Lebanon was already struggling with a financial crisis before the coronavirus hit. Government corruption recently caused the Lebanese lira to lose around 40 percent of its value against the US dollar. The cost of goods has gone up, including medical supplies. Now with the coronavirus outbreak and Lebanon on lockdown, suffering is two-fold.
The current pandemic might not be so devastating if rampant corruption and little change hadn’t already crippled the people’s hope.
Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy-Lebanon says, “People have lost any future prospects. They don’t see that this government will make a change and they don’t trust that they will make a change. So it’s as if nothing happened. It is as if all the protests that have happened have not led to any concrete change.”
Triumphant Mercy is doing what it can to offer aid to people in crisis. They typically work with refugees who have come to Lebanon from countries like Syria and Iraq. Now, however, the ministry is having to support Lebanese nationals as well.
“They lost everything,” Nuna says. “So many people lost jobs. So many people lost anything that they have to sustain themselves. The bank situation is hard. The financial situation is hard. There’s so much corruption.”
Even as a believer in Lebanon, it’s not easy. The Triumphant Mercy team is tired, and every day more people come to them for help.
However, Nuna says, “Having Christ is what makes me go and what makes me always see that He is the hope of the nations. He is the one who can change things. He’s the one who can transform situations. But other people, if they don’t have Christ, where would they put their hope? They want to put their hope in political leaders or in social systems or in what?”
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Lyndsey Koh
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