This is how Lebanese environmentalists have contributed to a green revolution

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By Ester Carpenter -- Five Gen-Zer squatted in early November on a small pile of rubbish in the middle of Martyrerplatz in downtown Beirut. In white gloves, they sorted bottle caps, cigarette butts, mouthpieces for hookahs, adhesive tape and plastic food packaging – all waste of the protests from the previous day. Although the five were students, they had not been in class for 26 days. Some of her teachers were upset, but the activists thought cleaning up after the protests that had hit the country since mid-October was more important than learning. They wanted to show the country how to take care of themselves, said 17-year-old Paul Hanna and took a break from sorting. “Without recycling, most of the garbage goes into the sea.” “We don’t want to see garbage on the street,” said Mira Raheb, also 17. “If we clean here, it will change (the mentality).”

Like youth activists around the world, Lebanese environmentalists reject the status quo, which means in Lebanon to protest against rampant government corruption, a sluggish economy and a long list of environmental issues that dominate everyday life. Hoping to take advantage of the current unrest, they are also working to make the country greener. Since the end of the civil war in the 1990s, Lebanon has not been able to provide its citizens with 24/7 electricity, a functioning public transport network, proper waste disposal, or drinking water. The lack of basic supplies has a particularly severe impact on poor families and working-class families, and the environment also suffers from people turning to diesel-powered generators and relying on plastic water bottles.

Last October, wildfire broke out in a forested area south of Beirut that quickly got out of control and set fire to more than 3,000 acres. Hot, windy conditions played a role, but so did the government’s incompetence (three privately donated fire helicopters were in poor condition at a nearby airport). Five days later, over a million Lebanese were on the streets demanding the government’s resignation. Prime Minister Saad Hariri had resigned until the end of October. “The forest fires were an important forerunner of the revolution.” “The forest fires were an important forerunner of the revolution,” said 36-year-old Adib Dada. As part of the protests, Dada, an environmental architect and biomimics specialist, led a guerrilla gardening project that planted 30 native trees and shrubs in downtown Beirut, a group called Regenerate Lebanon.

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Lebanon: Protesters Storm Beirut Bank As Fears Over Economy Mount

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By Najia Houssari by eurasiareview.com --  Widespread anger at Lebanese banking restrictions boiled over on Saturday when dozens of protesters stormed a Beirut branch following its refusal to deliver employees’ salaries in US dollars. The protest group, made up mainly of Communist Party members, occupied the BLC bank’s Hamra branch and staged a sit-in over what they described as “the false practices of the banks.” Lebanon’s banks have imposed weekly limits on withdrawals of US dollars amid a shortage in liquidity as the country grapples with its worst economic and financial crisis in more than three decades. The restrictions have added to mounting anger over job layoffs, salary cuts and rapidly rising prices. The Communist Party later issued a statement saying that the sit-in resulted in “all customers receiving their money and deposits, which confirms the false practices of the banks, as the administration claimed that the dollar was not available inside the branch, which turned out to be untrue.”

On Thursday, protesters staged a sit-in outside the central bank and the Lebanese Banks’ Association building in protest against the banks’ policies amid unprecedented capital controls. Banks’ strict controls on releasing hard currency have added to the liquidity crisis on top of an economic downturn. Meanwhile, attempts to form a national salvation government stalled after a number of Sunni political figures refused to accept ministerial positions in the leadership. The Future Movement, the largest Sunni parliamentary bloc, is boycotting attempts to establish a new government. Nasser Yassin, acting director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, told Arab News that he had rejected a request to take up a ministerial position. Yassin described the portfolio as a “suicide mission.” “I am not enthusiastic in the current circumstances,” he said.

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Lebanese protest outside new prime minister's Beirut home demand he quits

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by middleeasteye.net -- Protesters gathered outside the Beirut home of Lebanon's new prime minister on Saturday, calling for Hassan Diab's resignation less than 10 days after he was appointed. Lebanon is without a cabinet and in the grips of a deepening economic crisis after a two-month-old protest movement forced Saad Hariri to stand down as prime minister on 29 October. Anti-government protests continued after Hariri's resignation, while political parties negotiated for weeks before nominating Diab, a professor and former education minister, to replace him on 19 December, AFP said.

Echoing protester demands, Diab promised to form a government of independent experts within six weeks - in a country where appointing a cabinet can take months. But protesters on Saturday were unconvinced by his promise. "We're here to bring down Hassan Diab. He doesn't represent us. He's one of them," said one young demonstrator, referring to the country's ruling elite, who protesters despise collectively. Lina, another protester agreed, saying: "It's the revolution that must name the prime minister, not them." The 60-year-old Diab, who has a low public profile and styles himself as a technocrat, last week called protester demands legitimate but asked them to give him a chance to form "an exceptional government". "We are willing to give him a chance, but let us at least give him a roadmap," Lina told AFP. The protests and political deadlock have brought Lebanon to its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The international community has urged a new cabinet be formed swiftly to implement economic reforms and unlock international aid. Lebanon urgently needs a new government to pull it out of the long-brewing crisis. Foreign donors say they will only help after there is a cabinet that can enact reforms, Reuters reported. Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades and battered confidence in its banking system. The risk of devaluation has risen in a country with one of the world's biggest foreign debt burdens.

