Knock yourself down with one act of kindness.
Positive Solution Original
How much worse can this world be?
What the Middle East small country Lebanon is experiencing now is probably the most qualified as the answer to this question.
Lebanon is located in southwest Asia and on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Syria to the east and north, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
covers an area of just over 10,000 square kilometers, which is smaller than Tianjin.
The population is over 6.8 million, less than half of Tianjin’s population.
But it is such a small country. It was extremely wealthy for a period of time. The capital Beirut was even called the "Little Paris of the Middle East".
But now, Lebanon is getting worse and worse.
According to United Nations data released in September this year, Lebanon's current public debt is as high as 89.5 billion US dollars, equivalent to 170% of the gross national product. Nearly three-quarters of Lebanese live in poverty.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Lebanon's economy will shrink by 12% this year, which is the third largest recession in the world, only slightly better than Venezuela and Chad .
Nowadays, many people say that Lebanon has "failed as a state".
So, why did Lebanon reach this point?
Lebanon is located on the transportation artery of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Its geographical location and military value are very important.
From independence at the end of 1943 to the mid-1970s, Lebanon maintained peace and stable development for more than 30 years, becoming the most prosperous and Westernized city in the Middle East.
Due to its developed economy and its location at the intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations, Lebanon has been the transportation, education, and cultural center of the Middle East for a long time.
During the boom period, Lebanon had 72 banks, many of which were famous around the world, and gradually developed into an international financial capital alongside Zurich, Switzerland.
The most attractive thing about Lebanon is not only the sunny beaches, but also the indispensable beauties and yachts.
Therefore, it has also been listed as "Top Ten Places for Global Travel" and "Must-Go Tourist Attractions" by "Lonely Planet" and The New York Times..
Because it is located at the intersection of Asia, Europe and Africa, Lebanon has both blond and passionate Western beauties, as well as oriental beauties with dark hair and dark eyes covered with veils. It can be called a country where "veils and bikinis coexist".
Even in some areas of Lebanon, some new female police officers have to put on short shorts to patrol in the summer. The reason given by the mayors of these areas is that it is easier to attract tourists.
There is probably no other country in the world with a police lady dressed like this.
And in Beirut’s Zaitunay Bay Port, luxury cruise ships from all over the world are moored all year round, water skiing , windsurfing, Various exciting water sports such as kite surfing, parasailing, and water flying are available as well as luxurious banquets.
At the same time, Lebanon is also a world-famous wine producing area, with an annual output of 5 million bottles, more than half of which is exported.
It is conceivable that rich people from all over the world gather in this charming coastal country on the east coast of the Mediterranean, riding yachts, sipping fine wine, and surrounded by beauties. It is like a paradise scenery.
Zaitunay Bay Port in Beirut, Lebanon
Due to the relatively stable situation, Lebanon's GDP increased from 17.2 billion US dollars in 2000 to 56.6 billion US dollars in 2018. Calculated based on a population of 6 million, the per capita GDP at that time exceeded 9,000 US dollars.
Among them, finance and tourism, as pillar industries, account for more than 65% of GDP.
Although Lebanon’s GDP is not very high compared with some Middle Eastern oil countries, it can be considered to be insufficient compared with the previous ones, but more than the lower ones.
However, life for the Lebanese is obviously not that easy right now.
In 2020, Lebanon’s GDP dropped to US$33.3 billion, and it continues to decline.
The reason is the long-term religious disputes and continuous wars in the country.
From a certain point of view, Lebanon is "the success is also the geographical location, the failure is the geographical location."
As a country guarding the throat of Asia, Africa and Europe, its strategic position is particularly important.
Historically, Lebanon was a remaining Christian stronghold in the Middle East after the European Crusades. It also suffered from the colonial rule of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, and France, and its religious system was very complex.
Lebanon is one of the few countries in the Middle East where Christianity and Islam share power equally.
There are currently 18 sects in Lebanon, and politically they are basically equally divided between Christianity and Islam.
