Beirut, Lebanon — Lebanese security forces fired tear gas at protesters demonstrating in Beirut on Wednesday against deteriorating living conditions, as the currency plummeted to new lows against the dollar.
Lebanon’s economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty, according to the UN.
Many of the hundreds protesting on Wednesday were retired servicemen whose army pensions have lost most of their value, and depositors locked out of their savings by cash-strapped banks.
“I used to make around $4,000, now my pension is worth $150,” retired general Khaled Naous, 70, told AFP.
“We’re unable to secure basic necessities.”
Security forces fired tear gas as some demonstrators tried to push through barriers to reach the compound which houses government offices, while others threw stones.
AFP correspondents said a demonstrator and a member of the security forces were wounded.
The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 15,000 to the dollar, has been trading on parallel markets at more than 100,000 against the greenback — a dizzying plunge from 1,507 before the collapse began in late 2019.
“The people are demanding their most basic rights… and they respond with tear gas,” complained army veteran Amal Hammoud, 53.
The currency plunge has been devastating for those on fixed incomes, triggering price hikes on imported fuel, food and other basic goods, with supermarkets this month starting to price items in dollars.
Some protesters shouted slogans against the political elite, widely blamed for the country’s financial collapse.
Marwan Seifeddine, a father of five, told AFP he was barely making ends meet on a pension now worth just $50.
“I’m unemployed and I’ve been selling my furniture to feed my family,” he said.
Political inaction has been a hallmark of the Lebanese economic crisis.
Since last year, the country has had no president and only a caretaker government, amid persistent deadlock between rival blocs in parliament.