impossible   it's far too expensive how are you supposed to  manage without going out on the street and begging 36 percent of the population  lives in extreme poverty that's nearly five times more than two years  ago what would have happened to this family   without the Christian Community they would  have starved literally literally starved communities across the country whether  Christian Muslim or druze are relying on   local charity to survive nobody saw this  kind of brutal economic collapse coming   and which for many people daily life has  become a nightmare within just two years and sure fat a southern suburb of  Beirut we visit a grocery store   the shop for the last four years the ongoing  crisis in the country has seen him become a   master of improvisation there's no electricity  anymore so I can't shut my blinds anymore   Carmel heck mom and Sacro now he has a new  morning ritual once I get here I turn on the   phone and check the dollar exchange rate dollar a  dash the Lira and the dollar have always existed   side by side in lebanon's economy until 2019  the exchange rate between the two currencies   was stable with one dollar equal to fifteen  hundred pounds the exchange rate changes daily   on this morning a dollar was worth twenty one  thousand pounds almost 15 times more than two   years ago the dollar rate keeps Rising so  supplier prices are rising too I have to   continually adjust my prices can you give me the  calculator okay that's dimex 1.2 liters foreign onto that and okay price it at nineteen  thousand eight hundred and twenty four pounds I think it's products which  even he has trouble finding the state is only providing one to  two hours of electricity a day in   this area to keep frozen foods from spoiling  Riyadh has had to make further adjustments   I can't be selling products that make  people sick so I decided to only keep   using one freezer and unplug the rest  I've also had to reduce my selection as if by Magic the electricity  comes back on at noon back to work as normal eggs potatoes and that's all for more  than a year now Riyadh hasn't earned   a proper profit at his shop some  months he doesn't even break even Lebanon is currently a shadow of its  former self in more ways than one Beirut was once The Nightlife capital  of the Middle East but for most those   all-night parties are now a distant memory but even for them it's  difficult to be positive foreign this group of friends meets once a week they're  all under 30 and relatively new to the job market Rebecca is 24 years old she works as a legal  advisor for an international law company   what's the dollar at today   I don't know a question people ask all over  the country today the news is pretty good anxiety decrease from yesterday   inflation in Lebanon has turned  a simple salad into a luxury item s and I cannot believe two years later we're  still in this situation and now people have   are being you are getting used to this but it's  all something for me always angry about 24 7.   you might see us now like happy laughing and stuff  but I think it's because we you know when you're   like so depressed you start laughing the total  bill is astronomical 1280 000 Lebanese pounds   that's two times the minimum salary in Lebanon or  about 50 euros based on the day's exchange rate nothing colors the dollar has  become a scarce commodity in Lebanon theories of foreign investors left the  country in 2019 due to dwindling confidence   in the Lebanese government their departure  sparked the nation's Financial collapse the Lira lost almost 90 percent of its value  lebanon's Banks set severe withdrawal limits   for those Lebanese who had dollars the aim was  supposedly to prevent the state going bankrupt   Rebecca hasn't had any access to  some of her bank accounts since 2019.   so here it says card limit exceeded so I cannot  withdraw anymore as if I exceeded the limit but   I haven't withdrawn any US dollars in  more than one year so yeah it's crazy she does have more than ten thousand dollars on  this account but in light of the situation in   Lebanon it's impossible to say if that money still  exists how many cars do you have uh three one   fresh one not fresh US dollar and one leban is the  Lira what do you call Fresh dollars fresh dollars   is all the dollars that were transferred from  outside after 2019. the other dollar is the one   that's stuck in the bank this is everything that  you have dollars before 2019 you cannot withdraw   any of this any any of it you just see it and you  cannot withdraw so only fresh you can withdraw   these fresh dollars are akin to the holy  grail for those who have access to them   they come from outside the country and are  now worth a fortune when exchanged against   the devalued local currency they've led to the  development of a new privileged social class   our next stop is a beach resort near  batroon and hours drive north of Beirut   here there are a number of people who  have been left unscathed by the crisis the big Supermarket chains are still crowded foreign how are you Joseph now in his  early 40s moved here four years ago   this is my Village do you come here often  where sure about three or four times a week Joseph is a sales representative at an  international pharmaceutical company   and he gets his monthly salary in dollars where  are the ripe tomatoes those nice ripe ones okay   thanks to those fresh dollars Joseph and his wife  Romy now live like royalty in a ruined Lebanon   is alcohol expensive now in Lebanon for  Lebanese people yes so you're not Lebanese   no I am but Lebanese with fresh money so is that  a new class or a new type of Lebanese a new type   of Lebanese before it