Is This Lebanon’s Collapse Point? Families of Army Members Protest for Dignity

Millions of Lebanese people have been struggling for over two harsh years now. The country continues to live amid a historical financial crisis with no hopes of a solution anytime soon. Many families of army soldiers are feeling the brunt and are protesting.

It is no secret that Lebanon is suffering an extreme economic crisis, one that is not only hard by local or regional standards, but also international ones. According to the World Bank, the Lebanese financial crisis is the world's worst since the 1850s.

And yet, no political decisions have been helpful in stopping the conditions from further deterioration. The Lebanese currency, the lira, has lost more than 90% of its value prior to October 2019. Inflation has never been higher and many Lebanese are leaving the country for a better future around the world.

The country's average salaries stand around $50 a month, which is barely enough for basic life needs. The savings of millions of Lebanese people have been slashed pressured by the currency's collapse, not to mention that Lebanese markets are reporting acute shortages of most medications and basic goods.

All of this has triggered multiple protests across the country, ones that have not been effective in ending the Lebanese calamity, at least not so far.

Translation: "Sit in by retired military personnel and families of soldiers in Baalbek. Wives, kids, and parents are defending dignity and the basic needs of those who protect the country."

This week, dozens of retired military members and families of current soldiers in the Lebanese army took to the streets, protesting the economic conditions and the lack of financial support from the Lebanese state.

Protesters in a number of Lebanese cities have called on officials in Lebanon to put every possible effort to end the current crisis and to help them and their families afford a decent life in exchange for the service they are providing in terms of national security.

In October 2019, thousands of Lebanese people started what has been known as "the 17th October Revolution", one that called for the removal of the political elite which is accused of corruption leading to the current financial recession. However, protests stopped in the Spring of 2020 as COVID19 spread around the world.