Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon’s currency rebounds slightly after reaching a new record low on Thursday. The latest downfall leads some to wonder if conditions can get any worse.
“I don’t think there is a bottom; things can keep going lower. We’ve seen other situations like Venezuela [and] Zimbabwe where the currency can be in freefall for a long time,” Pierre Houssney of Horizons International says.
“If draining the value out of the local currency by printing more and more of it leads to a profit, why would they (the people behind this trend) ever stop?”
The Lebanese pound has lost over 97 percent of its value since the country’s financial crisis began in 2019. See our complete coverage of Lebanon’s catastrophe here.
Protestors filled the streets throughout Lebanon last week, fueled by anger over the currency devaluation and port explosion investigation. A Beirut judge renewed the inquiry yesterday after it was delayed for more than a year.
“It’s a joke; justice is nowhere to be seen,” Houssney says.
“It doesn’t take a genius to know that investigation is a farce. [The government is] responsible for this (the explosion) happening, and they’re not holding themselves accountable.”
A Horizons church partner distributes food aid.
(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
And yet, hope remains. “The more frustration, helplessness, and hopelessness increase, the more [people] turn toward God,” Houssney says.
Horizons International empowers the local evangelical Church to address refugee and Lebanese families’ practical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Here’s how you can help.
“We’re here to spread the light of Christ, to give as much as we can to the poor and oppressed, and to care for them, and we’re seeing amazing spiritual fruit,” Houssney says.
Through the Lebanon Crisis Fund, Horizons International and its local church partners help vulnerable populations survive another week. (Header and story images courtesy of Horizons International)
