Salaries are not enough, hummus is like caviar … Rodage is on his way to hell

Hiyam Al-Qasifi wrote in the Al-Akhbar newspaper under the headline “The year of collapse and humiliation:” Rodage “way to hell:” In a small land, a big hole “, iron gallons, eaten by rust, Filled with gasoline. Protected from dirt, so as not to start a fire, but does not leave its place until a refill is safe. On the Beirut-Damascus highway, a family taxi headed to the Australian embassy in Damascus, where the Lebanese go through all the hardships and have to queue overnight for a visa. A similar scene for those queuing at dawn in front of the ovens. The Mazot crisis threatens factories and hospitals. “For travel reasons” Announcements classifieds of cars, apartments and land for sale, wedding postponements, calls for food aid donations, Western companies close their offices in Beirut and start of apartment offers in Paris, before Cyprus becomes the destination. irut in 1975 and its aftermath in the civil war.

Gallons of plastic gasoline, immigration applicants stand in front of embassies as well as gas stations, sale announcements are online, Lebanon increases aid. It is Beirut in 2020, the tragedy has been the same for 45 years, although life was better than today in many ways, after adding the collapse of the Lebanese pound, power cuts, contaminated water, waste, stolen money, years of waste and corruption.
After the first and second world wars, research centers and universities studied social variables and behaviors that had arisen or were absent. Much has been written about the collapse of social classes, the growth of the wealthy class in war and the black market, changing food and lifestyle habits, sexual and family relationships, the shaky job market, coffee shops and quality of cigarette paper, songs that reflected with their dark words which countries emerged from the war. In Lebanon, the current year parallels what these countries have experienced, in the intensity of the changes that have collapsed the way of life and money of the Lebanese people, and it is necessary to study all its details.

What has changed in the conditions of the Lebanese since the rise in the price of the dollar until today? Simply everything. Lebanese eating habits are changing: putting high prices on a scientific table does not reflect the tragedy of those who cannot get meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese and fruit. The Lebanese are distancing themselves from the importer, forcing to contradict the theories of some politicians who theorize about local products and are known for luxury import stores. An engineer whose salary was relatively high, she says she felt powerless when she was denied the right to choose European cheese, imported chilled meat or chocolate. Our folk tales about the delights of winter nights must change, and with it the pride of Lebanese in their food, because tomorrow’s hummus with tahini will turn to caviar before the price of sesame rises or stops. Fayrouz’s song about his grandmother “raisins and fizzy nuts” no longer matches what the governor of the Banque du Liban decided, and the prices of pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, walnuts and flavorings exceeded the requirements of the barbarian, Christmas, mushrooms, sacrifice and other festivals. In the past, the “gorma” industry was a fraud against poverty to store cooked meat for all seasons of the year. Today a woman is storing it, because the purchase of good and reliable meat may not be available in the next few months for a family of four in which the father works alone. We did not witness this in the war except during the devaluation phase of the pound in the 1980s and the tough battles. Today you will find an employee who has turned his hobby of fishing and birdsong into a business that lasts a week for him and his family, along with his salary ”. Read the full article aClick here.