These robbers wear neither balaclavas nor sophisticated weapons. Their driving force is not greed, but desperation. Because it is their own savings that they claim: funds simply blocked, inaccessible for three years by decision of the banks. Withdrawals are limited to 100 or even 200 dollars per month.
>> TESTIMONIALS. “They are killing us little by little”: in Lebanon, seven young people tell of the crisis that is eating away at their country
In mid-September, there was a first wave of robberies. Much has been said about this young woman who took the employees of her agency hostage: she wanted her money to finance medication for her sister, who was sick with cancer. Following these incidents, the banks remained closed for a week. They reopened with draconian security measures, customers searched and filtered at the entrance.
And yet, the robberies have resumed: at least three on the single day of Tuesday, October 4. In Chtaura, in the east, Ali Sahili, a retired policeman, burst into his agency, in one hand a pistol, in the other a grenade. Her son, a student abroad, was evicted from his accommodation for not being able to pay his rent. He just wants to transfer money to her. However, since 2019 it is no longer possible to make transfers outside Lebanon either. His account shows several tens of thousands of dollars. The man is arrested without having been able to recover a single penny.
#Lebanon
while the banks have just reopened in Lebanon, several of them have been the subject of armed robbery or occupation since yesterday to demand the return of deposits / here in Beirut, Tripoli and Chtaura pic.twitter.com/HDa7GivAt4— Charli☀️ (@CharliB97783485) October 4, 2022
In Tyr, in the south, another man ends up getting some of his savings, again at gunpoint. Finally in Tripoli, in the north, several employees of an electricity company invade an agency to protest against the delays in wages and the exorbitant fees imposed by the bank.
Other less violent incidents are reported here and there, such as this sit in in an agency in the suburbs of Beirut.
The Banking Association ended up publishing a long press release in which it tries to put its responsibility into perspective. She calls on depositors to redirect their anger towards the state and the central bank, which have helped to “squander” the money. In the meantime, the robbers are supported by a large part of the population. Lhe collective of Mouttahidoun (“United”) lawyers had also announced “punch” actions on Tuesday, October 4. The bank employees, they are planning a day of mobilization on October 12 at the call of their union.
#ECONOMY – @lilianemokbel
L’#Association of the #banks from #Lebanon designated the #crisis what crosses the #banking sectoras being “a systemic crisis, by international standards. https://t.co/a7rpTohFsn— Here Beirut (@Icibeyrouthnews) October 5, 2022
It’s hard to imagine that the situation will be able to get better. The World Bank estimates that this crisis is one of the worst in the world since 1950. Inflation there exceeds 200%, the minimum wage is no longer worth anything. Today, 80% of Lebanese live below the poverty line. Worse: the political class has deliberately allowed the situation to worsen. In April, however, the country signed a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund. To obtain aid, it must, among other things, restructure its banking sector. But representatives of the IMF visiting Beirut two weeks ago did not hide their annoyance: the reforms are at a standstill.