![]() “Every time the dollar rate goes up, something goes really bad in the country and that’s really unsafe for everybody,” Jenny says, referring to recent protests, roadblocks and bank stormings. “I love the country, I wish I could stay but it’s not logical”, Jenny tells Al Jazeera, her friends nodding in agreement.įor them, the most pressing issue is fixing the exponential devaluation of the Lebanese pound, the national currency that has lost approximately 98 percent of its value against the dollar in just under three years. Sitting at a coffee shop near the American University of Beirut, these 18-year-old students say they know their future is outside Lebanon. Luna, Lea and Jenny’s fathers are all working outside Lebanon because of the lack of opportunities in the country Luna Chaar, Lea Richmany, Jenny Chirickdjian, students Like many other thousands of young Lebanese, Sameer’s children are planning to leave the country after graduating. As the car stops, Sameer removes his glasses, wipes away a tear and takes a blood pressure pill. Some days I can afford food, some days I have to borrow money or buy groceries on credit,” he says.Īt the end of the journey with Sameer, his fuel light blinks, indicating he needs to fill up again. I am just working to pay for the gas so I don’t stay at home all day. ![]() Sameer tells Al Jazeera he was living in a “nightmare” – he has lost his $60,000 of savings in the banking collapse and the money he makes is barely enough to cover fuel, let alone pay for his two children’s university tuition or his blood pressure medication. Because all of them are thieves, all of them have robbed the country.” “There have to be changes, we have to collapse everything and rebuild everything again. “If I could change something in this country…I would collect all of the parliament members and burn them,” says 65-year-old Sameer, as he drives his taxi. Sameer Rashed, taxi driver Taxi driver Sameer says he had to sell one of his cars to be able to afford food The debacle has exacerbated the despair felt by many Lebanese who long for the implementation of reforms to lift the country from one of the world’s worst financial crises.Īl Jazeera spoke to several Lebanese people to hear their thoughts about the time zone debacle and the troubles Lebanon continues to face. Lebanon had been scheduled to make the shift last weekend, but a last-minute government decision extended winter time by approximately a month to avoid making the fasting day an hour longer for Muslims in Ramadan.īut the decision was rejected by other institutions, including the Maronite Church, resulting in two different times being used in the country and the eventual government announcement on Monday that the decision would be reversed. Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon has shifted to daylight savings time a few days later than initially planned after a backlash to a controversial government decision left the country split between two different time zones.
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