Lebanon: A failed state
FROM POLITICAL PARALYSIS TO GARBAGE CRISIS, THE STATE HAS BEEN FOUND WANTING
The Lebanese state is in a miserable condition, plagued by several chronic problems that include long-lasting political vacuum, a major burden of 1.5 million Syrian refugees, a colossal garbage crisis, and more recently, deterioration of services at Beirut International Airport.
The country’s streets are filthy, and so are its waters; corruption thrives, unsolicited arms are abundant, and the service-oriented economy is tottering after Gulf tourists stopped coming to their oncefavourite vacation destination. Prolonged electricity cuts are part of day-to-day life, forcing people to rely on generators.
GDP growth, which was 9.3 per cent in 2007, is now down to 1.2 per cent. Tax evasion is rampant, and although Lebanon boasts of $44 billion (Dh161 billion) in foreign reserves, it is one of the most indebted countries in the world, after Greece and Japan, with its debt currently standing at $80 billion.
Part of the country’s south remains occupied by Israel, and Palestinian refugee camps are off-limits for the Lebanese army. Until last year, pockets of the country were occupied by Daesh.
Last June, the Christian village of Ras Baalbak drowned because of its terrible sewage system, destroying fields, shops, homes, and electricity polls. One civilian was killed. And Prime Minister-designate Sa’ad Hariri was attending the World Cup matches in Moscow.
A country is branded a failed state when it disintegrates to a point where the government is unable to perform its basic duties, and the standard of living declines sharply. In May 2017, former prime minister Tammam Salam described his country as a “failed state”.
Political crisis
For two and a half years the presidential seat was vacant until it was filled in October 2016 by incumbent Michel Aoun, after militant group Hezbollah reached a deal with Hariri, making him prime minister in exchange for Aoun’s rise to power at the age of 81. Two years later, the ageing president is reportedly unable to perform all his duties, and this has greatly empowered his son-in-law and foreign minister, Gibran Basil, 48.
Four months after May’s parliamentary elections. Hariri is still struggling to form a government, trying to please various political actors with eyes set on sovereignty posts.
Among other things, Hezbollah has also been pressuring Hariri to send Syrian refugees back home, claiming the cost of their livelihood is too high for the Lebanese state, which has been feeding, housing and schooling them since 2011. Hariri — who controls the Ministry of Refugee Affairs — refuses to force them out, claiming death or arrest awaits them in Syria.
Mona Sukkarieh, co-founder of Middle East Strategic Perspectives, a Beirut-based consultancy, spoke to Gulf News.
She said: “The complications Lebanon is currently facing are a recurrent feature of a power-sharing system that has been stretched to the extremes and sometimes presents cases of ‘mechanical failure’.” She points to legal loopholes, saying the Lebanese Constitution does not set a deadline for a prime minister-designate to form a government.
Garbage problem
The chronic waste problem in Lebanon started in 2015, when its main landfill closed down after years of overuse, unleashing a wave of health hazards, where according to Ala’a Al Din Hospital, south of the city of Sidon, lung cancer cases increased from six in the first six months of 2016 to 60 in the last six months of 2017.
Mountains of garbage fill the streets, even in the capital once dubbed the “Switzerland of the East.” Instead of admitting the government had no backup plan, Environment Minister Tarek Khatib came out on television, saying: “We should not alarm people with a problem that does not exist.”
Beirut airport
On September 7, an overnight system failure at Beirut International Airport led to the cancellation of flights, forcing employees to register passengers in hand-writing. Thousands were stranded. According to officials, a $500 million expansion project is needed, but it won’t start before 2020, because of lack of funds.
Electricity shortage
Political analyst Nidal Al Sabe told Gulf News: “Not creating the government until now, four months after the parliamentary elections, has led to a paralysis of government institutions. Although the civil war is long over, we still don’t have proper electricity in this country.”
Not creating the government until now, four months after the parliamentary elections, has led to a paralysis ... We still don’t have proper electricity in this country.”
Nidal Al Sabe |
Political analyst