Foreign debt burden

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Lebanon: Where Did The Billions Go?

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by albawaba.com -- A probe has started into the billions of dollars sent overseas from Lebanon amid a political crisis that has gripped the country for months, with the country’s central bank chief warning that “nothing can disappear.” Lebanon is experiencing a severe liquidity crunch in light of an economic downturn, political gridlock and massive protests, factors that have triggered a crisis of confidence inside and outside the country. Banque du Liban governor, Riad Salamé, said: “People may do as they please with their money, but if suspicious funds were transferred in 2019, we will investigate them, and investigations start in Lebanon. We will do whatever we are legally permitted to do to verify all the transfers that took place. Nothing can disappear. The central bank is addressing the gradual crisis, and we hope the decisions we have taken to increase the banks’ capital will help the country recover so that the economy can improve.” He did not blame civil society for the deterioration of the Lebanese lira’s exchange rate against the dollar. After Oct. 17, the date on which the protests erupted, he said that the banks closed for two weeks and it was this shuttering that created turmoil in the financial market.

The dollar’s exchange rate at shops has reached 2,100 liras, but Salamé said there was no change in the official rate which is set at 1507.50. A parliamentary finance and budget committee said overseas remittances worth billions of dollars were made from Lebanese banks. “Approximately $11 billion of bank money has ended up overseas,” said MP Hassan Fadlallah, while committee head Ibrahim Kanaan said Lebanese people’s concerns over the domestic situation had led to the withdrawal of $6 billion from banks. People braved bitter conditions to protest outside a banking association’s headquarters and Banque du Liban branches. There is a campaign to confront banks withholding the money of small depositors. Protesters urged people to stop making loan repayments, condemning banking policies and corruption. Security measures around banks have failed to deter anger, with people demanding money and salaries from staff.

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WFP official urges return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

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BEIRUT, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- An official of the World Food Program (WFP) urged on Friday the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to their homeland in 2020, the National News Agency reported. Abdallah al-Wardat, WFP Lebanon Country Director, said "the return of Syrian refugees to their country has become very urgent and it should definitely take place in the year of 2020," during a meeting with a delegation from Lebanon Uprise, an association helps for Syrian refugees' return. "The WFP is currently helping 4.2 million citizens in Syria, and 80 percent of Syrian territories are secure now," al-Wardat said. He also added that the WFP has increased its support for the most vulnerable Lebanese, which means that 85,000 Lebanese citizens receive help through e-food card offered by the WFP to secure their food needs.

More than one million Syrian refugees are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, while the Lebanese government estimated the exact number of Syrians in the country at 1.5 million. The flow of Syrian refugees to Lebanon has weighed heavily on the country's economy and infrastructure, prompting Lebanese officials to urge the international community for support in guaranteeing the return of refugees. Lebanese President Michel Aoun noted in Nov. that around 390,000 Syrians had returned to their homeland from Lebanon.

Lebanon central bank head: ‘nobody knows’ how much pound could slump on black market

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by reuters -- Lebanon's central bank governor said on Thursday “nobody knows" how much more the cost of dollars could rise on the black market as a dire crisis piles pressure on a 22-year-old currency peg. Deep in political turmoil, Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades and battered confidence in its banking system. The risk of devaluation has risen in a country with one of the world's biggest foreign debt burdens. The Lebanese pound has weakened by more than 30% on the parallel market, now the main source of cash. Banks have imposed tight controls, and the hard currency squeeze has driven importers to hike prices. “We hope the country itself will improve so that the economy can improve," Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh told reporters after a meeting with parliament's finance and budget committee on Thursday. When asked how much higher the cost of dollars would rise, he said “nobody knows". He did not elaborate. A Banque du Liban (BDL) spokesperson said Salameh's comments did not indicate any change in the official pegged rate and the central bank's policy remained to preserve it. The remark “came in response to a question about the rate at exchange dealers specifically." Salameh has ruled out a break in the peg, which fixes the pound at 1,507.5 to the dollar. He has pledged repeatedly to maintain it. Last month, Salameh said the central bank had the ability to underpin the pound's stability. He also said it would not go to exchange dealers to give them dollars to keep the official rate. Street exchange dealers were offering dollars at above 2,000 Lebanese pounds in recent days.

Banks, still dealing at the official rate, have blocked nearly all transfers abroad and curbed dollar withdrawals – including limits of $200 a week. The head of banking association has called the controls “a fence to protect the system" until things return to normal. Lebanon urgently needs a new government to pull it out of the long-brewing crisis. Foreign donors say they will only help after there is a cabinet that can enact reforms. Politicians have feuded over the next cabinet since Saad al-Hariri quit as prime minister in late October under pressure from huge protests against the ruling elite. Hassan Diab, a former education minister, must now try to agree a government after he was named prime minister last week with the backing of Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies.