Link to Article: “Thousands stuck as Lebanese authorities suspend passport renewals“
As the Lebanese financial crisis continues to push more and more people out of the country, the government has announced that it can no longer meet the large demands for passports and will not be issuing them for the time being. Demands for passports have been steadily increasing since the 2019 economic crash. The Lebanese General Security Organization (GSO) reported that the government was due to pay a company contracted to make additional passports, but it hadn’t done so. Every day, there are around 8,000 requests. Over 77,000 Lebanese have reportedly already left the country in the past year, with thousands more attempting to make their escape. Many of these people include nurses and doctors.
The massive increase in passport demand makes sense, looking at Lebanon’s current state. People are consistently losing money, and with the inflated food prices and power cuts, it’s becoming very difficult for people to live there. If their needs aren’t met, they’ll leave. Now, without the ability to get a passport, people won’t be able to enter another country, essentially trapping them in poverty. The number of people wanting to leave will have drastic consequences on Lebanon itself.
For one, many healthcare professionals have already fleed, leaving the health sector to struggle in the midst of a pandemic. Additionally, there will be a large shortage of workers, as the age range of the majority of people fleeing is 25-40. In theory, a lesser amount of people could maybe help alleviate food pressure, but there are still so many people remaining that this isn’t likely to make a difference. If the passport issue isn’t turned around soon, it is likely that even more protests will occur, after people have already begun protesting the new economic laws that are about to be passed. People feel trapped in a neverending cycle of financial crises.
In connection to the class, Lebanon, or the Lebanese Republic, is a unitary multiparty republic with a parliamentary system of politics. Their government has been seen as corrupt in recent years, as influence from regional groups such as Hezbollah and nearby states such as Iran, Israel, and Syria have all had interferences with the government. The key leaders of the government are the president, Michel Aoun, the prime minister, Najib Mikati, and the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri. Lebanon’s government is split between Sunni Muslims, Maronite Christians, and Shia Muslims, originally in hopes to ensure equality, although this has only led to a flawed system where elite officials pit each other against each other for their own benefit.