Lebanon: Life without gas and electricity

Lebanon is in the midst of an economic crisis the likes of which the country has never seen. The Lebanese pound has lost around 90% of its value since the end of 2019, making foreign currency a precious commodity. Those with no access to hard currency are experiencing a dramatic loss of purchasing power.

Fuel shortages are a symptom of the country’s ongoing economic crisis. Gasoline used to be cheap in Lebanon and was generously subsidized by the state. But those days are gone. Lebanon now has to import fuel, but the country lacks the currency reserves to do so. All of its foreign cash is as good as gone. And without fuel, the power plants cannot operate.

Rampant cronyism and mismanagement mean that electricity is also in short supply. It’s so hot at night that people aren't able to sleep and without electricity, they can't turn on the air conditioning. Lebanon’s elderly are the ones hardest hit by the crisis. Elevators, too, aren’t always running, even when people pay private companies to turn the power back on.

"Sometimes people sleep in their cars at gas stations so they’ll be able to get gas the next morning," said a woman from Beirut. Many gas stations are only open a few hours a day. People are so desperate that the army has been called in to break up brawls. There have also been exchanges of gunfire because of the lack of fuel.

Those without fuel can't drive to work. With the exception of a few busses, Lebanon has no real public transportation system to speak of. And if you can't fill up your car, you also can't deliver bread to stores or restaurants. Not forgetting of course that electricity is required to bake the goods. What's more, the prices for the subsidized bread also increased dramatically in recent months.

The list of problems people in Lebanon have to deal with on a daily basis is getting longer and longer. Grocers have had to throw away their frozen foods because they otherwise would have spoiled. The shortage of electricity has led people to buy mainly food that doesn’t require refrigeration.

The fuel and economic crisis in Lebanon is also having an impact on the country’s education sector. Many parents can hardly pay the high tuition fees for private schools, and many teachers are not getting paid. University instructors also often have to wait for their paychecks. During the pandemic, energy shortages meant that online classes weren’t always possible.

Hospitals in Lebanon have also recently complained of massive shortages of fuel for their generators. Without generators, ventilators, for example, also have to be switched off. Medical personnel are exhausted and with coronavirus infections on the rise, hospitals are at their breaking point. Many doctors have long since left the country.

Patients, in some cases, are asked to bring their own medication. As a country that imports many of its goods, medicine is in short supply in Lebanon. Pharmacists have stopped issuing whole packs of medicine and have begun rationing. A few days ago, a video appeared online showing a warehouse packed with medicine. The dealer apparently was waiting to sell the goods at even higher prices.

Lebanon's farming sector is still heavily dependent on imported seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Some entrepreneurs are trying to change this though. But in order to use the equipment to farm the land, they need something that is lacking everywhere: electricity.

Lebanon is also facing acute water shortages. Over four million people could be affected in the coming days or lose access to clean drinking water altogether, according to a warning by the UN children's agency UNICEF. The organization also fears that water shortages could mean an increase in diseases as a result of poor hygiene.