By Ana Maria Guzelian and Noemí Jabois Beirut, Feb 24 (EFE).- Lebanese citizens are turning to radical measures to access their savings as the nation’s economic woes deepen and banks shutter up. The dire situation has prompted banks to impose stiff rules on savings accounts, limiting the amount of cash customers can withdraw and locking …
By Noemi Jabois and Ana Maria Guzelian Beirut, Mar 4 (EFE).- It took Syrian refugee Yahya 10 years and a perilous journey across the sea before he was finally granted asylum in Germany. He is one of 6.6 million people who fled Syria’s brutal civil war, many of whom feel a sense of injustice at …
Empty stomachs and solitude: Ramadan for Syrian refugees in Lebanon 2 minutes read
Noemí Jabois and Ana Maria Guzelian
Akkar, Lebanon, Apr 23 (EFE).- The clock strikes 19.14 at a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, but there’s no sign that it is time to break the fast of the holy month of Ramadan. Without much food or the presence of their loved ones, this special time is even harder than the rest of the year.
In a stiflingly hot tent that is completely bare save for two small mats laid out on the floor, Abu Yaser and his seven children wait for their mother to finish frying a small handful of cauliflower, potato and eggplant to break the fast for the evening Iftar meal.
Future of Beirut Port begins to crystalize 6 months after blast 3 minutes read
By Noemí Jabois and Ana Maria Guzelian
Beirut, Feb 4 (efe-epa).- Six months after the Beirut Port explosion, the Lebanese authorities have started to figure out plans for the future of ground zero of the blast that left over 200 people dead and 6,500 injured.
The rebuilding of the port, where there is still a large hole caused by August 4 explosion and only one building left standing, will cost between $425 and $520 million, according to the World Bank estimations.
Before the blast, there was a “master plan” to remodel the facilities, the Port Director Bassem Kaissi told Efe. Those plans are being “reevaluated” in the wake of the explosion.