Two years after the explosion in Lebanon, civil society and the Maronite Church are mobilizing in the face of the crisis
Photos Clément Gibon for La Vie
Text Jenny LaFond
Lebanon is hit by one of the worst crises in the world since 1850, according to the World Bank. The financial and economic rout that started in the fall of 2019 was aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, by the double explosion of August 4, 2020, which devastated the whole of eastern Beirut, and above all by a political paralysis coupled with the inability of its leaders to reform a country undermined by corruption and confessionalism. As a result, the overwhelming majority of the population has seen its standard of living collapse in the face of galloping inflation, with the Lebanese pound plummeting by 95% against the dollar, to which it has been pegged since 1993. Added to this is the shortage of public electricity, which is almost non-existent.
At the entrance of Mary's Kitchen, dozens of people - workers, refugees, mothers, pensioners - are already handing their plastic containers to the kitchen volunteers. This photo essay for the media La Vie reports on the initiative of Marie's kitchen which not only distributes food to people in need, but also plans to build a new shelter.