A Sobering Visit to Beirut

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2023, pp. 40-42

Special Report

Photos and Article By Cat Essoyan

I VISITED LEBANON in early November 2022 in my capacity as a board member for the UK and Belgium boards of the Near East Foundation. It was a sobering time to be in a place to which I still feel deeply attached. I stayed in the famed Hamra area, known for its shops and nightlife, but it had a beaten down, tired air to it, lacking the positive energy it exuded on previous visits. Instead, I saw lines of people waiting outside banks and encountered beggars on the streets. There were big trucks delivering water to buildings and noisy diesel generators on the sidewalks, contributing to air pollution.  Energy costs are prohibitive and there are limited hours of electricity provision, which is a challenge for everyone, particularly small businesses. 

A year prior to my trip, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) estimated that almost 75 percent of the Lebanese population lived in poverty. I was told that the middle class has effectively disappeared. Since the banking sector collapse in 2019, there is a huge discrepancy between exchange rates of the Lebanese pound to the dollar, with the official rate set at 1,500 LL to the dollar while the black-market rate during my visit was at around 37,000 LL. For those paid in Lebanese pounds, the effects of this are devastating. A teacher who used to earn the equivalent of USD 4,000 a month now effectively earns USD 300. A policeman or member of the army used to earn the equivalent of USD 1,000 a month and now earns USD 70 and is usually obliged to take on a second or third job, for example driving a taxi, to try to cope. 

There are stark contrasts and sharp inequalities. While many shops and restaurants have closed, a number of new ones are being opened. While many of the lovely old Lebanese buildings are in disrepair, huge skyscrapers now fill the skyline and construction is underway on new buildings, for example near the American University Hospital. While Hamra is a shadow of its former self, the Gemmayze night life is vibrant and lively. If one’s salary is dollarized, one can afford to go out, if one is paid in Lebanese pounds it is desperately difficult to survive.

People are unable to access savings in their bank accounts and the fear is that a lot of that money is no longer there, stolen and moved to bank accounts overseas. Rumors suggest that many banks in Lebanon will not survive the present crisis. At the same time, I heard that investment is starting again in Lebanon, which would be encouraging, but I was told it will be essential to stabilize the currency in order to move forward. Some argue that it is good that the present economic collapse happened because in the past the government was heavily subsidizing the costs of medicine and fuel and going quietly deeper into debt, which was not sustainable. 

The day before I arrived, Lebanon’s  President Michel Aoun had stepped down at the end of his six-year term. People expected it could take more than six months to reach consensus about his successor. In the most recent elections, ten new independent candidates were elected to the parliament. Although this is not a large number, it was a positive step and these new parliamentarians are now endeavoring to share with the public the discussions in government, a welcome change from the past when little was known about such deliberations. In the wake of the maritime oil exploration agreement with Israel, and the last elections where they lost seats, I heard that Hezbollah had reduced its level of preparedness for conflict.      

Many feel that the present crisis is the worst Lebanon has ever faced. Some are doubtful the country will be able to recover this time. Some people I asked bristled when I referred to the fabled resilience of the Lebanese population. People are tired and discouraged. The country is still feeling the repercussions of the devastating Beirut blast and the failure of the government to be held accountable. Many people who can are again leaving the country, as they did during Lebanon’s civil war. On the other hand, one person quoted to me a proverb that if you throw a cat in the air, it will always land on its four feet. It remains to be seen.

It is of course impossible to know what the future will bring for Lebanon but on a personal level it was good to be there. I took long walks across Beirut, revisiting my high school and the Raouche neighborhood I lived in 50 years ago, sparking many memories but also noticing a lot that has changed. 

I went to a multimedia exhibit called “Allo Beirut” in the Beit Beirut building. It uses video and audio tapes to recall the Beirut of the 1960s, and through the civil war, and is evocative of Lebanon’s multi-confessional character. Beirut remains a beautiful city, with the corniche and the sea, the lovely green haven of the AUB campus and the old buildings still standing. Of course, it goes without saying that Lebanese food is still the best in the region. 

Despite the current obstacles, I still believe in the strength and positive energy of the Lebanese people and hope they will once again be able to meet the formidable challenges facing their country.

Cat Essoyan is a member of the UK and Belgium boards of the Near East Foundation. She lived in Beirut from 1965 to 1973, graduating from the American Community School. She has a BA in Literature from Yale and an MA in Middle East Studies from Harvard. She visited Beirut regularly when she worked on issues related to the MENA region, first for the American Friends Service Committee from 1982 to 1992, and then for Oxfam Novib from 1992 to 2021. She has lived in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands since 1992.