Lebanese citizens have been left no choice by an ineffective and uncaring state. The non-independent and barely technocratic government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab has left hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Lebanese people to fend for themselves in something resembling a Darwinian nightmare.
Workers and daily wage earners have seen their incomes disappear and their costs continue to accumulate. From their ivory towers, many of the salaried middle and upper classes have yelled out at those who dare protest for the most basic of rights during this medical emergency. From condescension to patronization to belittlement to straight-up disrespect, many people in positions of privilege have denounced and dismissed the grievances of the working class. Their anger and vitriol would have been better targeted at a Lebanese government that has failed to ensure basic dignities for many of its citizens.
Bills, debts, tuitions, medical expenses, and many more costs plague the average Lebanese citizen. The ability to quarantine with a roof over your head and food in your fridge is a privilege. The working class has been trapped between the jaws of deadly disease and potential starvation, and those who are lucky enough to still have employment risk their lives with nowhere near adequate compensation. Those joining the soaring masses of the unemployed are left to suffer and struggle for their survival in a brutal environment, no different from conditions under Ottoman rule, almost one or two hundred years ago.
Whether unable or unwilling, the Diab government has failed to provide the adequate safety net needed to protect those most in need. A pitiful and ambiguously defined dividend of 400,000 L.L. or $137 (at the prevailing 2,900 L.L. black market exchange rate) has been the peak of this government’s offerings, and little to no information exists regarding who is to receive the money, and where and how. The state has forfeited its responsibilities in favour of re-establishing and strengthening the regressive networks of patronage and clientelism of the traditional Lebanese sectarian parties.
If the Lebanese government hopes to hide behind a narrative of bankruptcy-induced inability it can rest assured that there are many ways for it to protect its citizens without spending any of its non-existent cash reserves. A ban on rent-related evictions, a ban on tuition-related expulsions, and an expansion of workers’ rights are just a few of the zero-cost policies the government can implement. The implementation of policies such as mandatory paid sick leave for employees would shift the burden of cost from the state to the private sector, it would grant workers the freedom and safety they deserve, and it could potentially save thousands of lives by allowing those who feel sick to stay at home and possibly stop the spread of COVID-19.
While moments such as last Sunday’s collective and simultaneous show of appreciation for medical professionals (clapping at windows and balconies at 8:00 pm) works well to strengthen national pride and boost morale, it also highlights our society’s over-reliance on sentiment and non-governmental initiative to paper over the cracks of a failed state. Our dependence on private enterprise and charity has led to the development of nonsensical scenarios where we clap for the workers saving our lives and then denounce protesters demanding these workers’ rights.
In a country where the elite and their media dare lecture and disparage the workers and medical professionals keeping the country running; where the charity of warlords and crooks is drooled over and used to polish their image; where banks have the audacity to continue to withhold and gamble with people’s savings; where hundreds of thousands are left in inescapable poverty… Despite the importance of social distancing and quarantine, the solution to this medical emergency is not a militaristic and oppressive state of emergency that is straight out of a dictator’s wet dream. The solution starts with a state-led and well-developed long term plan that takes into account the socio-economic realities of the Lebanese population and ensures the survival of people in quarantine. Save your classist condemnation of protestors and people forced to break quarantine and instead focus your energies towards condemning the state, society, and economic system that has trapped a large portion of Lebanese citizens in a perpetual cycle of poverty and pain.
