Social relief and welfare institutions and associations that take care of people with special needs in Kesserwan and al-Metn staged on Tuesday a sit-in outside the Patriarchal Seat in Bkerke.
Meanwhile, similar movements were staged in several other regions to call on the state to grant them their allocations in order to continue with their duties.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros Rai addressed the protesters, saying that people with the special needs have a right to receive the state’s care since they know no evil.
In turn, Minister of Social Affairs is Richard Kouyoumdjian declared that the associations taking care of people with special needs have signed contracts that have been reviewed and returned from the Audit Bureau, noting that the ministry will send these contracts within one week to the Finance Ministry in order to pay the dues.
“We will not accept that any institution that cares for the people with special needs closes its doors,” he stressing, explaining that country is witnessing a harsh economic crisis that has been affected the institutions.
“We hope that paying these allocations will come as a Christmas gift,” he noted.