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Distraught, Lebanese try to recover their savings by robbing banks, where their money is blocked. These actions have aroused broad public support in this country hit by an unprecedented crisis.
This is the event of the day in Lebanon, Friday September 16: a crowd in front of a bank in Beirut, the capital. A man locked himself in the establishment, he claims the withdrawal of his savings. This indebted trader is disarmed, but in front of the microphones, he wants to send a message: “They told me they didn’t want to give me my money back. So I’m not leaving here until I find a solution.” Wednesday, September 14, in another bank, a woman armed with a gun, finally fake, had also demanded the withdrawal of her savings.
A stunt filmed by his supporters. She will flee with some of her money. In a video, she will explain that she wanted to help her sister with cancer. “I had nothing more to lose”, she confided. For four years, Lebanon has been plunged into a historic crisis. The local currency is no longer worth anything. Banks lack liquidity and refuse large withdrawals. An explosive situation which justifies for many inhabitants the robberies by individuals in distress. Helpless, the government called savers to reason.