Father’s suicide sheds light on a nation’s plight

▶ Death in Lebanon of man unable to feed his family should be a wake-up call for politicians

In Lebanon’s impoverished town of Arsal, two little children have lost their father – not to illness or accident but poverty. After he lost his job at a stone quarry, 40-year-old Naji Fleity was struggling to pay back his debts. On Sunday, he was unable to give his hungry daughter a mere 1,000 Lebanese pounds (roughly Dh2) so that she could buy herself a manoushe, a popular Lebanese breakfast. He took his own life that same day.

That a man died for lack of Dh2 is proof that poverty kills and that the Lebanese state has failed in its role to protect the needy. It has instead consolidated a political system that has thrived off economic mismanagement and corruption, costing the country’s poor their lives. Fleity was a family man, kind enough to leave his job in the army six years ago to care for his ill wife. He was a veteran who had worked to defend Lebanon. Yet society failed to help him feed his children. And this injustice is far from being an isolated incident. In February, Georges Zreik self-immolated in front of his daughter’s school in northern Lebanon in protest against tuition fees he could not afford. Fleity’s tragic story has become emblematic of Lebanon’s troubles and its ongoing uprising, driven widely by economic strife and lack of job opportunities.

News of his death went viral on social media, with many Lebanese expressing compassion for Fleity and anger at a system that let such injustice take place. Some are even referring to him as a “martyr of the revolution”, in reference to the Lebanese uprising. For the past two months, Lebanese of all sects have joined forces in protest against the political class. Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government resigned after two weeks of demonstrations, as Mr Hariri expressed his disdain for the dysfunction of the political system. Since then, Lebanon’s financial crisis has intensified, with the pound losing half of its value against the US dollar on the black market.

Protesters blame a corrupt sectarian system for looting the state and failing to solve the country’s economic woes, after years of a widening wealth gap between the rich and poor. According to the UNDP, close to a third of all Lebanese live on less than $10 per day. That number has remained unchanged for more than a decade. Fleity’s death is only a drop in a sea of economic despair. Many Lebanese are in need of money and job opportunities, despite possessing skills that should allow them to make a decent living.

Protesters are asking for a government of technocrats to be put in place. But President Michel Aoun, who is allied with Iran-backed Hezbollah, has stopped short of naming a successor for Mr Hariri, as traditional parties refuse to give up their power. It is time for the people’s demand to be taken seriously. Lebanese lives depend on it and as the economic situation deteriorates, every single day counts.

When Zreik died nearly a year ago, Lebanese leaders did not take stock of this tragedy and this week another man lost his life. This is no time for political bickering. The Lebanese deserve leaders who will put their well-being above political interests before more lives are lost.