Lebanon 2021-2023
The economic crisis in Lebanon has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the world since the 1850s, following the collapse of the economy in 2019. Politicians have been blamed, and since then the situation has only deteriorated. An ever-growing share of the population is being pushed into poverty.
While I was living in the country, I documented this decline with people struggling to make ends meet.
Mariam Fares during an demonstration in Beirut.
A storm in the capital, Beirut. The crisis has also led to the power grid being down, and the authorities provide only one to two hours of electricity per day. The rest comes from private generators, for those who can afford it.
Police officers try to keep angry demonstrators away from the home of a politician in Beirut, who has been blamed for much of the collapse Lebanon has fallen into.
A wedding procession tries to make its way past a demonstration against poor living conditions, but is stopped by protesters who have blocked the road in Beirut.
In Beirut, the crisis has led to even greater class divides than before, and more and more people are searching through the trash for food or items they can resell.
Those who can afford it live their lives as before. They buy access to private generators or go out to nightlife venues with other wealthy people. Here, the elite party at the Spine nightclub in Beirut.
Ninety-two-year-old Loris Mobaiet has become poor and now lives amid one of the worst economic collapses in the world. “I have nothing!” she exclaims.
The Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila on the outskirts of Beirut are home to some of those hardest hit by the crisis.
A covered car in the Christian neighborhood of Achrafieh in Beirut. Many people in this area have left Lebanon after the country collapsed.
Bread prices have also skyrocketed in Lebanon as a result of rising wheat and fuel prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lebanon imports 80% of its wheat from Ukraine.
A demonstrator receives first aid after police fired tear gas at protesters demonstrating against poor living conditions and demanding justice in Beirut.
Closed luxury stores, banks, and empty shopping streets have become a common sight in Beirut.
A motorcyclist rides past burning tires that have been set alight in protest against poor living conditions in Beirut.
Motorcyclists ride down a burned-out primeval forest in Akkar province in northern Lebanon. Some believe the forest was deliberately set on fire so residents could cut it down and collect firewood, while others blame climate change.
A man wearing a bullet as a pendant during a two-year commemoration of the violent demonstrations that swept Lebanon in 2019.
For several weeks this summer of 2023, the grain silo in Beirut was engulfed in flames, and the authorities said there was little they could do. The silo has been damaged since the massive explosion that hit the city in 2020. The authorities have been blamed for how the storage of its contents at the port caused the explosion and destroyed large parts of central Beirut.