Christianity is divided into Maronite, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Christianity; Islam also includes Sunni, Shia, Druze and other sects, and the internal ethnic groups and religious factions are extremely complex.
In order to maintain the balance of power, the Lebanese government is controlled by various sects.
Christian Maronites serve as the president and commander-in-chief of the army, the prime minister is a Sunni Islamist, and the speaker of parliament is a Shia Islamist.
It is conceivable that such a complex sectarian composition will inevitably constrain the domestic political system, resulting in unclear government functions, low administrative efficiency, and various corruption phenomena that are even more difficult to eradicate.
This is also true. The existing political forces in Lebanon often do not buy each other, and the national economy has basically come to a standstill.
The Lebanese pound has devalued by 90% in the past three years and is no longer a piece of paper.
On August 4, 2020, two huge explosions occurred in the port area of Beirut, the capital, causing at least 190 deaths, more than 6,500 injuries, and three missing people.
The huge explosion in Beirut Port made the situation in Lebanon even worse.
The huge explosion not only caused casualties, but also destroyed the food storage warehouse located near the center of the explosion, causing the country's food prices to rise fourfold in just a few months. , the poverty rate exceeds 50%.
French President Macron visited Lebanon after the Beirut explosion. His public request was to "quickly form a cabinet within two weeks." Unfortunately, no one from the various factions liked him.
It is precisely because Lebanon’s seemingly stable regime is based on the huge religious groups of various sects. Once the population and power of a certain sect changes, power struggles between the various factions are inevitable and the situation will fall into turmoil.
For a long time, although Lebanon has many factions, it has been generally stable and harmonious.
Unexpectedly, a kind act by Lebanon broke the balance and set the country on fire.
In September 1970, with the outbreak of the first Middle East war, a large number of refugees emerged in Palestine.When other countries were unwilling to accept them, Lebanon chose to admit 10,000 refugees.
Lebanon's decision to accept Palestinian refugees was originally out of humanitarian considerations, but such behavior made Israel wary.
Because these refugees are mixed with a large number of members of the PLO guerrillas, it is destined that Lebanon will never be able to survive alone.
This is also true. With the entry of a large number of Palestinian refugees, the PLO , with the support of the Islamic sect in Lebanon, has taken over the magpie's nest, almost forming a " state within a state ", leaving the Lebanese officials helpless.
The city gate caught fire, affecting the fish in the pond.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), based in southern Lebanon, has been in constant armed conflict with Israel. The miserable Lebanon has since been caught in a fight between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
What is even more troublesome is that accepting Palestinian refugees is largely the intention of the Lebanese Islamic sect.
The Christian sect originally chose to turn a blind eye, but the influx of a large number of Muslims not only changed the religious balance within each other, but also caused war. This could not but make the Christian sect feel dissatisfied and angry, and the conflicts between them gradually increased from verbal and written attacks to small-scale situations of armed conflict.
Small Lebanon is divided according to religious power into the northern Christian area and the southern Muslim area.
These religious sects all have their own armed forces, laying the foundation for the subsequent civil war.
In April 1975, the PLO attacked a Christian church in Lebanon, causing many casualties and completely angering the Christian members of Lebanon.
In retaliation, Lebanon's Christian Phalangist militia then blew up a fully loaded Palestinian passenger bus.
At this point, the long-simmering religious conflicts have completely intensified, and the angry PLO has another enemy, the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia.
Armed personnel in the Lebanese Civil War
The two sides began a civil war that lasted for several years. The war turned the capital Beirut, known as the "Little Paris of the Middle East", directly into ruins, and the bustling scene was gone forever.
During the civil war, the PLO gained the upper hand because of the support of the Islamic sect, became arrogant, and continued to go further and further on the road of provoking Israel.
In 1982, Israel, which could not bear it anymore, finally chose to directly send troops to invade Lebanon, completely destroying the home base of the PLO and triggering the Fifth Middle East War. However, its violent revenge in Beirut attracted strong condemnation from the international community.