was like for ten dollars  only this bottle now for the little bunnies   it's like 2000 they cannot afford it anymore it's  nothing for me 2000 Lira Joseph's monthly salary   is three thousand dollars or 60 million Lebanese  pounds have you become rich yes I've gotten rich when we're buying everyday items  we don't look at the price anymore   Romy is a primary school teacher she's paid  in Lebanese pounds without Joseph's dollars   she wouldn't manage to get by now the couple  have no reason to worry when they approach   the checkout their bill today 685 thousand  pounds that's equivalent to thirty dollars   about equal to the minimum monthly wage in  Lebanon a minimum wage that is plummeted by   a factor of 15 in two years it's now lower  than the minimum income in Afghanistan Joseph and his wife have built a house in this  residential area in the Hills above batron they started the undertaking  in 2017 when they took out a   20-year mortgage for 50 million Lebanese pounds but with the local currency collapsing  their 150 square meter House cost them   only about twenty five hundred dollars  it was a sum they paid back in two months there are three rooms and a fourth room on the  Upper Floor in the back we're only using it as   a storage room right now we have three floors you  see this Sunday they've invited friends to lunch Joseph receives his guests with a meal fit for  royalty do you need I think more 10 minutes   he wants to share his new wealth with others the guests joke about the kitchen gadgets which  they all know can only be bought with dollars   the friends around the table are of  different religious faiths they all   work but most of them are paid in Lebanese pounds how did you get here it was expensive no it's okay we're  still at the start of the month with a salary of three thousand dollars I  could feed 30 families and I'm still not   happy because all of the activities I did  before with my friends I can't do them with   them anymore so we're not happier than we were  before even if we have money no even Mike uh with all we've been through in recent years  we don't know what tomorrow will bring so   we're going to make the most of today while  we can afford it and we'll see what happens Rami is a public servant for example each  month he's paid in Lebanese pounds so for   this friend of the couple buying a six  dollar bottle of wine was a huge expense I get paid about 80 or 85 a month that's enough  to fill the car twice with gas before I earned   about twelve hundred dollars now about  eighty dollars the difference is enormous despite the inflation in Lebanon  wages have never been adjusted as the friends make a toast  Joseph adds hang in there only about 13 of the Lebanese  population are paid in dollars everyone else is paying a  hefty bill for this crisis   the absurdity of the situation has driven  some to campaign for a fairer economy   Rebecca has an appointment with her lawyer there's no power across the country you'll hear  the same reaction that's Lebanon today a year   ago Rebecca decided to file a lawsuit against  her bank for illegally withholding her dollars what happened we were supposed to  have an appointment at biblos bank   yes but they canceled it I don't know  when we'll be able to resume proceedings   unfortunately nothing is moving in our  Direction at the moment but we shouldn't give up there's no law allowing this informal  freeze on her and other people's savings   the banks were closed for weeks because of  the protests and when they opened after two   weeks there was nothing left we're really  dealing with a mafia that decided to steal   people's money by transferring it to their  own accounts abroad who are these people   politicians bankers and the governor of the  Central Bank Riyadh salame I reckon it's   the biggest scam in history we're talking here  about 100 billion dollars that just disappeared a political and business Elite is being blamed   for impoverishing the country to  benefit their private interests in 2019 a French broadcaster asked the governor  of the Central Bank Riyadh salame about the   money that had been wired abroad exists  in Lebanon we're free to transfer money but we're examining events from an ethical  standpoint to see it politically exposed persons   who transferred money abroad used their positions  in a way that might constitute an abuse of power ironically Riyadh salame is himself one of the  people accused of taking part in this massive   Capital flight as a private individual he and his  brother have around 300 million dollars on one   of their bank accounts in Switzerland is that  consistent with his bank salary certainly not the Lebanese banking sector is said to have  been functioning for decades like a Ponzi   or pyramid scheme a fraudulent Financial  scam that promises very attractive interest   in order to pay the latter the  banks use the money they get   from new customers but when that source  of money dries up the pyramid collapses when the First Investors fled Lebanon the  entire country ended up paying the price   there are people like Rebecca's parents  who worked their whole lives long and   thought we've saved money for our retirement  or to allow our children to study abroad and   now they're left with nothing the whole  thing is the bank heist of the century foreign a study showed that 90 of the majority   shareholders and Lebanese Banks  were relatives of politicians nepotism of this kind has already  had devastating consequences on August 4th 2020 warehouse number 12  exploded in the port of Beirut foreign 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate a highly flammable  and explosive fertilizer stored unattended