Lebanon faces third day of protests after pound plummets

Small groups of demonstrators block roads in main Lebanese cities to protest against economic conditions

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  A demonstrator sits on the ground near burning fire during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut. Reuters

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  A demonstrator clad in mask coloured with the Lebanese flag reacts as she stands next to flaming tires cutting off a road in the centre of Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP

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  Demonstrators gesture as they stand by flaming tires cutting off a road in the centre of Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP

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  Demonstrators gather during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Jal el-Dib. Reuters

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  Anti-government protesters burn tires to block a main road during a protest against the power cuts, the high cost of living, the low purchasing power of the Lebanese pound, in Jal El Dib area north Beirut. EPA

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  A street vendor holds his balloons during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut. Reuters

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  Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut. Reuters

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  Demonstrators stand near burning tires during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in the town of Hasbaya, Lebanon. Reuters

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  A demonstrator sets a tire aflame while cutting off a road in the centre of Lebanon's capital Beirut late. AFP

Hundreds of people marched and blocked roads in a third consecutive day of nationwide protests after the Lebanese pound plummeted to a record 10,000 to the US dollar.

Officially pegged at 1,500 to the dollar, the pound has steadily devalued since an economic crisis hit Lebanon in 2019.

In Martyrs’ Square, Beirut’s protest centre, about 70 people blocked an empty road with burning tyres on Thursday.

"Lebanon has become a graveyard for our dreams," unemployed Amer Ashkar, 29, told The National.

“I have a girlfriend but we can't even afford to get married. This is a revolution of the poor.”

Lebanon's political elite have been in power since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990.

Mr Ashkar said he has been demonstrating against the corrupt sectarian political system since a mass protest movement swept Lebanon in October 2019.

At the height of the demonstrations, more than one million people took to the streets.

But the coronavirus pandemic and fatigue from political inaction have discouraged people from protesting, even as the economic crisis pushed more than half the Lebanese population into poverty.

The UN estimates that 55 per cent of Lebanese now live below the poverty line, more than double the rate in 2019.

In the northern city of Tripoli, one of the poorest in the country, protesters blocked main roads and demanded better living conditions.

In Chtoura, east of Beirut, people tried to close down exchange shops as the lira plummeted while salaries remained unchanged and the prices of goods, imported in dollars, soared.

Mohamed, 36, a taxi driver, said he joined protesters in Martyrs' Square on the first day of demonstrations but quickly lost hope.

“What good is it to protest anymore?" Mohamed said. "We protested when the lira fell the first time, and we protested after the explosion. Nothing happened."

"People are tired. All they want is to be able to feed their families.”

A deadly explosion rocked Beirut port last August, killing more than 200 people. The investigation into the cause of the blast has yet to yield any results.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned after the explosion.

The country has been ruled by a caretaker government ever since, as sectarian leaders quarrel over their share of the next Cabinet.

Internal disputes also undermined talks with international lenders, which were meant to save the country's economy.

Protesters' fatigue and desperation are compounded by fears that supporters of sectarian political parties are also taking to the streets.

"Some people who were standing with us on the first day were cheering for sectarian leaders," protester Hanan Malak, 27, told The National.

Ms Malak recalled demonstrators calling out the names of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

“Those are the same people who attacked journalists,” she said.

A camera operator and a reporter were pelted with stones by people blocking an intersection in Beirut on Tuesday and their equipment destroyed.

A protester flashed his gun in the face of a journalist the next day.

Ms Malak holds a master's degree in management but could find employment only as a science teacher for a salary of 500,000 lira, or about $50, a month at the current exchange rate.

Despite the bleak economic outlook, she believes Lebanese will once again pack the streets as they did in October 2019.

“There are so many things we need to fix in this country," Ms Malak said.

"I hope people will wake up and abandon their sectarian leaders so we can revive the October 17 movement.”