As we have been reporting when demonstrations broke out across Lebanon last October, it was a one of many nations erupting in the “New World Disorder.”
From France to South Africa, from India to Chile, tens of millions across the globe were taking to the streets, protesting the lack of basic living standards, government corruption, crime, and violence.
In Lebanon, the protests were triggered by new taxes on gasoline, tobacco, a dying economy, soaring unemployment, the value of its currency rapidly devaluating… and disgust of the ruling class.
After replacing a series of prime ministers, Saad Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister who quit his position about a year ago due to protests, was tapped by the country’s president to save Beirut from economic ruin, just months after a deadly explosion renewed calls for governmental reforms.
CNN said that Hariri, who is supported by lawmakers, aims to build an “apolitical and technocratic government.” The Wall Street Journal noted Hariri was asked to take the premier job after an original candidate quit.
“I tell the Lebanese people, who are facing despairing hardships I say that I am dedicated to my promise to them to work on stopping the collapse that is threatening our economy, our security, and to rebuild the distraction of the terrible port explosion in Beirut,” he said in a speech last Thursday, according to CNN.
The massive, devastating explosion in Lebanon in August has seriously shaken its residents and was seen as a catastrophic failure by the government. But, as the dust settled, many in the country see Hariri’s return as doubling down on his previous failures.
To date, Lebanon’s currency, the pound, lost 80 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, and its annual inflation reached 462 percent, a senior fellow at the Troubled Currencies Project said. About half of the country’s population is suffering from poverty, and unemployment is around 40 percent. According to the International Monetary Fund, its economy is set to contract by 25 percent this year.
And now, in fear of terribly deteriorating socio-economic and political conditions, there is wave of Lebanese citizens fleeing the nation for safer havens.
TREND FORECAST: As we have forecast, beware of the destabilization throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Caucuses. With Brent Crude oil selling below $40 a barrel, down from a January high of $68, and the COVID War having destroyed both oil-rich and oil-poor economies, violence will escalate throughout the region, the refugee crisis will worsen, and regional conflicts will erupt.