the horrific accident destroyed entire  districts of the capital within a radius   of several kilometers in total it left 218 people  dead and more than six and a half thousand injured to the surprise of some after the disaster  the president of Lebanon appealed to the   resilience of the Lebanese people rather  than focusing on an emergency plan   Beirut Leon ladies and gentlemen today  Beirut is trying to raise itself from   the ruins with the efforts of every single  Lebanese and with their support the city's   wounds will heal and it will rise again  just as it has always done in its history the relatives of the victims have yet to  find peace even today on the fourth day   of every month they gather at the  port to remember their loved ones   today is my Jessica's birthday  do you know what it's like when   a mother cannot celebrate her daughter's birthday   in the space of seconds my soul mate my wife  had been taken from me I spent 34 years with her the issue is a highly sensitive one  with many blaming the government the subsequent investigation  was entrusted to tarek bitar a   judge said to be Incorruptible a remedy in Lebanon   all I want is Justice I hope judge betar sees  this through to the end all of us here support him but batar's investigation got bogged down this day  marked the third time it was suspended members of   the government who refused to be questioned were  obstructing his work through legal challenges   the judge knows the truth and we know exactly who  killed these victims and blew up the port foreign and there's one man in the country who has  a special degree of interest in this case is an investigative journalist who is relentlessly   trying to get to the bottom  of the country's corruption every morning his drive to  work takes him past the port foreign yeah according to Kobe AC several members  of the government knew for years about the   ammonium nitrate being stored at the Port  this is one of the most corrupted areas   not even in Lebanon I believe in  the universe it's like the black   hole of corruption there's certain accent  this place is kind like of a microcosm   of Lebanon is operated by Mafia men appointed  by mafia's elected via Democratic process you cannot be appointed there it's not  only that you have to be affiliated with   a certain party more than that some people  actually not some people most of them made a   lot of money in order to be appointed here  for example when it comes for the custom   controller with our calculations we used to  be paid like uh two thousand dollar per day   per day per day and if if he if he got only  two thousand dollar per day he will be pissed   according to official statistics the port earns  about 200 million US dollars in income annually   Kobe AC says that without the corruption  that figure would be close to 25 billion   the journalist takes risks as he takes on the  powerful after one of his investigations he   was physically attacked a few years ago by a port  official since then he's been taking precautions   my own surveillance system there are  like 10 cams inside the car just to   make sure that in case anyone decided to  attack me just to have my story documented   his wife is a presenter with the same broadcaster  I um are you proud of his work yes sometimes he   gives me headaches why that's good because it's  dangerous I'm afraid something bad will happen she's scared for you yeah I mean   I'm telling him every every time I'm telling  him this but uh it's awful you're not gonna   change your work I told you I tried to act  like a gazelle it doesn't work why I'm a beer   Kobe easy refuses to be intimidated the journalist  has published the results of his investigation   of the port blast online his website features  the faces of politicians linked to the incident   and makes all the evidence he's collected  available that includes a letter written   by Colonel Joseph scaff in 2014 the Customs  official had already been sounding the alarm the ship by the name of roses stocked  at Key number 11 in the port of Beirut   on board is a large cargo of a dangerous  explosive the constitutes of danger to   Public Safety we ask that the  ship be removed from the key   ultimately no action was taken the colonel  died in suspicious circumstances in March 2017.   despite suspicions of murder the investigation  said the cause of death was an accidental fall   this combination of patronage and incompetence and  negligence and Corruption this is the pure mixture   of the bomb itself I know that there's  a lot of corruption in Mexico maybe and   many other countries but not like in Lebanon why  because there are countries where there are like   dominant mafias but in Lebanon this country  is owned by the mafias they own the country a country drifting rudderless and  to make matters worse it's hungry   in this situation just the tiniest spark  could cause tensions to escalate and explode which is what happened in October 2021   followers of the Shia Amal movement which  is allied with the powerful Hezbollah party   were demonstrating in front of the Palace of  Justice they demanded that the Christian judge   tarek Batar be withdrawn from investigating  the explosion at the Port they accused him   of being under the influence of foreign powers  and in particular of targeting Shia politicians sectarianism the plague of Lebanon was back   late in the afternoon heavily armed demonstrators  went to the entrance of the Christian quarter   in Beirut within seconds the situation took a  dramatic turn as the demonstrators came under Fire foreign the subsequent Street battles between  Christians and shias lasted five hours seven people were killed all