The detrimental effects of Lebanon’s economic crisis have reached Lebanese living far away from their homeland, most particularly students, who are now taking collective steps to demand their rights.
With a specific set of goals in mind, many Lebanese students around the world have come together under the umbrella of the newly-established International Union of Lebanese Youth (IULY).
The IULY evolved from a movement that started by the Association of Lebanese in Marseille, France, with the aim of realizing the demands that students abroad have been calling for since the economic meltdown in Lebanon started to affect them.
Today, the union includes more than 27 Lebanese organizations, in 17 countries, that have already taken a promising collective step forward.
“We already have contacted 99 deputies, sent them an open book where we talked about our needs, and the recent law was a result of our suggestion that we made from the beginning in order to find solutions for these students,” Mira Miri, the social media manager of IULY, told The961.
The law in question is the one recently approved by the Lebanese Parliament, which allowed the parents of Lebanese students living abroad to send them transactions in foreign currency.
While they’re off to a good start, their journey is far from over, as the IULY has several more goals to achieve, most notably:
- The unification of the USD/LBP exchange rate for Lebanese students abroad, through all money transfer methods, at the official rate of 1,515 against the dollar.
- Raising the annual $10,000 transfer limit per student, specified by law, which is considered insufficient to cover the needs of the student throughout the year.
- The extension of the law’s effect beyond the current year, allowing all students abroad, old and new, including those who will travel to study in the future, to benefit from it.
According to Miri, in order to accomplish these objectives, the IULY will continue to push its demands to the authorities and the central bank, in coordination with the association that is currently representing the student union in Lebanon.
