Hezbollah tightens its grip on economically devastated nation
Critics say outfit profits from Lebanon’s misery, giving no incentive to fix it
The most basic foods have become political assets in economically devastated Lebanon. And no one’s tapped that currency of oil, milk and bread like Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Designated a terrorist group by the US, it has galvanised its power by taking on more functions of a state hollowed out by an imploding economy and sectarian feuding. By offering food, cash and medical services amid widespread poverty in this once-middle class nation, the Shiite Muslim group has become a lifeline for many.
Critics say Hezbollah profits from Lebanon’s misery, giving no incentive to fix it. A 36-yearold Lebanese father of two who opposes the group but lives in one of its strongholds said he was forced to turn to Hezbollah to survive. Relatives got him a card that won access to the group’s discount warehouses stocked with goods from Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
“I had to do it. I’ve been without a job for a year and a half now, and my wife doesn’t work,” the man said, withholding his name for fear of retribution. “They starve you
I had to do it. I’ve been without a job for a year and a half now, and my wife doesn’t work. They starve you so you have to run to them for food.”
Lebanese father of two
so you have to run to them for food.”
Hezbollah says the US is trying to incite Lebanese against the group by blocking aid during the crisis, which deepened two years ago as protests over a failing, corrupt elite toppled the government. “Now they have turned to water, fuel and gasoline to gradually — because they can’t do it suddenly — pressure the Shiite community and move it away from Hezbollah, and that’s what prompted Hezbollah to intervene,” Hezbollah press official Mohammad Afif said. The group had to bring in food, medicine and fuel from outside of the system, he added.
“We have many reservations about Hezbollah, of course,” a shopkeeper in Bint Jbeil said. “But we remain grateful for what they have done for us. Our relationship runs deeper than that.”