By Joel Konrad Minj
Lebanon was already facing an economic and political crisis. Then came a
deadly blast that hit Beirut on Tuesday 4th August killing at least 150
people and thousands wounded. The blast ranks as the world’s largest
non-nuclear explosion. The explosion took place in Beirut’s port area where
2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored in a warehouse meant for the
use in agricultural fertilizer, bombs, and rockets. It was stored inside the
warehouse since 2014 seized by the customs authorities. A massive plume
of reddish-hued gas was released into the atmosphere visible from miles
away.
“I promise you that this catastrophe will not pass without accountability,”
Hassan Diab said during a televised address. Government officials have
announced that they knew about the stored ammonium nitrate. The
negligence has brought more fury into people, resuming the
anti-government protest started over Lebanon’s failing economy which was
largely stopped due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Anti-government protests broke out on October 17, 2019, when the
government proposed new taxes. People accusing the political leadership
of corruption and demand for social and economic reforms.
It all started after the 15 - year civil war in 1990 when the country pegged
its currency Lebanon’s lira to the US dollar. This was done in order to
attract foreign investors and boost the tourism and service sector.
Hezbollah, a Shia ally and militant group, got involved in the political matter
due to Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, which abrupted the
country’s growth since then.
Lebanon’s Central Bank exchange rate was 1,507 lira to $1. Since the
country is highly dependent on imports, the fixed-rate kept the prices of the products down. But governmental dysfunction and corruption got Lebanon run
out of their resources and money. Hence, losing about 80% of the currency
value and daily electricity blackouts, unreliable internet access, outrageous
telecommunication costs, an inability to alleviate persistent unemployment.
Lebanon became the fifth-most indebted nation in the world relative to
GDP. Private banks acquiring more loans adding to the debt. The deadly
blast will add up to the nationwide anti-government demonstration “The situation is definitely dire: political crisis, economic crisis, lack of resources,
the pandemic, and now the explosion,” Laura Bell, a Lebanon expert at
West Texas A&M University, told. “Lebanon could easily become a failed
state if leadership and international assistance is not adequate.”
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