of them Shia Ali is 60 years old since his youth  he's been a militia man in the armed   wing of the Shia Amal party he takes  us to the scene of the deadly clashes this is where it all started the first person  was killed here by a sniper okay according to   Ali the young Shia militia men were Martyrs  who were attacked that day by Christian rivals the Amal youth group was here  they came out of that street   going towards this building it  was a purely defensive reaction uh a passing Shia resident then joins the  conversation her building was among those   that came under the heaviest fire we were  watching the young people on the street and   then suddenly they started shooting  from this side and everyone ran away where do you live what story hi there  the fifth we were in the apartment   the resident then agrees to us visiting her home as she takes us along to see the damage the  Shia militia man Ali follows right on our heels she's been living here for 14 years with  her husband and three children we hid in   the bathroom there was no way out the shots came  from this side this wall was riddled with bullet   holes it was horrible we were terrified the family  filmed the hellish scenes on their phones foreign is 13. he's still in shock we put  this up as a barricade to protect   ourselves if they came with a rocket  launcher there were four of us here   were you afraid of the rocket launchers yes they  had rocket launchers m14s M16s and a few grenades I was here my neighbor was here my father here and my sister further away  and how long were you in there   at least two and a half hours two and a half  hours yes were you scared a bit not much the whole family was evacuated  after what seemed like an eternity are you afraid it will start again yes of course  I live with the stress it reminded me of the Civil   War I thought here it goes again the family  does not want to see the different religious   communities at war with each other their children  go to a Christian School and alongside the Quran   they even have an image of the patron saint  of Christians in Lebanon our neighbors are   Christians Muslims or religions we're one that's  not the problem at the same time it almost seems   as if Ali is getting ready for a possible  return of Civil War all of Lebanon is armed   there are weapons everywhere in the 1990s all  the militia had to surrender their arms to the   government the Amal group did it too but when  they began to provoke us again we went out and   got some other guns as a militia man I'm not  afraid I'm ready to go to war for my party I don't agree with what he's saying  it's an absurd War it's not in the   interests of anyone in Lebanon to live like that we want to live in peace and  raise our children in peace   it's nonsense that every citizen should be armed the ghost of bloody sectarianism returned to haunt  Lebanon on that fateful day even if a majority of   people in the country are trying to exercise this  specter it's a Friday and father Gabrielle is   back on the way to the south of the country he's  headed for Saida about 50 kilometers from Beirut   it's the third largest city in  Lebanon and predominantly Muslim when the clergyman arrives he's got to hurry  his students are already waiting I miss you we   haven't seen each other in a long time I'm  touched to be back here again on the campus he's a general education lecturer the  university is private and Christian   yet the faculty and students belong to all faiths bonjour the day's lecture is called freedom  and religion a subject that the country's   younger generation is evidently comfortable  discussing My Generation didn't manage to   break out of confessionalism we failed will  your generation succeed in overcoming it we see what religion has done to our Lebanon  and is still doing religion caused a Civil   War and could cause another if we keep  going on this way so we need secularism I think that we and our generation  have this way of thinking facing the prospect of a failed State  and a bankrupt economy these students   are envisaging their Futures outside of  Lebanon something they almost all agree on   hands up if you want to leave Lebanon after  college Fatima Jesus and the holy virgin in   the name of all the saints and their families  who wants to say why do you want to stay everyone's saying that something has to change  but if we all leave who's going to change it   if you want to change the country then I  say there's only one way to do it get out   and vote we owe you something we failed to  build up a country for you that is worthy   of you and in which you can lead a normal  life what have we given you a broken country   one million Lebanese have already left  this broken land public services in all   areas have come to a standstill the government  allowed Health Services to fall into disrepair as it did public construction projects power grid the country's two major power  plants are very poorly maintained   one of them is only working at 30  capacity the equipment is outdated The Operators sit in front of blank monitors it's  a country used to living by the rhythm of extended   power failures to fill the deficit a private  network of electricity generators has emerged   in every part of the city these big green boxes  deliver two-thirds of the energy needed by   Lebanese households the system is illegal but  tolerated because it's so desperately needed   we were able to build up a range  of contacts in this informal sector   see this cable that's coming from our generators   that goes along the street to provide Power  to this building you can see our meters   this man is one of the two owners of the eight  generators