Jana Dhayby and Bachir El-Khoury -
Lebanon may be under a strict pandemic lockdown to stem raging coronavirus rates, but father-of-six Omar Qarhani is still working, desperate to support his family.
“I’m not scared of corona — what scares me is being in need and poverty,” the 38-year-old said, selling vegetables on the side of a road in the northern port city of Tripoli.
Lebanon has imposed a round-the-clock curfew nationwide since January 14, barred non-essential workers from leaving their homes and restricted grocery shopping to deliveries. The drastic measures came after daily Covid cases suddenly shot up following gatherings during the holiday season, overwhelming hospitals.
The country has recorded over 280,000 coronavirus cases and more than 2,400 deaths stemming from the disease since the pandemic began. On paper, its Covid-19 restrictions are among the strictest in the world, but in reality grinding poverty is pushing many back onto the streets to eke out a living.
Standing beside his vegetable boxes in Tripoli, Qarhani said he was already barely making ends meet after he gave up his job at a flower shop to sell fresh produce.
“We need 70,000 Lebanese pounds a day to put food on the table, but this job only provides half,” he said, implying he was earning less than $8 a day at the market rate.
Security forces have set up checkpoints across the country to check Lebanese are complying with measures in force until February 8 to protect the health sector from collapse. But many people in poorer areas have been forced to defy the rules and keep working, especially in the poverty-stricken city of Tripoli.
Tensions have risen, and dozens of protesters clashed with security forces in the city late on Monday, although it was not immediately clear if the unrest was spontaneous or organised. Tripoli was already one of the country’s poorest cities before the pandemic, and before a crippling economic crisis hit Lebanon in 2019.
Mohamed al Beiruti, an anti-poverty activist in the city, said most of those ignoring the curfew were day labourers living from hand to mouth, earning barely $2 a day.
“If they don’t work that day, they don’t eat,” he said. “Living conditions in Tripoli are bringing popular anger to a boil. What happened last night is just a prelude.” — AFP
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