Freitag, 29.01.2021 / 22:28 Uhr

Proteste im Libanon gegen Corona-Lockdown

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Aus dem Netz

Im Libanon verschärft ein strikter Lockdown die eh schon extrem prekäre Lage:

The specter of poverty is haunting the majority of the Lebanese — be they poor or wealthy — as they struggle to buy food and basic necessities amid worsening living conditions resulting from a complete lockdown and night curfew that started Jan. 7 and is scheduled to remain in place until Feb. 1, albeit with some exceptions.

On Jan. 11, the Supreme Defense Council declared a state of public emergency and imposed a round-the-clock curfew between Jan. 14 and Jan. 25. The lockdown was again extended Jan. 21 until Feb. 8, as the number of new coronavirus cases exceed 6,000 a day with more than 70 deaths in a 24-hour period.

Hospital wards dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients are currently full, and the intensive care units are operating at full capacity.

The lockdown should relieve the burden on health-care workers as the number of patients in hospitals decreases. The spike in the number of cases is the result of the reopening of nightclubs during the end of year holidays.

This state of emergency required the closure of all establishments, shops and foodstuff stores, which are only open for delivery. This left many workers jobless amid worsening living conditions resulting from the economic crisis that has been plaguing the country since the end of 2019. (...)

Ibrahim Haidar, a young civil society activist from Tripoli, told Al-Monitor, “The current lockdown is a crime against the majority of the Lebanese people. The poor — especially day laborers such as blacksmiths, carpenters and mechanics are the most affected.”

Haidar said, “Friends and I collect money to help the poor in the region. We assess what people need, such as diapers, milk, gas, clothes or medicines, while most of them need heaters to fight the cold. What breaks our hearts is that there are people who are eating plain sandwiches.”

He added, “People are afraid a state of lawlessness might ensue due to the increasing poverty and the ongoing lockdown.”

Since Jan. 25, the youth in Tripoli has taken to the streets to protest the lockdown without any alternative or financial support provided by the authorities. Thousands of families in the impoverished city have been living under extreme poverty for the past year. Violent clashes have erupted in the past few days between the angry protesters and the security forces who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowds. Hundreds of people were injured and a protester died from his wounds Jan. 28. The protests in Tripoli extended to other areas across Lebanon, including in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and the south, to support the protesters in the northern city.