Lebanon (MNN) — In 2022, Lebanon ranked as the angriest country in the world. But why?
Gallup’s annual Global Emotions report ranks several nations based on positive and negative emotions surveyed.
The top five angriest countries last year include Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, with Lebanon in first place.
At first glance, this may be surprising. But Lebanon has been reeling from an onslaught of crisis after crisis — from plummeting currency value, an influx of refugees, terrorist activity, international conflicts, a presidential power vacuum, and severe shortages on fuel, food, electricity, and medicine.
(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)
The strain on everyday life in Lebanon can easily reach a boiling point.
Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “When you have no solution,…it’s like when you’re in prison. You know how prisoners are. There is so much violence and anger in prison. It’s the same thing. It’s the whole country that is in prison.”
The social and political climates of the country are especially taking a toll on the younger generation.
“The mental health of the youth is incredibly disturbed,” Nuna says. “I’ve been talking with my own kids, and they all tell me the same thing: Mental health, mental health. All their friends, all the people in their classes, their neighbors, everyone has a mental health problem. So this is what they’re talking about.”
TM Lebanon is a non-government organization run by local Christians. They serve refugees and the people of Lebanon through critical aid, education, vocational training, spiritual and psychosocial services, and livelihoods.
“Our presence in the midst of people who are angry just calms them down because we are offering some kind of solution. We can’t have a solution for the whole country, but we are considered as the solution to many people — not only physically, like just giving them food or something like that, but also emotionally,” says Nuna.
“We do have some trauma healing [and] counseling sessions that are happening. When you let people talk, they will just get their frustrations and their anger out. This is a good thing.”
(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)
Lebanese believers with TM Lebanon listen as people share their anger and pain. “You start to talk to them about how, even in the midst of everything, you can still have some peace. You can still have some knowledge that God is in control and God sees you and God did not forget about you.”
Nuna asks for prayers. “The laborers are tired. We have the laborers, but we need strength — emotional strength and physical strength and spiritual strength. So really pray for the laborers, wherever they are, whatever they’re doing. I think that’s the most important thing because we need to keep our hands up. When we feel that there are people who are lifting our hands, that’s such a relief for us.”
Learn more about TM Lebanon and how you can come alongside their ministry!
Header photo courtesy of Hello I’m Nick via Unsplash.