The major powers of Britain, the United States, France and Russia could no longer sit still. In order to stabilize this "powder keg in the Middle East", they intervened in the Lebanese civil war. The result was that "the chaos was restored", which made the war situation more complicated.
The Lebanese civil war that has lasted for many years has displaced countless people.
The civil war in Lebanon has lasted for more than ten years. Under the flames of war and the game of the forces of several major powers, the once prosperous Lebanon has long been reduced to a scorched earth.
The civil war caused economic losses of tens of billions of dollars, 150,000 people died in the war, and nearly one million Lebanese were displaced.
The saddest thing is that the countries that once accepted refugees have now become countries that generate refugees.
Lebanon could still earn some foreign exchange from the tourism and financial industries, but after the civil war began, these two pillar industries also came to nothing.
Not only that, more than half of Lebanon’s land is mountainous with more than 1,000 meters of land. The plains are relatively small and not suitable for growing food. It is only suitable for growing cash crops such as grapes and fruits. Therefore, it has long relied on exporting cash crops in exchange for food imports.
However, the war and the new crown epidemic have caused Lebanon's export economy to decline, and the people can only rely on remittances and funding from the United Nations to survive.
In recent years, Lebanon's economy has been in huge trouble
Lebanon has hundreds of thousands of overseas expatriates, and the funds they remit every year can reach 20% of the domestic GDP, making the domestic economy generally stable.
The United Nations also spares no effort to fund Lebanon, investing huge amounts of money and various humanitarian aid every year.
Because Lebanon is so righteous, it actually admitted more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees in 2015 at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees even though it could no longer take the blame.
Although a large part of the money to support these refugees comes from the United Nations, after all, they are in Lebanon, and various problems arise one after another, giving the Lebanese government a headache.
The Lebanese government has long been in chaos.
The people are even more confused.
Previously, the Shia political party represented by Hezbollah in Lebanon was supported by Iran , Syria and most people in the country, but the relatively weak Hariri Sunnis were supported by Saudi Arabia , France and the United States. .
For various religious interests and policy formulation, the two factions quarreled fiercely, and no one accepted the other.
Privately, supporters of various factions are also incompatible with each other, and conflicts continue.
The leadership was noisy, but in October 2019, Lebanese businessmen suddenly discovered that the bank’s U.S. dollar foreign exchange reserves were insufficient, and the country suddenly exploded.
The country’s Lebanese pound has long been lacking in credibility, and everyone usually settles in U.S. dollars. Insufficient foreign exchange means that the money in hand will soon become worthless.
News of insufficient foreign exchange reserves immediately triggered a run on US dollars in Lebanese domestic banks, causing the Lebanese pound to depreciate rapidly.
The Lebanese government was also anxious. In order to ease the situation, it quickly provided exchange rate preferential treatment for the import of food and crude oil. However, this was tantamount to confirming the reality of currency depreciation in disguise.
With the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Lebanon’s economy has become even worse.
Prices are soaring, unemployment is soaring, and even the police who maintain law and order have an income of less than 40 US dollars per month.
Demonstrations broke out in Lebanon. The crowd shouted "I'm starving to death", and the police actually shouted back "I'm hungrier than you"
The Lebanese government then made another "foolish move".
In order to alleviate the economic crisis, the Lebanese government announced the start of taxes on tobacco, gasoline and other items, which once again triggered more than one million people in the country to take to the streets to protest, with "ending sectarian politics" as a core demand.
Forced by the pressure of life, countless Lebanese people took to the streets to protest and demonstrate
In January 2020, Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned under the pressure of the people and was replaced by Hassan Diab, a former Minister of Education. However, The disputes within the new government are not over.
Subsequently, when the Lebanese government was discussing the US$400 million international aid bill, some members left the meeting midway because they regarded the aid as a means to bribe people of their own faction.
Lebanon has now become a mess that no one can avoid.
