The economic crisis in Lebanon has led many citizens to reach the level of despair. They are struggling to eat, and find work to provide shelter for themselves and their families.
In short, they are drowning in their fight to survive.
While some people gave up, like the Lebanese man who took his own life due to hunger, others are still attempting to get by.
Poverty has been taken over in Lebanon way before the pandemic and farther back than the revolution of October 17, turning now into painful misery with many.
A while ago, poverty forced a Lebanese mother to put her own kidney up for sale. Her 9-year-old son has heart problems, and she was desperate for enough money to be able to have him medically treated.
In a similar scenario now, a father was also forced to put his three children up for sale.
A Lebanese protester shared on Facebook the father’s picture showing the desperate man sitting in El-Nour Square in Tripoli, hugging his kids.
The heartbreaking post explains, and not without anger against the state, that the father is unable to even feed himself, let alone his wife and kids.
His shocking action is not about getting rid of his children so he can release himself from the burden of his responsibility.
As he stressed with tears in his eyes and despair in his voice, his action is an attempt to find a family with means who can take “care of them, feed them, and love them.”
This Lebanese father is a flagrant example of how hard the living conditions in Lebanon have become. He is also one of many parents who are unable to provide daily bread for their families.
While many Lebanese are getting a chance of expressing their hardship through social media, worse cases are still muffled by the muteness of despair and overshadowed by political debates and interests.
These are indeed desperate times that are propelling some to desperate actions as the people hopelessly wait for crucial reforms that don’t seem to want to materialize.