providing the whole district with power these wires come from the main cable  that is being fed by our generator   they're connected with this electrical  panel each apartment has a meter and   every meter has its own circuit breaker  a hazardous looking setup no no no it's   not dangerous we take every uh for  safety 100 it's not dangerous no no turn off we give electricity 15 hours   15 hour very good on camera the two business  partners insist they're supplying only these   500 households with electricity but their  Network seems to cover over a thousand   homes in order to run their generators they're  supplied daily with diesel from a tank truck the heating oil is being pumped from the  truck into the tank there it's got a 30   000 liter capacity the next day this enormous tank  will be empty the electricity is distributed to   different zones here A B C to supply the buildings  every switch supplies two to three buildings the state tried to regulate this private Market  by setting maximum fees but the owners of the   generators still demand prices that are  three times as high as in the public sector I'm here about the electricity bill at the start of the month the collectors come to  people's homes to get their money it's expensive I get a million a month working here and they  get 10 million for electricity at prices like   that sometimes we're forced to pay out  of our own Pockets except they're empty the average household spends 2 million Lira or  around 80 a month on its private Energy bill the business partners take in about  forty to eighty thousand dollars a month   these networks have their own  nickname the generator Mafia the government they need you okay yes yes yes  why do they do they say that you're illegal why   it's weird I cannot tell you something what you  make if you are behind me what you make you want   electricity or you stay without electricity we are  behind the government and by the government bring   electricity we turn off all the generator and we  go home we are not Buffy if if we turn off all   the all the generator now 20 minutes you feel the  people in the balcony like this 20 minutes five   minutes ten minutes and is business profitable  right now yes and fresh money fresh money fresh   money if you don't pay in fresh money there is no  diesel oil when you see a Rolex on their wrist and   a Jaguar parked in the yard it's hard to believe  the business partner's altruistic pretenses   in 2018 the generator business was estimated  to be worth close to 2 billion US dollars if the Lebanese government is more than just  tolerating this informal sector it's because   the government is profiting from it Mark Ayub  tells us how that works the energy researcher   Likens the situation to a game of Monopoly  the government the diesel importers and The   Operators of private generators all share a common  interest in the electricity sector breaking down   they are working on diesel the importers of  these the companies and if you look at this   value chain so you have the importers of diesel  that are companies this is a cartel of around 13   companies who are producing those if you look at  the owners they are connected in a way or another   to the political Elite directly or indirectly  to the political Elite of the country uh Etc one of the leading diesel importing  companies kojiko is 40 owned by Waleed jumblat   despite the apparent conflict of  interest the former Transportation   minister is still the leader of one of the  country's traditional political parties so we cannot neglect that part those have  interest in keeping the diesel and the   gasoline entering into the country so some of  those consumers or the the biggest consumers   of diesel are the diesel generator networks  they so over the years these players have   made a lot of profits and if they tell you  that we didn't do a lot of profits this is   not really true except that these profits  earned by an organized cabal with serious   political power barely if at all trickle down  into the pockets of the population foreign tired of promises of a better life  that will never be realized some   are ready to risk their lives to flee the country among them is Muhammad who lives in Tripoli get out of the kitchen the 35 year old  former tour guide lives with his entire   family in this two-room apartment with his  mother his sisters and his four children in October 2021 he and his son hosam tried  to enter Europe illegally via the sea the plan was to have the rest of the family follow  after they got there but the trip was a short one there were 82 of us and we bought a big  boat our plan was to go to Italy and from   there each of us would find their own way  through Europe but fate had different plans   we lost everything the Turkish Coast Guard  arrested US and when did we meet again in jail   you were in jail yes and how old were you then  seven there were 16 people to a cell in jail   it was tough just imagine it my son was sleeping  with me on a bench surrounded by Dash terrorists Muhammad and his son were arrested during  the crossing to Europe and spent 29 days   in jail before being sent back to Lebanon  in spite of the traumatic experience the   temptation to leave the country has  become even stronger for the family when you look at the sea what do you think of  I think about a day when the weather is good   and we can set off again and that's your dream I  just want to leave this country with my children   set off again yes and why as Lebanon continues to be ravaged by a crippling  financial crisis Muhammad and hosam look out   to sea hoping that maybe there's a better life  waiting for them beyond the waves and the horizon

