Lebanon's Economic Crisis Continues To Worsen

Lines of vehicles waiting to fuel up in Beirut, Lebanon, in May.Credit...Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times  

New York Times: As Lebanon’s Crisis Deepens, Lines for Fuel Grow, and Food and Medicine Are Scarce  

The World Bank said the financial crisis could rank among the world’s three worst since the mid-1800s. The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value and unemployment has skyrocketed. 

BEIRUT, Lebanon — As she sat in the sun in her Mini Cooper inching her way through a long line of cars to get gas, Lynn Husami, 23, tried to use her time well. She had a phone meeting with the adviser of her master’s thesis, called an old friend and played video games on her Nintendo Switch. 

After four hours, she recalled, she still hadn’t reached the station, was drenched in sweat and needed a bathroom. But she feared losing her place in line if she went searching for one. “I’m hopeless. I’m angry. I’m frustrated,” she said, summing up the feelings of many Lebanese about the financial collapse that has turned once-routine errands into nightmares that fill their days and clean out their wallets. 

“It is getting worse, and we can’t do anything about it. I don’t know how we can fix all of this.” Lebanon is suffering through a financial crisis that the World Bank has said could rank among the world’s three worst since the mid-1800s in terms of its effect on living standards. 

Its currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value since fall 2019, and unemployment has skyrocketed as businesses have shut down. Imported goods that were once commonplace have become scarce.  

Read more .... 

Update #1: Mired in crises, Lebanon hopes summer arrivals bring relief (AP) 

Update #2: 72 percent of Lebanese families struggle to secure enough food amid soaring inflation (Arab News) 

WNU Editor: The World Bank's analysis on why Lebanon is experiencing this crisis is spot on ....  

.... Lebanon’s crisis was caused by extensive deficit spending by the government that left it deeply in debt, and by unsustainable monetary policies that finally collapsed, leaving the banks largely insolvent and the value of the currency plunging. 

Even senior Israeli officials are acknowledging that hunger is becoming a common situation in Lebanon .... Gantz: '... my heart aches seeing the images of people going hungry on the streets of Lebanon' (i24 News).

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