Lebanon's Looming Decline: A Nation Grappling with Economic and Social Crisis

While the parliament and government are preoccupied with boastful speeches, just because they are broadcast live, the country is heading towards decline. 

The problem is that no official in this country considers themselves responsible for the state's collapse.

They distract the world with superficialities and virtual disputes and forget that they made them lose all the elements of decent living.

In Lebanon, where people work for years to secure their future, their future is no longer guaranteed due to the collapse of end-of-service benefits. 

For example, someone whose compensation was 100 million Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $66,000 at the time, now finds it worth only $1,000. 

Consequently, the retirement benefits of military personnel, who protect all Lebanese citizens, including the political class, have naturally dwindled. 

For instance, a colonel whose compensation was equivalent to $400,000 now finds only $6,000.

So, what about those whose compensation is now only $1,000? Simply put, anyone retiring in Lebanon must live on the bare minimum. By the way, between 20,000 and 25,000 Lebanese retire annually.

This stagnation coincides with the collapse of the healthcare system, as healthcare coverage provided by the guarantor bodies, funded by the employee's monthly deductions from their salary for years, has ceased, leaving people struggling to access hospital services.

As if the loss of a lifetime's work is not enough, the obstruction of daily interests persists. 

The Public Corporation for Housing is almost paralyzed, even if there are no new loans because there are no employees to handle the old pending files after the number of these employees dropped from 220 to 42 and hiring was halted.

Driving licenses cannot be obtained because no examining committees or agreed-upon forms exist, and many real estate departments are closed.

But all these examples are driving the Lebanese youth to migrate. Over the past three years, approximately 80,000 Lebanese people have emigrated annually, and today, Lebanese people make up only 3.5 million out of the original 5.5 million residents in Lebanon. 

Lebanese society will become a pyramid by 2038 if things continue as they are. Lebanon is being drained of its people amidst a worsening displacement crisis, with estimates suggesting that the number of Syrian refugees will reach approximately 1.5 million. 

Meanwhile, the government needs to implement a repatriation plan or reformative laws across all levels, as they remain trapped in endless committee discussions.