puts the economic crisis as the “largest negative impact” with prolonged economic depression. A triple digit inflation has inflicted half of the country with deep poverty levels–including over a million Syrian refugees, compounded by some 250,000 domestic workers majority of whom are women from Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Some 200 stitches on one side of her face, head, and across her body, and six non-cosmetic surgeries later–all paid out of pocket–Dana’s severe concussion has left her immobile. Her three children are now feeding and taking care of her and her husband. Before the blast, Dana was an energetic woman, she says, with a full schedule as a businesswoman and a mother to three children.
The 75-year-old Vera Naour is “grateful to God for still being alive.” The catastrophe of the blast, she says, united people across Lebanon, attesting to the care Lebanese people have for each other’s well being. The slightest of sounds–even a door closing–startles Naour. It’s a pity Lebanon has reached this level of economic misery, she says, comparing the Lebanese to orphans living in “a dire state of existence caused by the elites and government officials.” She appreciates the helping hands from across the world, and the Lebanese civil society organizations rebuilding damaged houses, but angered at how the government’s indifference has led to widespread poverty, hunger, and total disruption of lives.