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 2,858,678

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2022, Lebanon, economic crisis, inflation, corruption, Middle East, Lebanese Pound, Beirut, Beirut explosion, Lebanon crisis, lebanon crisis explained

Id: RZuKyIYMSEw

Length: 54min 50sec (3290 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 04 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/afrothundah11]

My understanding from my neighbors who were born and lived in Lebanon until about 15 years ago (well after the Lebanon civil war in ~1975-1990) was that the place was unstable, unsafe, crumbling infrastructure and economy that they thought couldn’t be fixed.

They deserted their home (nearly a palace by my eyes) moved to Canada to live a middle class life and happily never looked back. They made it sound like the place was a shithole with no hope of repair and that was a decade before this explosion.

They did state how naturally beautiful it was there, though.

[u/TheThrowOverAndAway]

I must be honest, in the 'good years' of the national economy - Lebanon was synonymous to me with major human rights abuses against thousands of foreign domestic workers for decades - via the Kafala System. It is well known how tens of thousands of women who arrived from other countries with a contract to work had their passports confiscated and flat out held for ransom by their employers while they were forced to work in harrowing, violent conditions - including, frequently, rape and being thrown off of employers balconies onto the streets below. It actually remains an ongoing issue despite everything Lebanon is going through.

Links:

●https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/features/2022/1/21/i-wanted-to-die-abused-migrant-women-in-lebanon-face-detention

●https://youtu.be/rrWGm0q01CA

● https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/4824/Lebanon:-Assaulting-a-domestic-worker-is-shocking-but-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg

● https://youtu.be/dr9j4VI3TPw

● https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/foreign-household-helpers-are-often-exploited-and-abused-lebanon

● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-maids-abuse-idUSTRE4BH04R20081218

So I've never felt perhaps the deepest warmth to the society in general. Though I've very much admired the music, architecture and history.

However this documentary does strike me as a cautionary tale. In this age where so much can be unsettled by frenzied political shifts, climate change issues and repeated large scale health outbreaks - not to mention corruption that germinates further in all of the above - I dont think this is the end of countries folding quickly all over the world.

[u/EmergencyJob7499]

The guy bought a house for $2500! He got insanely lucky

[u/carolinaindian02]

The result of decades of corruption by kleptocratic sectarian politicians.

[u/HappyHound]

Didn't 80% live below the pantry line before the explosion?

[u/fromcjoe123]

Well congrats to Hezbollah for driving that country straight into the ground. Yes clearly it's a lot more complicated than that, but given Lebanon's development, level of education, and Westernization in their middle and upper classes, they definitely had a fighting chance even with the sectarianism.

Such a fucking waste.

[u/ughwhatisthisshit]

I know that there are a lot of people in Lebanon that dont deserve this but the ape part of my brain is mind like fuck em for what they have done to migrant workers. Like from what i understand it is even worse than the qataris and the saudis which is saying a lot.

Their culture is fucking terrible and idgaf if it dies out.

[u/LionVenom10]

It’s just a shame how Iran ruined this country. 20 years ago Lebanon was nicknamed the Switzerland of the Middle East, but Iranian exploitation of Arab countries like Lebanon and Iraq masquerading behind religious segregation knows no boundaries.

[u/sami_hil]

As someone who was born and raised in this country "lebanon", the people deserve this. They are literally horrible. They still have slaves there and everyone is only focused on scamming one another. You are considered smart and respected if you scam. I hope all countries stop sending aid to Lebanon.

If you are thinking of visiting, dont. Go to turkey instead.