Bambi would have loved to devote today’s post to Mayyas, the inspiring dancers who make Lebanon so proud! They won America Got Talent two days ago. Count on Bambi for a post of congratulations, of course with the “Mabrouk “song :)! This being said, for now she will focus on dramatic surreal economic updates from Lebanon :(.
Bambi learned this afternoon that the Lebanese banks will close for three days. Open or closed? Will it make any difference for the depositors who already cannot have access to their own savings since October 17, 2019? Likely not. However, perhaps this closure would protect bank employees from extra stressors or, may God forbid, real danger. So far no one has been injured in any of the incidents with depositors storming their own banks to ask for their OWN money.
How could they be injured with toy weapons? Some have been toys. Some real weapons. All they are demanding is their savings, as explained in this France24 English article and brief video news (https://bit.ly/3QYrDqU). An earlier post of this blog, shown further below, was about a woman who stormed her bank to get her own savings so her sister can be treated for cancer.
Of course, it is not the fault of bank employees. Bambi has friends and relatives working at banks and she wants to know they are safe and sound too. She also wants to know their citizen rights are protected like the entire population of their country.
So who’s is responsible of this fiasco then? It is most likely the responsibility of the Lebanese “irresponsible” political elite with maybe key figures of the central bank, etc. The official Lebanon did not do any financial reform still for the past three years since the crash of the banking sector (i.e. Ponzi scheme). So how can the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Bank trust Lebanon then in order to help it get out of its financial hell, Bambi keeps wondering?
To conclude this post, is it fair to say that no one is working to solve Lebanon’s economic disaster? Are some decision-makers working behind the scenes and people do not know about it? Or no one is taking his/her responsibility still? Are they in a public state of collective coma when it comes to responsible governance? Or are they protecting their own financial interests and indifferent to people’s suffering? What is happening in tiny bankrupt yet dignified Lebanon? What will happen next? So many questions, but no answers… yet.
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Hi Bambi, I consider every person who did and will do this in the future as a hero!!! And I think that 100% of the depositors in Lebanon would have wished to do the same. The fault is only on the corrupted Lebanese politicians and the owners of the banks. The victims are the citizens and of course the employees of the banks whose financial situation is not better than the rest of the people.
God help us get rid of the criminals who are governing the country ?
Thank you Maya! Bambi sends her heart and solidarity to the depositors (and innocent bank staff, as you added). You are right, what a horrible crime against the people of Lebanon!!!