Lebanon suicides spark outrage at govt over economic crisis

Two suicides in Lebanon yesterday, apparently linked to the country’s deepening economic downturn, have sparked a new wave of criticism over the government’s mishandling of the crisis, AFP reported from Beirut. A 61-year-old man from the eastern region of Hermel shot himself on the sidewalk of a bustling Beirut shopping street in broad daylight, leaving a note and his clean criminal record at the scene. The note referenced a popular revolutionary song that mentions hunger, suggesting his suicide was linked to the economic crisis that has been ravaging livelihoods across the country. “He killed himself because of hunger,” the man’s cousin screamed as the security forces carried away the body. “Curse the government!” The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 1,507 pounds to the greenback, reached more than 9,000 to the dollar this week on the black market in a dizzying devaluation. A second suicide, by a van driver near the southern city of Sidon, was also apparently linked to the economic crisis, a local official said. The 37-yearold van driver hung himself in his home in the town of Jadra, said municipality head Joseph al-Azzi.