Introduction to the evening news 08-01-2013

The massive storm hitting Lebanon is getting ready to enter its third phase which is expected to be the toughest. The scenery could have been limited to children joyfully playing in the snow. While the wrath of nature has not reached disastrous levels as to the wind speed or rainfall, the real disaster is of an administrative and political nature.           

There is absolutely no ‘natural’ excuse for the situation of Lebanon's flooded roads some of which were crumbling; neither is there a ‘natural’ excuse for the isolation of several towns, the danger of the demise of Hay El Sellom, the accumulated electrical faults and mostly the deaths caused by the storm. Nature did not kill them. The real killer is the negligence, corruption and indifference of our leaders who are staying warm, reassured by the absence of any form of accountability.          

At a time when Ali, who has been homeless since the civil war, left Bliss Street for the last time and while poor and displaced persons were looking for a diesel oil can, politicians were meeting at the Nejmeh Square to agree on an electoral law which will lead, no matter how much it changes, to the reproduction of the same “political staff” which will be disregarding the same disasters during future storms.


All these developments and more in our detailed news bulletin.