logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2022
24m 26s

Money in Lebanon

Bbc World Service
About this episode

All banks in Lebanon have been shut indefinitely. They say it is for safety reasons following a string of raids by customers demanding access to their own money. In one incident, a woman armed with a toy gun staged a bank hold-up to pay family medical bills. Although the authorities have condemned the raids, they have drawn widespread public support. Since the 2019 collapse of Lebanon's financial system, 80% of the population is struggling for money. There are water shortages and frequent power cuts. We speak to Ghida who backs the bank raids because, she says, people are desperate. We hear from Elize, a cancer patient who shares her experiences of trying to get the drugs she needs to stay alive. Her doctor, professor Fadi Nasr, reminds us how hospitals in Lebanon used to be the best in the Middle East but they have now run out of basic supplies.

Up next
Today
Adeju Thompson: Taking fashion label Lagos Space Programme to the world
Adeju Thompson, the founder and creative director behind the Nigerian fashion label Lagos Space Programme, attempts to establish the label on the global fashion scene. Lagos Space Programme blends Yoruba heritage (notably Adire dyeing) with queer and futurist aesthetics, taking i ... Show More
26m 29s
Yesterday
Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary presents, Hold Fast!
The incredible true story of how The Avontuur was locked down at sea for 188 days during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 15 people on board. The journey begins for ship’s cook Giulia Baccosi when she accepts a last-minute job aboard the sailing cargo ship The Avontuur. She tells the ... Show More
24m 55s
Aug 23
Mud wrestling and tent pegging: Africa’s unusual sports
We take a look at some of the more unusual sports practiced on the African continent. Kelvin Kimathi recently travelled to Uganda where a muddy version of entertainment wrestling is becoming increasingly popular. Marcia Veiga discovered Capoeira Angola whilst finding a way to con ... Show More
26m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2022
Lebanon’s silent crisis
For nearly three years, Lebanon has been steadily collapsing under the weight of a financial crisis that is one of the worst in the modern world. But what is life like for those who have to live through the situation on the ground?   To be Lebanese is to navigate a slew of daily ... Show More
20m 27s
Jun 2023
How Lebanon’s economy collapsed
Protests, power cuts and bank hold-ups – Lebanon was already struggling before the 2020 port explosion that devasted its capital, Beirut, but now it’s in a desperate economic collapse. The Lebanese people are struggling to buy basic food and medicine. And the country also hosts t ... Show More
18m 56s
Oct 2020
Leaving Lebanon
Lebanon has suffered not just a catastrophic blast that cost around two hundred lives, but also a devastating economic crisis. The value of the currency has plunged and the pandemic lockdown forced nearly a third of businesses to close, leaving thousands jobless. Is Lebanon now a ... Show More
28m 37s
Dec 2019
Liban: les femmes se mobilisent aussi pour leurs droits
Au Liban, la contestation contre le pouvoir en place dure depuis le 17 octobre. Les manifestants réclament le départ d’une classe politique jugée corrompue et incompétente alors que le pays traverse une grave crise économique et financière. Les Libanais se mobilisent, quel que so ... Show More
3m 32s
Aug 2020
We Are Waste-People
In episode 161, the girls talk in detail about the blast in Lebanon, the murder of Anthony McClain in Pasadena, California, and more.FOOTNOTES: Lebanon: Why the country is in crisis Lebanon parliament approves sweeping powers for the army After devastating Beirut explosion, traum ... Show More
49m 41s
Nov 2019
Réfugiés syriens au Liban: la Syro-Libanaise Rouba Mhaissen reçoit le prix Rafto
La Syrienne Rouba Mhaissen a reçu début novembre le prix Rafto des droits de l'homme pour son engagement en faveur des droits des réfugiés et des migrants syriens, qui sont plus d'un million et demi au Liban. Un prix décerné par la fondation norvégienne Rafto à la directrice de l ... Show More
3m 34s
Feb 2019
Lebanon, USA
In 2016, Fadi Boukaram planned to visit 47 American towns named Lebanon by road. Then, in Lebanon South Dakota, he discovered that all these other Lebanons have more in common with the country than anybody realised. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story about the surprising hist ... Show More
26m 20s
Dec 2023
The ‘Ponzi scheme’ behind Lebanon’s economic collapse
For years, Riad Salameh was praised for his revolutionary financial policies as head of Lebanon’s central bank. But suddenly, the country plunged into an economic crisis. And Salameh left the central bank with a disgraced reputation and, investigators believe, a massive personal ... Show More
21m 39s