Th Rise and Fall of Lebanon
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
the rise and fall of Lebanese economy. When there is a rise, fall is just waiting. Next corner. Most places have had a golden age, a period in time that evokes nostalgia and memories of the batter days. Beirut and Lebanon itself, we're first in the region to fall to the throes of war and destruction. So the good old days are now memories of another lifetime, especially for the youngest generation, which has no reconciliation of the pre war era. To understand what was lost, it's helpful to recall the period before when Beirut was known as the Paris of the Middle East, one of the oldest cities in the world and has often been under the rule of foreign powers if the Roman or Ottoman Empire. After Lebanon gained its independence on 1943 Beirut became its capital and flourished as an intellectual and financial center as well as a tourist destination. Lebanon's golden age started in the mid 19 fifties and lasted until 1975. With the beginning of the Civil War, the country's physical backdrop could not have been more spectacular. Whether it's snow capped mountains, warm, sunny beaches and charming capital, this was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon, lasting from 1975 to 1990 resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. Before the war, Lebanon was multi sectarian, with Sunni Muslims and Christians being the majorities in the coastal cities, Shia Muslims being mainly based in the south and the Bekaa Valley to the east. The 1989 Taif agreement marked the beginning of the end of the fighting. In January 1989 a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. Later in March 1991 parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment, which leaves the country towards the disaster and banned the economy on Nice. With the second Lebanese war, also called Israel Hezbollah war of 2006, this was a 34 day military conflict in Lebanon. The Lebanese economy significantly expanded after with growth averaging 9.1 between 2000 and seven and 2010 after 2011, the local economy was affected by the Syrian civil war. It started slowing since 2011, and the Syrian conflict and international political tensions witness are sharp fall in 2019 and so 2020 later in August 2020 explosion in Beirut sport and the Covid 19 outbreaks. Everything remains to the country's integrity at international level. According to the IMF's forecast, GDP growth is projected at minus 25 in 2020 and further later on. This could be worse. The traditional instruments of growth in Lebanon, a real estate, construction and tourism. The Lebanese economy dropped over into a full blown crisis in October 29 along with 2020 brought a global economic crisis due to the Covid 19 pandemic creates some rising public debt and also a currency collapse. As IMF highlighted the issue, Lebanon is the third most indebted country in the world were in comparison to the U. S. Dollars. The Lebanese lira has lost it's 80% values since October 2019, which damages the basic necessities of Lebanese people, including food, shelter, health and other. Because everything depends there on smooth flow of U. S. Dollars. But this is not the end here. Some of the social announced speakers talks about the fall of the secular state under siege, which causes small troubles for the country. Besides the war, and there's politics, which leads the way towards its current situation. There are approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, of whom about 78% lack legal status, an increase from the previous year. The situation of migrant domestic workers who are subjected to the restrictive system and are excluded from labor law protections. Soaring unemployment, hunger spreading all over the country once famous for its cuisines but where it all did go wrong. Some of the famous economists have described the Lebanon's financial system as nationally regulated Ponzi scheme, where new money is borrowed to pay existing credit. But the corruption within the country makes it worsened. Lebanon has always historically relied on money and investment from abroad to fuel its economy, and now the country is in the midst of the worst economic and financial crisis since the onset offers civil war. In 1975 the economic crisis triggered massive anti government protests resulting in the cabinets resigned. The crisis engulfing Lebanon did not happen over the night. Over the past few years, there has been ample warnings of looming economic collapse following the civil conflict In the 19 nineties, Lebanon adopted a short term economic vision built on services mainly category in two neighboring countries and therefore highly depending on the regional political environment. To rebuild the country, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's government focused on appealing to foreign depositors by offering attractive interest rates of setting interest rates, created a renter economy and impacted the development and diversification of the productive sector, the drop in the global oil prices and what followed it in terms of economic downturn in the Gulf. The war in German and prior to those devore in Syria all destabilized the political and security environment in Lebanon. The dynamic rise of Lebanon's banking sector has also been slowing down since 1992. The government's decision to undertake regular issues of Treasury bills to finance the country's reconstructions has significantly impacted how banks operated in order to attract deposits that allowed the banks to finance the debt. The government pushed higher interest rates by 2019 and rates raised all time high, reaching over eight per cent on the dollar and over 12% on the Lebanese pound. More over the interest rate differential resulted in predatory speculative trends benefiting the wealthiest classes and hopes of a new, competent cabinet that could inspire trust are eroding each day, and the country appears to be in free fall. Unemployment and the bankruptcy of major corruptions are expected to grow in the next few months, increasing dollar scarcity, hyperinflation and the instability of basic goods. These are but a few of the many immediate threats awaiting Lebanon. Economic pressure will only further mobilise citizens to take to the streets living Lebanon state Nothing but Blake.